Effect of honey addition on physical properties, oxidative stability, and digestibility of margarine.

The present study investigated the effect of adding honey on the physicochemical properties, oxidative stability, lipid digestion, and price of margarine produced on a pilot scale. The margarine containing honey (MH) was compared to a control commercial margarine (MC). Honey addition modified margarine color, pH, humidity, and solid fat content, which, however, were within the ranges set for margarine standards. MH also showed higher elastic modulus (G)' values than MC, which, however, did not impair margarine spreadability. Polarized light microstructural analysis showed that honey addition increased crystal dimension. Under accelerated storage conditions (45 and 60 °C for up to 90 days), the oxidative stability of MH was significantly higher than that of MC. In addition, the presence of honey improved the efficiency of lipid digestion (66 %) compared to that of MC (54 %). Despite the higher price of MH (3.20 €/kg) than that of MC (2.75 €/kg), honey presents high potential application prospects in margarine, driven by its ability to increase product oxidative stability and to modulate lipid digestibility.