Frequently asked Questions

Honey is the dense, durable and nutritious food that bees make by processing the nectar collected from flowers with various enzymes secreted from their bodies.

A honeybee colony is comprised of tens of thousands of worker bees, hundreds of male bees, and one queen bee.

The worker bees deposit the honey they bring to the hive into empty honeycomb cells, before leaving the hive again to gather more nectar. Worker bees in the hive then carry the honey deposited in the comb cells to the honeycomb in the honey chamber. The bees ripen the half-matured honey by evaporating the moisture out of it using their wings. The bees then seal the honeycomb cells with beeswax secreted from their bodies. The honey is now ready.

Bees have to visit flowers 1,500 times in order to fill their craws once, and 180,000 times to produce 1 gram of honey. A bee colony must consume 8 kilograms of honey and fly the equivalent of 6 trips around the world in order to produce just one 1 kilogram of honey. All this bee activity provides an indispensible service to the circle of life.

Honey is procured from all seven of Turkey’s regions. However, honeys that come from a single type of flower (monoflora) are collected from certain regions at certain times of the year. For example, chestnut honey is produced primarily on the shores of the Black Sea and nearby regions, while pine honey comes from the Aegean region. Thrace is known for its sunflower honey, while citrus honey is particular to the Mediterranean coast. Honeys from a variety of flowers (polyflora) are harvested in almost every region, which include Inner Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, and Southern Anatolia.

Honeys are separated into different varieties by the manner in which they are harvested and by the sources they come from.

Honey falls into two categories depending on where the bees source the honey: flower honey and honeydew honey. Flower honey is the honey that bees make by collecting nectar from flowers. Flower honey makes up the bulk of honey produced in the world. Honeydew honey is the honey that bees produce from insect secretions deposited on plants. Pine honey, which is indigenous to Turkey, is the most well known type of honeydew honey, and Turkey is the world’s leader in pine honey production. Pine honey makes up a significant share of honey exports.

Pine honey comes from honeydew, a sugary liquid that the Marchalina Hellenica insect cannot digest. The insect leaves the secretion on pine trees. The bees collect the honeydew and add enzymes they secrete themselves to turn it into pine honey.

Pine honey is produced in Muğla, Marmaris, Aydın, Kuşadası, Çanakkale, and neighboring areas, as the Marchalina Hellenica insect only lives in these regions.

Pine honey can be stored for a longer period of time without losing its consistency. Pine honey is darker in color than flower honey, and has an aroma, taste, and color all its own. It also has a lower glucose and fructose content, making it less sweet. Pine honey contains higher levels of enzymes, amino acids and minerals than flower honey, as well as more pollen.

Creamed honey is a spreadable honey made through a controlled crystallization process.

Unnatural honey is honey produced by bees that fed on sugar syrup instead of flower nectar. Products produced in this manner do not contain the natural nectar of flowers, and cannot be marketed under the name honey.

Counterfeit honey is a product made by adding flavors and colors to sugar syrup. These products share nothing in common with honey, and must be labeled as such

Authentic honey comes directly from nature. It is made by bees from the nectar of flowers.

The only way to determine that a honey is authentic is by analyzing it. You cannot tell if honey has been manipulated by its taste, smell, appearance or price. Only experienced experts in a laboratory with advanced technology can ensure that the honey is natural.

The belief that comb honey is healthy is false. Honeycomb is made by melting down and blending factory-made foundation comb collected from various beekeepers, which is then pressed into shape by a machine. During the blending process, residues of medications that beekeepers use can contaminate the comb, and extraneous matter such as paraffin, ceresin, resin and tallow may have been incorporated into the comb during the manufacturing process. Therefore, from a health perspective, comb honey is not fit for human consumption.

Pure and natural honeys may crystallize over time, especially during the winter months. This is a rather natural process. Crystallization is not a sign that the honey has spoiled or that it has been manipulated. Though crystallized honey is fine to eat, you can restore honey using a double boiler.

The main factors that affect crystallization are the type of flowers the honey comes from, the amount of air bubbles, pollen and other particulates in the honey, and the humidity and temperature of where the honey is stored.

Fermentation occurs when the yeast in honey use the honey’s carbohydrates as an energy source to reproduce. The fermentation process creates many compounds that can affect the honey’s aroma and taste. Fermentation is not seen in honey produced under proper conditions.

Honey is a natural alternative to table sugar. It is more digestible and healthy, as the majority of the sugars in honey are used directly without the body having to break them down.

Honey’s rich content and naturalness make it a better alternative to sugar. Used in salad dressing and barbecue sauce, honey imparts a delicious flavor and aroma. You can also use honey to sweeten tea, coffee, milk, and other beverages. Since the structure of honey changes when subjected to heat for an extended period, be sure to consume honey-sweetened hot beverages within a short period of time.

The careless application of medicines and other chemicals used fight bee illnesses and pests causes residues to be found in bee products. Balparmak detects any residue that may be in the honey using advanced laboratory analyses, and makes sure that contaminated honey does not reach the consumer.

The honeys Balparmak offers are blends of honeys collected from Turkey’s seven regions. As in all natural products, differences can occur in Balparmak products, especially in years when honey cannot be procured from certain regions.

Honey should not be given to children younger than 1 year of age, as their intestinal microflora are not yet sufficiently developed.

Diabetes patients are recommended to consult a medical specialist regarding honey consumption.

Honey contains a variety of amino acids and enzymes, as well as vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid, and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc. Honey is also a good source of simple carbohydrates, with a tablespoon providing 64 calories of energy. Honey aids in digestion and increases nutrient absorption in the body.

When buying honey, you should select brands whose reliability is proven. These brands should employ an experienced team of honey specialists, and should package their honey in hygienic conditions. The product label should clearly display the identifying information of both the company and product, such as company name, address, telephone number, and business identification number, along with batch number, date of packaging, and recommended sell-by date. The product cap should also have a safety seal.

A teaspoon of honey (7.1 g) contains approximately 21 kcal.

Producers can only suggest a recommended sale price to retailers, and the Competition Board prohibits any interference with pricing polices. Retailers determine the shelf price by creating a pricing policy that takes into consideration the purchase price, along with the inventory situation, rate of sale, profit expectation, and the cost and finance structure.

The primary nutritional components of honey are carbohydrates, along with fructose and glucose sugars. Our bodies can readily use these sugars, which form the natural structure of honey, without having to break them down

As bee products can trigger allergic reactions in people with bee allergies, asthma, or high allergy risk, such people should not consume bee products.

Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers should consult a doctor before using Apitera products.

Diabetes patients should consult a doctor before using Balparmak Apitera products, which contain royal jelly, pollen, and propolis, not to mention honey.

Cancer patients should consult a doctor before using Apitera products, as there are different kinds of cancers.

You can consume Balparmak Apitera products with a metal or wooden spoon.

Balparmak Apitera products should be consumed in the morning on an empty stomach a half hour before breakfast in order to maximize the benefits of the products’ nutritional properties. In order to see the effects of the product, we recommend that you consume the product regularly for 4-6 weeks.

You can consume the recommended daily usage amount of Balparmak Apitera products mixed into milk or water provided that the beverages are not hot.

Balparmak Apitera products are sold to consumers from special refrigerated cases. To maximize the benefits of the products’ nutritional properties, you should store them in the refrigerator away from heat and light, and consume them within 6 months after opening. These products have a refrigerated shelf life of 24 months.

There is no disadvantage to consuming the nutrient-rich Apitera Series products in the recommended daily usage amounts.