On Food and Cooking

evaporation and the continuing work of bee
enzymes. One important enzyme converts the
sucrose almost entirely to glucose and
fructose, because a mixture of single-unit
sugars is more soluble in water than the
equivalent amount of its parent sucrose, and
so can be more highly concentrated without
crystallizing. Another enzyme oxidizes some
glucose to form gluconic acid and peroxides.
Gluconic acid lowers the honey’s pH to about
3.9 and makes it less hospitable to microbes,
and the peroxides also act as an antiseptic. In
addition to these and other enzyme activities,
the various components of ripening honey
react with each other and cause gradual
changes in color and flavor. Hundreds of
different substances have been identified in
honey, including more than 20 different
sugars, savory amino acids, and a variety of
antioxidant phenolic compounds and
enzymes.