Some physico-chemical and sensory properties of heat treated commercial pine and blossom honey

In this paper, the effects of heat treatment on some physicochemical characteristics (brix, pH, colour, hydroxyl methyl furfural (HMF)) and sensory properties (consistency, odour, colour, flavour) of pine and blossom honey samples were determined. Heating temperature and time were found to have important effects, especially on HMF content of the samples. Heat treatment had not been significantly effective not only on the pH and brix values of honey samples but also on the sensory characteristics of the pine honeys but effective on the blossom honey. Unheated honey samples had higher L*values than those of the heated samples, indicating their lighter colour. Both types of honey samples showed lower a*values when the temperature was increased. Heat treatment time did not significantly affect b*values of pine honey samples. Heat treated blossom honey samples showed lower b*values than the unheated samples.