What's Considered Good Quality Honey

What is considered as good quality honey? Even after deciding that a certain floral variety of honey would be your most favourite type of honey, many of us are often still left with the question of "How do I choose a particular floral variety of honey amongst all the countless brands and prices of honey from all over the world?" While there is no clear standard on what constitutes good honey, the quality of honey is sometimes judged by the following factors:

 

1. Water content
Some people believe that good quality honey essentially has a low water content as honey is likely to ferment and lose its freshness if its water content, which can be measured using a gadget called refractometer, is greater than 19%. All unpasteurized, raw honey contains wild yeasts. Due to the high sugar concentration, these yeasts will pose little risk in low moisture honey because osmosis will draw sufficient water from the yeast to force them into dormancy. However, in honey that has a higher proportion of water, there is a higher chance that the yeast may cause fermentation in storage, whereby the increase of acidity can become a quality issue for the honey

 

Honey is hygroscopic, which means that it easily absorbs moisture from the air. Thus, in areas with a very high humidity it can be difficult to produce honey of relatively low water content. Raw honey's moisture content can be as low as 14%, and is deemed by some as more valuable. Honey containing up to 20% water is not recommended for mead-making. One simple way of judging the relative quantity of water (not purity) in honey involves taking two same-size, same-temperature, well-sealed jars of honey from different sources. Turn the two jars upside-down and watch the bubbles rise. Bubbles in the honey with more water content will rise faster.

 

2. HMF(Hydroxymethylfurfural)
HMF is a break-down product of fructose (one of the main sugars in honey) formed slowly during storage and very quickly when honey is heated. The amount of HMF present in honey is therefore used as a guide to storage length and the amount of heating which has taken place. HMF's occurrence and accumulation in honey is variable depending on honey type. High levels of HMF may indicate excessive heating during the extraction process. Honey that is traded in a bulk form is usually required to be below 10 or 15mg/kg to enable further processing and then give some shelf life before a level of 40 mg/kg is reached. It is not uncommon for honey sold in hot climates to be well over 100 mg/kg in HMF. This is mostly due to the ambient temperatures (over 35°C) that honey is exposed to in the distribution channel. Some countries set an HMF limit for imported honey. You may also want to note the colour of the honey as it sometimes may be an indicator of the length of storage or amount of exposure to heat.

 

3. Inverted sugars

High levels of HMF (greater than 100 mg/kg) can also be an indicator of adulteration with inverted sugars. Cane sugar or sucrose, is "inverted" by heating with a food acid, and this process creates HMF. Many food items sweetened with high fructose corn syrups, e.g. carbonated soft drinks, can have levels of HMF up to 1,000 mg/kg

 

4. Impurities

For most consumers, good quality honey is expected to be visually free of defect -- clean and clear. Honey which has a very high pollen content appears cloudy, and the presence of many other contaminations such as particles of wax, bees, splinters of wood, and dust certainly does make it look unappetising and unappealing for anyone to buy and consume, and hence it appears as if it's of very low value. Unfortunately, no matter how much food value or health benefits some of these particles like pollen can offer, this kind of honey is hard to be associated with good quality honey and is immediately rejected by most consumers at the super-mart. And this explains why it's almost impossible to find unfiltered, raw honey on the shelf. Its cloudy appearance makes them commercially unattractive.

 

5. Colour
Honey is color graded into light, amber, and dark categories which do not really have any bearing on quality. Some of the most distinctively and strongly flavored honey varieties, such as basswood, are very light, while very mild and pleasant honeys such as tulip poplar can be quite dark. Honey color is measured on the Pfund Scale in millimeters. While it is not an indicator of honey quality and there are exceptions to the rule, generally speaking, the darker color the honey, the higher its mineral contents, the pH readings, and the aroma/flavor levels. Minerals such as potassium, chlorine, sulfur, iron, manganese, magnesium, and sodium have been found to be much higher in darker honeys.

Lose Weight With This Local Herb

Ginger and Lemon
Local names for ginger:
Yoruba- Ataile
Local names for lemon:
Yoruba- Osan gaingain, Osan lakuregbe
Igbo- Oroma-nkirisi
Ginger naturally suppresses appetite. Ginger contains an acidic substance
that stimulates gastric enzymes, resulting in an increased metabolism. Faster
the metabolism, the more calories and fats will be burnt. Ginger also aids in
lowering cholesterol levels, a default consequence of excess weight.
Perhaps the best herb for digestion, ginger prevents indigestion and
abdominal cramping. Ginger also helps break down proteins, aiding the
digestion process.

How to prepare ginger drink
Cut three ginger root into pieces and soak in ½ litre of lemon juice for 48
hours. Take 3tbs thrice daily.

To order for Edmark Splina and tea:  Call No. 08026552332, 08023875172,

 

Boko Haram Called 100 in Borno

Over 100 people were killed on Tuesday night after Boko Haram men attacked 4 villages; Attagara, Agapalawa, Ngoshe and Aganjara in the Gwoza local government area of Borno State.

News of the attack is just being heard because the men destroyed the telecommunications mast in the villages during the attacks.

Reports say the men dressed as military personnel deceived the villagers that they came to protect them, only to gather them together and began to shoot them. Some of the villagers who tried to run into the bush for safety were pursued and killed by the sect men who came in terrain vehicles and motorbikes and armed with Kalashnikov assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Continue...

According to Hon. Peter Bive, the House of Reps member for the area at the National Assembly who spoke with AFP, he said the attacks on the villages were left many dead.
“There were deadly attacks on these villages by Boko Haram insurgents who killed a large number of people and destroyed homes. We are still trying to compile a toll of the dead as people on the ground are still counting the number of casualties.” he said. He also stated that the sect men have been daring enough in their actions as they have foisted their flags in 7 villages in the region indicating that those areas are now in their control
"Boko Haram have hoisted their flags in at least seven villages in the area which they now claim to be under their control,” he said.

The New CBN Governor

Former Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Godwin Emefiele today June 3rd assumed office as the new Central Bank Governor. Mr Emefiele was chosen by President Jonathan to replace Sanusi.
In a brief handing over ceremony at the CBN Headquarters in Abuja, Emefiele took over the reigns of the CBN from the acting governor, Sarah Alade.

Godwin Emefiele has a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA in Finance both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has over 26 years banking experience.
 

No More World Sunday Mba Out

Sex after childbirth

Sex after childbirth becomes a daunting task for women who think they aren’t the perfect lover anymore. One needs to understand that childbirth is a traumatic process and the body needs time to heal, so you may need some time before you can get your sex life back to the way it was, before childbirth.
Learn to get comfortable with yourself
Remember you just gave birth and your vagina and your body need some time to heal, so stop berating yourself about the weight gain and stretch marks. Instead, learn to love your body.

Stop being a multitasker
Your sex life will go for a toss if you are exhausted after a day's work. Ask for help, you don't need to be superwoman all of the time.

Spice it up
You need to initiate sex; your partner might think you are tired while attending to the baby. So try doing something suggestive, like wearing sexy lingerie or going naked to bed. Indulge in a lot of foreplay as it will increase your sex drive. You basically need to guide your man to what you want.

Exercise
By exercising and getting physically fit, women begin to feel comfortable and confident. After childbirth, the weight gain may affect your self-esteem, so take up exercise and do it regularly to get your sex drive back on track.

Sleep vs Sex
While new moms will choose sleep after a hectic day, experts suggest that a women should choose sex over sleep. Sex is great for stress relief and it will also calm your nerves, improve your mood and give you a sound night's sleep.

#BringBackourGirls: Protesters Attacked, APC React?

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned the attack by apparently-sponsored thugs against the ‘bring back our girls’ protesters, who have hitherto conducted themselves in a civil and peaceful manner, calling the attack deplorable and definitely orchestrated to shift the focus from ‘bring back our girls’ to ‘release our girls’.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the attack on the protesters in Abuja had confirmed its worst fears that the Federal Government was embarking on a campaign to shift the responsibility from the government to the abductors, in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s admonition to the protesters to direct their protests at the abductors rather than his government.

 The party wondered why the government would be pushing its responsibility to ensure the welfare and security of Nigerians to a band of terrorists.
“When we said this Federal Government has abdicated its responsibility to Nigerians, the government’s apologists twisted that statement of fact to mean that we are insulting the president. Well, what does one make of a government that has now rented a crowd of delinquents to attack the ‘bring back our girls’ protesters and counter their message?

“Nigerians voted for Goodluck Jonathan as president, and not for the terrorist called Abubakar Shekau. It is therefore right for them to demand action to return the girls safely from their president, rather than from the anarchist, Shekau,’’ it said.

 APC said the fact that the ‘release our girls Boko Haram’ hooligans who invaded the Unity Fountain gathering of the ‘bring back our girls’ protesters allegedly came in SURE-P buses and were not restrained by the police, even when letters had been written to the security agency alerting it to the attack, had shown that they enjoyed some protection from the authorities and were being sponsored to harass the decent and focused protesters who had helped call global attention to the plight of the innocent girls.

“This obnoxious campaign to shift the responsibility for the safety and security of the girls from the government to the terrorists started with the sponsored protests to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja and has continued with the depressing attacks on a women-led group by a band of paid ruffians,’’ the party said.

 It urged the government to focus its energy on how to bring back the girls safely, more than one-and-a-half months into their abduction, warning that the entire people of Nigeria as well as the international community would definitely frown upon the government’s tactics to confuse the issues. The party called on the president to publicly condemn the attack on the peaceful protesters and order the police to provide round-the-clock security for them, failing which it would be safe to assume that the attackers had his blessings.