Sweeten the Summer – Experiments with Honey

Course Content:

Honey as a food and delicacy is something we take for granted. It can be quite cheap (around 5 euros per kg), but also extremely expensive (up to 350 euros per kg). Used as a sweetener but also as medicine. What’s behind it? What efforts do bees have to make to collect 1 kg of honey? What laws and regulations exist for the different types of honey? Which quality characteristics are important for honey and must be adhered to and checked? How important are bees and insects for the survival of humanity? This course contains these and many other facts about bees and honey.

Many different analytical methods must be applied to capture all the quality characteristics of honey. In the honey analysis conducted by participants in the workshop laboratory, the following parameters will be determined using appropriate measuring devices:

• Honey assessment (appearance, smell, and taste)

• pH value (test strips and pH meter)

• Water and sugar content (refractometer)

• Electrical conductivity (conductometer)

• HMF content (reflectometer)

• Pollen analysis (microscope)

Using the sensory values and measured data, participants can identify the given honey samples based on comparison values.

Instructors:

Dr. Thorsten Lange & Uta Strienitz (Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung, Leipzig)

When: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Where: Chemistry Teacher Training Center of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg at the Chair of Chemistry Education, Regensburger Str. 160, 90478 Nuremberg

Registration deadline: until  June 5, 2026

FIBS-Nummer: 419659

Target group: Teachers of chemistry, biology, and nutrition from all types of schools

Participation fee: A fee of 10 EURO applies, which must be paid cashless via epay.bayern.de by the day of the course at the latest.

Category: General