Diastase
Lexikon
Diastase is an enzyme that the bees add to the honey during processing and that can break down starch-like carbohydrates.
Diastase is an enzyme that the bees add to the honey during processing and that can break down starch-like carbohydrates. It matters for honey analysis mainly because it is damaged by heat and long storage, so that a low value can indicate excessive heating or unsuitable storage. The so-called diastase number according to Schade indicates how active this enzyme still is in the honey.
The Honey Ordinance legally requires a diastase number of at least 8; for honey varieties with a naturally low enzyme content, at least 3 is sufficient. The German Beekeepers' Association deliberately does not set its own, stricter diastase value in its trademark rules, because measuring invertase activity and HMF content indicates the effects of heat and storage more sensitively than the diastase number. The guidelines for honey do not set a separate value either, so that for diastase the requirement of the Honey Ordinance always applies in the end.
In practice, diastase is measured on its own less often than HMF or invertase, because it reacts less sensitively and is therefore less meaningful for assessing gentle handling. A common misconception is to equate the diastase number with the ripeness of a honey; in fact it says something mainly about heat exposure after the harvest and is naturally low in some varieties such as rapeseed honey or acacia honey anyway, without this being a quality defect.