Coffees, Teas & Aromatics
Orange Blossom Honey
Orange blossom honey is a pale, citrus-scented monofloral honey from Citrus spp. bloom. In gelato it acts as a highly anti-freezing invert-sugar sweetener that adds floral aroma, softness, and body.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 82.5% |
| Water | 17.5% |
| Sugars | 80% |
| Fat | 0% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 0.3% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 93 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 144 |
Typical use: 3-8% of the total mix (as a partial replacement for sucrose)
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Honey is essentially inverted sugar: near-equal fructose and glucose give it a high anti-freezing power (PAC around 144, versus 100 for sucrose) and a sweetening power just under table sugar (POD around 93). Replacing part of the sucrose with orange blossom honey therefore lowers the serving temperature and yields a softer, more scoopable, chewier texture while contributing its distinctive floral-citrus aroma. Because its PAC is high, use it as a partial sugar swap only, and reduce other high-PAC sugars (dextrose, invert) to keep the mix from becoming too soft. Its numbers are essentially those of any other blossom honey in this library, all between PAC 139 and 144, so choose it for the citrus aroma rather than for a different balance. Its flavor is assertive, so dose to taste.
Origin & background
Orange blossom honey is produced where bees forage citrus groves, historically in the Mediterranean (Spain, Italy) and Florida. European honey regulations grant citrus honeys an exception to the general sucrose limit, allowing up to about 10% sucrose, because Citrus nectar is naturally higher in sucrose than most floral sources (Serrano et al., Food Chemistry).
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169640/nutrients (USDA FoodData Central, Honey)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814604000780 (Serrano et al., Chemical and physical parameters of Andalusian honey: classification of Citrus and Eucalyptus honeys, Food Chemistry)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51485289 (Volatile fraction composition and physicochemical parameters for differentiation of lemon and orange blossom honey)
- Persano Oddo L. and Piro R., 'Main European unifloral honeys: descriptive sheets', Apidologie 35 (Suppl. 1) 2004, International Honey Commission sheet for Citrus, 299 samples: water 16.6, fructose 38.7, glucose 31.4, sucrose 1.2 g per 100 g, fructose/glucose ratio 1.24: https://www.ihc-platform.net/descriptivesheets.pdf
- USDA, 'Beekeeping in the United States', Agriculture Handbook 335, table 2, 'Orange, Florida' (13 samples) and 'Orange, California' (4 samples), with maltose and higher sugars measured, the independent check on the IHC sheet: https://sites.evergreen.edu/terroir-spring/wp-content/uploads/sites/186/2016/03/Honey-Composition-and-Properties.pdf
- Dairy Science and Food Technology, 'Ice cream hardness': the freezing point depression factor is the molecular weight of sucrose divided by that of the solute, which puts fructose and glucose at 190 and maltose at 100 on a dry basis: https://www.dairyscience.info/cheese-dairy/ice-cream/228-ice-cream-hardness.html