Solid honey product and method of producing the same

Abstract

A method of producing a solid honey product from natural honey is disclosed. The method comprises dehydrating natural honey by heating the honey up to a temperature between 50-70° C. in a closed container under an air pressure of 0.001-0.2 bar, wherein the temperature is selected so that it exceeds the boiling point of the water at the applied air pressure, and by removing the generated steam from the closed container, wherein the step of dehydration is carried out until the moisture content of the honey decreases to 1-5% w/w; shaping the dehydrated honey; and cooling down the shaped honey to ambient temperature and thereby solidifying it. A solid honey product produced by the method consists essentially of honey and having a moisture content within a range of 1-5% w/w.

Claims

1. A method of producing a solid honey product from natural honey, the method comprising: dehydrating natural honey by heating the honey up to a temperature between 50-70° C. in a closed container under an air pressure of 0.001-0.2 bar, wherein the temperature is selected so that it exceeds the boiling point of the water at the applied air pressure, and by removing the generated steam from the closed container, wherein the step of dehydration is carried out until the moisture content of the honey decreases to 1-5% w/w; shaping the dehydrated honey; and cooling down the shaped honey to ambient temperature and thereby solidifying it.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of dehydration, temperature is maintained below 60° C.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of dehydration is carried out at a temperature of ca. 50° C. and at a pressure of ca. 0.001-0.01 bar.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of dehydration further comprises continuously stirring honey in the closed container.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of dehydration is carried out in two phases, wherein in a first phase, reducing the moisture content of honey to 5-10% w/w in a first container at a first vacuum pressure and a first temperature, feeding the honey of reduced moisture content from the first container into a second container; and in a second phase, further reducing the moisture content of the honey to 1-5% w/w in the second container at a second vacuum pressure and a second temperature.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the step of dehydration, the method further comprising: adding one or more additives to the dehydrated honey, wherein the additive has a solid state or liquid state and is in the form of powder, mill product, or a material solved in water, alcohol or oil.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the additive is selected from the group of natural or artificial flavor, colorant, vitamin, nutritional supplement, herbal extract, pharmaceutical active agent, other plant derivative or plant extract.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein additive is an extract of a plant belonging to the family of cannabis (Cannabaceae) and any genus thereof, in particular a plant belonging to the genus Cannabis and Humulus, more particularly a composition containing cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC).

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of providing the solidified and shaped honey with moisture protection, wherein the solid shaped honey is covered with a sugar powder or tropicalized.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of packaging the solid shaped honey, preferably in blister pack or pillow pack.

11. A solid honey product consisting essentially of honey and having a moisture content within a range of 1-5% w/w.

12. The solid honey product according to claim 11, further comprising one or more additives selected from the group of natural or artificial flavor, colorant, vitamin, nutritional supplement, herbal extract and pharmaceutical active agent.

13. The solid honey product according to claim 12, wherein additive is an extract of a plant belonging to the family of cannabis (Cannabaceae) and any genus thereof, in particular a plant belonging to the genus Cannabis and Humulus, more particularly a composition containing cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC).

Description

[0046] The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which

[0047] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the main steps of the method according to the invention.

[0048] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the main steps of a preferred embodiment the method according to the invention.

[0049] As FIG. 1 shows, in a first step 100 of the method according to the present invention, natural honey is dehydrated. In one embodiment of the method, honey is filled into an air-tightly sealed container, a so-called reaction chamber, in which vacuum can be generated. The inner space of the reaction chamber is heated to at least 50° C., but at most 70° C., while in the reaction chamber a pressure of at least 0.001 bar (0.76 mmHg), but at most 0.2 bar (152 mmHg) is continuously maintained. Since at a pressure of 0.2 bar the boiling point of the water is somewhat lower than 60° C., the temperature of the water is above its boiling point at this specific temperature and pressure, so water tends to boil and evaporate from the honey. By reducing the pressure in the reaction chamber, the temperature may also be reduced. The temperature and the pressure of the reaction chamber is regulated so that at a particular pressure, the temperature be above the boiling point of the water.

[0050] In another embodiment of the present invention, the step 100 of dehydration comprises heating the reaction chamber up to the dehydration temperature, i.e. to 50-70° C., and the pressure is set to at most 0.1 bar. Then honey, which has priorly been heated to approximately 40° C., is injected into the reaction chamber through one or more nozzles of small diameter (max. 2 mm). Due to the difference between the ambient pressure and the pressure prevailing in the reaction chamber, the pre-heated honey flows into the reaction chamber through the nozzles. During injection, the pressure of the reaction chamber is to be maintained at a fixed level. Upon termination of the injection process, the nozzles are to be closed. The injected honey may be either pre-treated (e.g. filtered, pasteurized, etc.) or untreated. Due this technique, dehydration may be significantly faster and much more efficient.

[0051] During the dehydration process, the steam is removed from the reaction chamber through an evacuation outlet into a condenser arranged between the reaction chamber and a vacuum pump. The steam will then precipitate in the condenser. If the temperature of the lamellas of the condenser is maintained below 3° C., the steam evacuation will be quite efficient. Dehydration is stopped when the moisture content of the honey decreases into a range of 1-5% (w/w).

[0052] Increasing the efficiency of dehydration is important in order to protect the honey components. Although it would be a promising option to increase the temperature of the honey above 70° C. in order to accelerate evaporation, this technique would lead to a reduction in the amount of those honey components that substantially contribute to the beneficial effects of honey (e.g. flavonoids, proline, polyphenols, etc.), to the generation of certain undesired substances (e.g. hydroxymethylfurfural) or a significant increase in the amount thereof, and to provide an unfavorable effect to the structure of the sugars present in the honey. Consequently, it is preferred to keep the temperature at the lowest possible level, at a maximum of 70° C., preferably below 60° C. By reducing the temperature along with increasing the vacuum, the process of dehydration may be accelerated. It is preferred to decrease the pressure close to 0.001 bar because in this case it is enough to heat the reaction chamber only to approximately 50° C.

[0053] The duration of dehydration may be significantly reduced by increasing the surface-to-volume ratio of the honey placed in the reaction chamber, and also by continuously stirring the heated honey inside the low-pressure reaction chamber. In addition to the evaporation surface and the temperature of the honey, as well as the speed and efficiency of stirring, the particular content of the honey (which depends on the type of the honey, the characteristics of the collection area, the season, the weather, etc.) also influences the speed of dehydration, so it is difficult to provide an exact calculation model for it. The optimal values of the parameters should be determined by one skilled in the art through experiments.

[0054] Stirring has a double function. By using a stirring blade with an appropriate shape, the steam bubbles that are generated in the honey during the dehydration process are facilitated to get to the surface of honey and to exit. Furthermore, the stirring blade plays an important role in quickly, efficiently and homogenously introducing the active ingredients into the dehydrated honey at the end of the dehydration process.

[0055] The dehydration process can be regarded as finished when the honey in the reaction chamber is ready for further processing.

[0056] Once the desired moisture content of 1-5% (w/w) has been reached, the dehydrated honey produced in the reaction chamber is shaped in a next step 110. Shaping may be carried out by the above-mentioned casting or pressing process.

[0057] In case of casting, the dehydrated but yet plastic honey is cast into molds, and in step 115, it is cooled down to ambient temperature (ca. 20-22° C.). In the step of cooling, honey is preferably allowed to cool down by itself. At the above specified moisture content, the dehydrated honey transits into a material that is solid and crystal at ambient pressure and temperature.

[0058] In case of pressing, the dehydrated plastic honey is pressed into the desired shape by means of rollers, and in step 115, like after casting, it is cooled down to ambient temperature (ca. 20-22° C.).

[0059] In a further optional step 120, the shaped solid honey products are preferably provided with moisture protection (e.g. covering with sugar powder or tropicalization), and upon demand, in step 125, they may be packaged according to the intended use (e.g. blister packing, pillow packing).

[0060] The speed of the above introduced manufacturing process may be further increased by performing the dehydration process continuously, instead of performing it intermittently. In the intermittent mode, the dehydration process is to be stopped periodically because of the need of discharging the reactor (i.e. drawing off the dehydrated honey), so the processing of the molten honey cannot be continuous. This problem is eliminated by a preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, wherein the dehydration process is carried out in two phases. The main steps of this embodiment of the method are illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0061] In a first step 200, the natural honey is introduced into a first reaction chamber, (i.e. a closed container), where in a first phase, pre-dehydration is performed for reducing the moisture content of honey to a pre-determined intermediate value, typically to 5-10% (w/w) at a first vacuum pressure p.sub.1 and a first temperature T.sub.1. The honey of reduced moisture content is then fed from the first reaction chamber into a second reaction chamber (i.e. a closed container) where in a step 202, the dehydration process is continued at a second vacuum pressure p.sub.2 and a second temperature T.sub.2, which are different from the first pressure p.sub.1 and the first temperature T.sub.1, respectively, until the final desired moisture content of 1-5% (w/w) is reached. Since the dehydration process is not linear and different external conditions (pressure, temperature, evaporation surface, stirring speed, etc.) are optimal along different sections of the dehydration curve, dehydration can be further accelerated due to this two-phase process while preserving the useful enzymes present in the honey. By appropriate dimensioning of the reaction chambers and optionally interposing a buffer unit therebetween, feeding the base material (i.e. natural honey) into the system and drawing off the dehydrated honey having the desired moisture content may be performed continuously, thereby providing an optimal speed for the subsequent shaping and packaging processes.

[0062] After completing the above described two-phase dehydration process, the method proceeds in a known way, that is, in step 210 the dehydrated honey is shaped, and in step 215 the shaped honey is cooled down and solidified. If necessary, in a further step 220, the shaped and solid honey product may be provided with moisture protection.

[0063] After dehydration, the dehydrated honey becomes a material with a somewhat higher melting point, which is typically 40° C. The melting point of the dehydrated honey strongly depends on the components of the honey. Accordingly, at a higher temperature the molten honey is suitable for adding other components to the dehydrated honey.

[0064] In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention, after the step of dehydration, in a further step 105, one or more materials selected from the following group may, for example, be added to the molten honey once the vacuum is eliminated in the reaction chamber: natural or artificial flavors, colorants, vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbal extracts, pharmaceutical active agents, coffee or tea extracts, fungus extracts, etc. The additives may include any kind of natural or artificial materials that do not block crystallization of the molten honey at lower temperatures. The additives may include water-soluble, alcohol-soluble or oil-soluble, natural or artificial components, and they may be in the form of dry powder, mill product or liquid. Since after dehydration viscosity of the dehydrated honey is very high, it is also possible to add an additive that can exert a desired effect, during permanent stirring, in the form of homogenous particles having small droplet size or small grain size.

[0065] Due to its unique characteristics, honey is particularly suitable for administering certain active agents into the human body. Recently, rapid development has been experienced about the use of extracts made from cannabis (Cannabaceae), in particular, the species of the genus Cannabis (Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, Cannabis ruderalis, Cannabis spontanea) and the species of the genus Humulus, as well as certain active agents extracted therefrom and their respective synthetic variants. A high demand has arisen for administering cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) using a honey product. These extracts and active agents are currently consumed mostly in the form of oils, which has a number of drawbacks. First of all, the transportation of such products (typically in small bottles), the dispensing thereof (typically by means of a pipette) and their administration into a patient's mouth (typically through dropping into the mouth using a pipette) are inconvenient and unprecise, thereby limiting the consumability of these materials. Administering the afore-mentioned active agents in a honey pastille allows precise dosing and, as a further advantage, the taste of the honey and the natural flavors mixed to the honey (e.g. herbs, of fruit juice concentrates) can compensate the often unpleasant taste of such pharmaceutical extracts in many cases, or they may assist to achieve a rapid and intensive absorption of the active agents, even with multiple efficiency with respect to the active agents solved in oil. The honey pastille is also suitable for administering active agents that are dissolvable in a number of other materials (e.g. oil, water, ethyl-alcohol, etc.). Due to the method according to the invention, the above-mentioned active agents can be added to the honey product in a way that the production loss can be kept at a low level while the amount of the active agents added to the honey product hardly changes.

[0066] After mixing the pre-determined components, the molten honey containing the additives is shaped in way as described above, and the step of moisture protection and the step of packaging are carried out upon demand.

[0067] In case of continuous production, mixing the active agents to the honey is preferably to be carried out after the dehydration process, in a special purpose, intermediary bowl. This allows for the honey to be subject to dehydration without containing additives, and the active agents can be added, before the shaping step, in the desired concentration to the dehydrated honey of appropriate amount, without disrupting the dehydration process.

[0068] The method according to the present invention allows the production of a solid honey product that has a moisture content of 1-5% (w/w). The honey product may consist only of honey (100% honey content), or it may contain additives as well. The one or more additives may include natural or artificial flavors, colorants, vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbal extracts or pharmaceutical active agents. It is particularly preferred that the solid honey product contains an extract of Cannabis, for example a composition containing cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC).

[0069] The solid honey product according to the present invention may be used in many fields and ways that have not been available so far, including without limitation: [0070] the honey product in itself (without flavoring) as a natural confectionery (candy) [0071] flavored confectionery (flavored, for example, by fruit concentrates, herbs or spices, coffee extract, tea extract, etc.) [0072] nutritional supplements with vitamins or herbs [0073] sugar substitutes as natural sweeteners [0074] confectionary base ingredients that have not been known or used before [0075] base ingredients of sweets industry that have not been known or used before [0076] a substance used to introduce a pharmaceutical active agent into the body.

[0077] The solid honey products made by the method according to the invention may be produced from the dehydrated honey in numerous various forms, such as [0078] pastille [0079] hard candy [0080] lollipop [0081] coarse-grained mill product [0082] fine-grained mill product [0083] product with rod [0084] candy-like product

[0085] One of the most important advantages of the method according to the invention is that during production, enzyme activity of the honey decreases only to a limited extent, but not entirely, unlike the prior art production technologies wherein due to the heating above 90 C, enzyme activity of the honey decreases to such a low level that is practically zero (see Nikolett Czipa, “Comparative analysis of honeys of different origin and the effect of the production technology to the quality” (Ph.D Thesis, 2010, University of Debrecen, Hungary).

[0086] Due to the method according to the invention, an oil-soluble flavor or active agent can be introduced into the dehydrated honey even in a concentration of 5-20% (w/w) so that crystallization will take place, that is, the dehydrated honey product will be of solid state. The specific upper limit of concentration is determined by the components of the actually used honey and the effect of the oil-solved active agents to the crystallization. These parameters can be determined uniquely, in a way specific to the given product.

[0087] When other active agents are also added to the solid honey product and those are mixed into the dehydrated honey of relative low temperature (ca. 40-50 C) after the dehydration process, damaging of the added active agents may be minimized.