# Industry uses for honey?



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

The wife and I were trying to figure out where does all the honey go and for what. Most people don't eat a lot of honey by itself and as a commercial sweetener there are plenty of cheaper sweeteners than can be used so why do the big consumers use honey? It all can't go into Honey Nut Cheerios. I wouldn't doubt that there is but a spec of honey in that formula in the first place.


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## weavefish (Sep 24, 2011)

i could see a big demand in the bakerys... who doesnt love bread with a touch of honey in it.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Of course my wife bakes every loaf of bread we eat but Nabisco, Keebler, Sunbeam, Millbrook, Cisco, Freihofer etc.? A spit in the ocean goes to Subway. Where can you find millions of pounds of honey in food that you find in WalMart?


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## weavefish (Sep 24, 2011)

well i was thinking more along the lines of your local bakery... aslo ibet mirco breweries use a lot of honey. when i use honey in my brews its usually 4-7 pounds for a 5gal batch.


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## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

Restaurateurs often refer to their business as an,.."industry". 

_>"Jay Keller, chef-forager for Bon Appetit Management’s operations at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., reeled off several sourcing suggestions that had his fellow panelist-foragers nodding their heads in recognition." > _National Restaurant Association. 


_• Bee clubs, or associations of beekeeping enthusiasts. Keller explained that beekeeping has become a popular hobby in many areas of the country, and many of the hive keepers produce more honey than they can use. Buying from a bee club could allow a foodservice establishment to feature local honey year-round." > _http://www.restaurant.org/nra_news_blog/2011/05/foraging-for-local-sources.cfm

Makers of good quallity barbecue sauces use honey.


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## tommyt (Aug 7, 2010)

hers some new & old 
15 Unconventional Uses for Honey
by Paul - All Posts By This Author 

http://lifehackery.com/2009/02/02/15-unconventional-uses-for-honey/

I think that the Health/Beauty business's use a good amount

Look at Burts Bees


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

By and large I 'spect' the biggest industrial users of honey (IMHO) are outfits like the Keebler Elves etc. who incorporate a lot of honey into cookies and other pastries. I understand they don't use honey for its sweeting powers, but simply because of honey's ability to attract or hold onto moisture. Buy hoarding moisture honey increases the shelf life of the final product or keeps it chewy. I hope this small factoid won't cause some of us to burn our hives


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Scrapfe said:


> Buy hoarding moisture honey increases the shelf life of the final product or keeps it chewy. I hope this small factoid won't cause some of us to burn our hives


This makes sense but I suspect there are a host of chemicals that will do that, maybe better, if not cheaper then honey. It sure as heck isn't local bakeries, micro breweries and earthy people causing the demand.


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## weavefish (Sep 24, 2011)

i still say the adult beverage industry


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Turkeys! Honey Butter Ball Turkeys. Millions of turkey are produced and processed here. They use Tons of honey.... How do I know... well I get the recycled honey buckets. Strange that the processors don't receive their honey in barrels... but they don't.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

Acebird said:


> ... I suspect there are a host of chemicals that will do that...


Yes, brown sugar will create a tender crumb, but brown sugar is hard to ship, difficult to store, and a bear to handle, and dispense (accurately measure) in large amounts, besides brown sugar affects the final color and flavor of the finished product.

Then there is the old stand by molasses, it is easy to ship, easy to store and easy to dispense. Molasses however has a stronger taste than either brown sugar or honey and the molasses taste will likely be the only flavor to remain in the finished product.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Just surfing and found this:

http://www.honey.com/nhb/technical/market-research/

Honey IQ Survey for Foodservice Professionals - 2010
Honey usage is growing among foodservice operators, according to a survey conducted by Technomic, Inc. on behalf of the National Honey Board. More than one in five Honey Trends Survey respondents (21 percent) expect to use more honey in 2011, and a resounding 99 percent expect to use as much or more honey next year as in 2010. New menu items (34 percent) and greater demand (22 percent) were cited as key factors for honey’s growing usage.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

It's called "Honey Nut Cheerios" not Molasses Nut Cheerios, Or HFCS Nut Cheerios. Alot of the appeal is in the name "Honey", not in it's chemical contributions. They are trading on our good name of Honey to increase sales, but often honey is far down on the list ingredients, below sucrose(sugar) and HFCS. 

I have often wondered why the Honey Board did not try to ratchet in a requirement that first 20 percent, then 30 percent, then 40 percent, etc. of the sweeteners are honey to have the name "Honey" on the label.

HPM.... The use of pails instead of drums is usually because the recipe calls for an integer number of pails, so the honey will not have to be weighed out of the barrel, just dump in the correct number of pails. 

Crazy Roland


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Roland said:


> HPM.... The use of pails instead of drums is usually because the recipe calls for an integer number of pails, so the honey will not have to be weighed out of the barrel, just dump in the correct number of pails.
> 
> Crazy Roland


I find that hard to believe. They are using pails either because they are not consuming very much honey or they don't have the equipment to handle 55 gal drums. I would guess that drums of honey are cheaper especially if they are recyclable. Material handling equipment is not cheap though so you need the volume to justify the equipment.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

You all seem to think that a bakery needs a 50 inch pipe line to keep it supplied with enough honey to bake a batch of cookies. If you watch TV you would know that the Keebler cookie factory is located inside a hollow tree.  A hollow tree is also more likely to have its own on sight honey factory.  At any rate cookies are baked in a bakery and not in an oil refinery, so a bakery’s need for a tanker ship full of honey every two days is small to non existent. 

I am of an age to remember when motor oil was sold in cases each containing 24 quarts, with a shipping weight of 59 pounds. Both sugar and feed oats could be bought anywhere in 100 pound sacks. The list of decreased sized containers goes on and on, mostly in response to the feminist movement. In other words this was before government regulations made necessary a massive increase in the amount of packaging cardboard or sacking material needed for motor oil, refined sugar, and feed oats. And what is one thing people gripe about today, :scratch: why the waste involved in packaging, what else!?!?!? Oh well, some folks would be unhappy if you hung them with a new rope. Besides pails make it easier for management to monitor the mixing line and make sure every batch has the amount of honey the recipe calls for. Also when switching recipes there are no adjustments needed to metering devices when using pails and less of a chance for mix ups or mistakes.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

General Mills and Kellog's are probably the biggest users of honey in the USA. But Ace you would be surprised to find a lot of honey goes into your favorite Brats, Hotdogs, smoked sausages, luncheon meats. They are not adding it for just the flavor but as mentioned earlier, it keeps food items moist by holding in the moisture. It retards bacterial growth also in the same foods. Then there are the barbacue sauces and salsa's made with honey. This is a pretty good thread you have started and it will be interesting to how many applications honey is used in. There is honey ice cream and honey greek yogarts.......Honey is also being used in surgery now...You should start another thread about how many different uses beeswax has. That one really will surprise you. TED


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

Scrapfe, The Keebler elves have their honey shipped in by tanker truck from which it is off loaded into the hollow tree. Where they store all that honey in the tree is beyond me. Little Debbie bakery in Mcghee, Tennessee does the same thing-off load from a tanker truck-not into a tree. Smaller bakeries have honey delivered by 3000 pound plastic tote. TED


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

Glad to hear it, Ted.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Ted Kretschmann said:


> Smaller bakeries have honey delivered by 3000 pound plastic tote. TED


And Dundees' Honey Brown Ale gets its' honey delivered hot from a supplier w/in driving distance of the plant. A 250 gallon tote at a time.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

Y'all don't forget now that legend says that in order to retard spoilage Alexander the Great was buried in a coffin filled with honey.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

I think I will look at the food items posted in post 16 a little different, now that Scrapfe has hit us with that historical tidbit.TED


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Scrapfe said:


> Besides pails make it easier for management to monitor the mixing line and make sure every batch has the amount of honey the recipe calls for. Also when switching recipes there are no adjustments needed to metering devices when using pails and less of a chance for mix ups or mistakes.


Oh wow! Don't say that in public. You really need help with this one.

High tech vs. low tech is a matter of choice for a manufacturer. If a company stays low tech then those jobs are likely to be replaced by off shore workers. That is the first step, the jobs, then the products and shortly after the company.
Keep in mind somewhere the pails are being filled and I can't imagine that they are doing it with a ladle. If they are your recipes are way off. The easiest way to cheat is to package in a smaller package.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Acebird - I can remember in the past filling pails on a scale to a requested weight, that matched the recipe, for example 50 lbs in a pail that could hold 60 lbs, just so the operator in the bakery did not have to measure.

Don't forget honey mustard.

Crazy Roland


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

The point is somebody or some thing had to measure and it is that measure that is affecting your accuracy not the use of pails. What you did is effectively separate critical tasks from non critical tasks which is a good plan.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Acebird- please reread you post 14, and then my reply in 23.
This is not that difficult.

Crazy Roland


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Roland said:


> I have often wondered why the Honey Board did not try to ratchet in a requirement that first 20 percent, then 30 percent, then 40 percent, etc. of the sweeteners are honey to have the name "Honey" on the label.
> 
> Crazy Roland


 You may recall that the NHB did have a logo that they would allow certain products to display that indicated that the product met or exceeded a minimum honey content. Not a lot of products qualified and the program was eventually dropped. Kind of puzzling to me as it seemed like a pretty good concept to me. Dosent seem right to me that products that have honey in their name and use images of honey often use more corn syrup than honey in their formulations.

Yo


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

So how do you get on the Honey Board? My father was.

Crazy Roland


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Roland said:


> So how do you get on the Honey Board? My father was.
> 
> Crazy Roland


I don't have a clue now, but when there was a NHB I think you just needed to first buy drinks for some members of the nominating committee, then buy a round for the house before the election.


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