Honey Powder Research Articles

Whey protein and maltodextrin conjugated foam-mat dried honey powder: Functional, physicochemical, structural, rheological and thermal characterization

Honey in its natural form possesses considerable challenges in mass production and transportation owing to its viscosity and stickiness, making it prone to crystallization over time. Dried honey powder makes it convenient for handling and processing. In this study, foam mat dried powder (FMDP) was obtained by foam mat drying technique in which whey protein isolate (WPI) and maltodextrin (MD) were used as foaming agent and foam stabilizer, respectively. The obtained FMDP was characterized in terms of physical, chemical, functional, phytochemical, rheological and structural properties to study the impact of foaming agents. WPI was found to improve the functionality, stability and glass transition temperature and on the other hand, MD was found to enhance the stability, crystallinity and the color of the FMDP. FTIR helped in understanding the changes in the functional groups attributed to the foaming agents. The crystallinity and the microstructural changes in the FMDP were observed from X-ray diffractograms and SEM micrographs, respectively. The rheological characterization confirmed the viscous nature of honey. The study confirmed the interaction between proteins and polysaccharides, which subsequently improved the heat stability, functional properties, solubility, emulsifying capacity, antioxidant properties, and solubility. The dried honey samples demonstrated minimal caking, low cohesiveness (Hausner ratio: 1.16 ± 0.027–1.29 ± 0.041), good and fair flowability (ranging between 14.25 ± 2.02–22.52 ± 2.25). Therefore, it can be concluded that during this study, protein and polysaccharide conjugate FMDP was obtained with better quality attributes, which can be further incorporated during various product development in food industries.

Microencapsulation of honey as flavouring agent in milk powder

Honey is a natural product commonly used in milk powder for flavoring purposes. Currently, honey flavor is added to milk powder in powder form. This study aimed to investigate the effect of spray drying operating conditions on the quantity and quality parameters of the honey powder recovered. The influence of inlet air temperatures, feed flow rates, and type of microencapsulating agents upon the properties of obtained powders was examined. Spray drying of honey with the addition of maltodextrin DE 18 and 12 was carried out at inlet air temperatures of 150, 170, 190℃ and feed flow rates of 330 and 660 mL/h. The properties of the powders obtained were quantified in terms of moisture content (MC), hygroscopicity (HG) and color. Results of experiments showed higher inlet air temperature and lower feed flow rate led to a significant increase (p<0.05) in powder recovery. The total powder recoveries found in this study were between 39.42±2.35% to 71.92±4.17%, which indicates that this process has the potential to be applied on an industrial scale. The decrease in DE of maltodextrin promoted a higher powder recovery. Furthermore, it was found that the browning index increased with the decreasing inlet air temperature and increasing feed flow rate.

Characterisation of vacuum dried honey-sugar powder as affected by drying temperature and sugar carrier ratio for further application in chocolate

The present work aimed to characterise oven-dried honey-sugar powders at vacuum temperatures (30 and 40°C) with dextrose, maltodextrin, and sucrose as the sugar carrier (incorporated at 50, 60, and 70%) for application in chocolate. Honey has high water content, and therefore, its direct use in chocolate will negatively affect the rheological properties of chocolate. Dextrose can produce a honey powder with the least heat degradation, hence maintaining the good health functionality of honey. Maltodextrin is the most common carrier used in honey-powder processing, while sucrose is the most common ingredient used in chocolate. The physical appearance and other physicochemical properties such as moisture content, hygroscopicity, glass transition temperature, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content, and diastase activity were assessed for characterisation. Results showed that the honey-sugar powder that was dried at 40°C with 70% sugar carrier exhibited better properties in terms of physical appearance, moisture content, and hygroscopicity, with the HMF content and diastase activity not significantly affected by both factors. Therefore, honey-sugar powders dried at 40°C with 70% sugar carrier incorporation could have further application in chocolate. The impact of honey-sugar powder on chocolate rheological properties and their functionality in promoting health benefits is crucial for their potential application in the future.

Atomization of Cocoa Honey Using Whey Protein Isolate to Produce a Dry Formulation with Improved Shelf Life for Industrial Application.

Cocoa honey, a by-product obtained during the processing of cocoa, is a juice rich in pectin, organic acids, minerals and phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties. Fresh cocoa honey is quickly fermented due to its high content of reducing sugars, such as fructose and glucose, which limits its shelf life. Currently, cocoa honey is only commercialized in frozen form, as logistical challenges prevent the wide distribution or export of this by-product for applications in the market of sweets, jellies, beverages, confectionery, and nutraceutical foods among others. Spray-drying technology is a viable prospect for the large-scale stabilization of products such as cocoa honey, with less heat exposure compared to other conventional drying methods. This work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of drying adjuvants for a rapid removal of the water present in cocoa honey via atomization, since this process minimizes the effects of glass transition temperature (Tg) related to materials with high sugar contents. Physical parameters such as the moisture content, hygroscopicity, particle size, and yield of the products obtained were determined. Cocoa honey presented 85.3 ± 0.20 g/100 g of moisture. The formulations successfully decreased moisture content, which was lower than 11.72 ± 0.08 g/100 g in the formulations. Water activity ranged between 0.1464 ± 0.0043 and 0.1562 ± 0.029, with no significant difference between the formulations. The hygroscopicity of cocoa honey powders ranged from 29.29 to 29.87 g of water/100 g of cocoa honey. The combination of 20% maltodextrin and 1% whey protein isolate (WPI) led to the best yield, resulting in a free-flowing powder as the final product. On the other hand, the formulation composed of maltodextrin and whey protein isolate in the ratio of 29:1, respectively, led to the most stable product, with less loss of phenolic compounds during the drying process (6.04%). Regarding particle diameter, 90% of the accumulated distribution did not exceed 57 μm. The greatest dispersion of particles occurs in the Ma20W10 formulation with a span of 2.72, inferring greater variation in size between small (7.01 ± 0.06 μm), medium (18.25 ± 0.37 μm), and large (56.65 ± 1.17 μm) particles. The use of whey protein isolate as an adjuvant proved to be an efficient drying process in the production of cocoa honey powder, and was also advantageous for enriching the nutritional content of the final product due to its protein origin. Furthermore, the combination of spray-drying technology and the use of whey protein isolate as adjuvant led to a free-flowing cocoa honey powder with an adequate particle size and benefits in terms of shelf-life extension, providing new opportunities for the commercialization of cocoa honey as an ingredient for the food industry, with benefits for the circular economy.

Characteristics of Honey Powder with Maltodextrin And Gum Arabic Addition Using Vacuum Foam-Drying Method

Honey powder is a solution to overcome the weakness of liquid honey. This study aims to determine the characteristics of the addition of maltodextrin and gum arabic as fillers and their ratio to produce the best honey powder characteristics in terms of water content, water activity (aw), hygroscopicity, reducing sugar content, solubility, and dissolving time. This study consisted of 6 treatment levels, namely Maltodextrin 1 (MD1) with a ratio of honey and filler of 2:1 and solid concentration of honey (% d.b) and filler (g) of 40:20, Maltodextrin 2 (MD2) with a ratio of honey and filler of 1:1 and solid concentration of honey (% d.b) and filler (g) of 40:20. b) and filler (g) 40:40, Maltodextrin 3 (MD3) with a ratio between honey and filler of 1:1 and solid concentration of honey (% d.b) and filler (g) 40:60, followed by Gum Arabic 1 (GA1), Gum Arabic 2 (GA2), and Gum Arabic 3 (GA3) which have the same ratio and concentration as the treatment using maltodextrin. In addition, commercial honey powder data was also included as a control (CHP). This study showed that the best moisture content was in MD3, with a value of 0.591%. Then, MD1 at 0.301% had the best result in water activity. In addition, the use of gum arabic has better hygroscopicity compared to maltodextrin. Meanwhile, the results showed that gum arabic gave high reducing sugar content in honey powder compared to the addition of maltodextrin; the more the addition of gum arabic, the higher the sugar content. The use of maltodextrin as a filler in honey powder provides better solubility compared to gum arabic. In addition, the reported addition of maltodextrin can reduce the dissolving time of food powders.

Antioxidant Capacity, Alpha Amylase Inhibition, and Calorie Value of Dark Chocolate Substituted with Honey Powder

The antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of honey have led to studies exploring using honey powder as a sugar substitute in chocolate innovation for its health benefits. In this study, sugar was substituted with 70% honey powder to evaluate the effect on the antioxidant, alpha-amylase inhibition, and calorie value of dark chocolate. The honey powder was produced by adding 70% of either dextrose (honey/dextrose, H/D), maltodextrin (honey/maltodextrin, H/M), or sucrose (honey/sucrose, H/S) and vacuum dried at 40°C for 6 hr. The substitution of honey powder into chocolate at a 70% level was based on the preliminary study, which showed the most acceptable particle size value. The addition of honey powder into dark chocolate showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in antioxidant capacity, assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and ferric reducing antioxidant power. Chocolate containing H/M showed the highest antioxidant capacity for both assays, followed by chocolate with H/D, H/S, and the control. Alpha amylase inhibition was also significantly higher (p < 0.05) for H/M chocolate relative to other samples. The calorie values of dark chocolate were not affected by the honey powder substitution, which remained at 600 kcal/100 g. Therefore, chocolate containing H/M showed the best properties due to its highest antioxidant capacities and alpha-amylase inhibition effect. Hence, it can be recommended for further application in chocolate.

Impact of the Drying Procedure and Botanical Origin on the Physico-Chemical and Potentially Bioactive Properties of Honey Powders

This study was aimed at researching the impact of the drying procedure (using the most appropriate honey–maltodextrin concentration for each drying technique) and botanical origin of honey on the physicochemical and potentially bioactive properties of honey powders that were made using maltodextrin as a carrier. The research was carried out with thyme, lavender, vetch and multifloral honey dehydrated using vacuum drying and freeze drying. The analysed parameters were moisture, water activity, colour, glass transition temperature, powder recovery, hygroscopic index and rate, tapped density, solubility, and phenolics as well as antiradical (ABTS•+, ROO•, •OH and O2•−), anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial (against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes) activities. Freeze drying provided the highest recoveries. Powders obtained using freeze drying showed higher moisture and solubility as well as lower glass transition temperature, density and hygroscopicity than those obtained using vacuum drying. Hygroscopicity, glass transition temperature and antimicrobial activity against St. aureus depended on the drying procedure–honey concentration. Colour, anti-O2•− activity and antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes depended on the botanical origin of the raw honey. Moisture, solubility, density, total phenolic content, anti-ABTS•+ and anti-ROO• activities as well as anti-inflammatory activity and antimicrobial activity against E. coli depended on the drying procedure–honey concentration and botanical origin.

Analysis on Chi Forest's Market in China

With the rapid development of technology in the new era, social media has become an indispensable part of everyone's life, and the Internet has penetrated into the lives of people of different ages. At the same time, many products are promoted through the Internet. Of course, this also has certain disadvantages -- rapid popularity but short life cycle. However, this marketing method also saves many endangered brands, such as "Huaxizi air honey powder", "Ke Qi lip glaze", "Hongxing Erke". In 2020, the Chi Forest took "sugar free" as the name of the beverage brand to attract a lot of people's eyes and attention. It only took 4 years for Chi Forest to enter the market and occupy the market, so this paper used MLA model to study and analyze the marketing methods of this brand.The significance of this research is to analyze the marketing method of Chi Forest to determine whether this marketing model can be applied to the same type of products, or whether the unique marketing method can teach us anything from it.

Atomisation and vacuum drying studies on Malaysian honey encapsulation

Malaysian honey is rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds, which can be a healthy alternative to refined sugar in food production. However, liquid honey’s viscous and sticky nature makes it unpreferable in industrial handling. This study, an atomization system coupled with vacuum drying to produce honey powders to overcome the problem. Three types of Malaysian honey, namely Acacia, Gelam, and Tualang, were encapsulated in Ca-alginate gel beads using the atomization system. The density viscosity, and surface tension of the honey-alginate solutions were measured, and the concentration of honey and alginate influenced the physical properties of the solutions. Honey-encapsulated gel beads in the size range of 2.16-2.92 mm were produced using the atomization system with the air-liquid mass flow rate ratios of 0.22-0.31, Weber number (We) of 112-545, and Ohnersorges number (Oh) of 0.35-10.46. Gel bead diameter can be predicted using a simple mathematical model. After vacuum drying, the honey gel powder produced was in the size range of 1.50-1.79 mm. Results showed that honey gel powders with good encapsulation efficiency and high honey loading could be produced using the atomization system and vacuum drying.

Bee pollen usage as carrier material in the drying of honey and some properties of honey-bee pollen powders

PurposeThe aim of this study was to produce an enriched honey powder with active compounds coming from bee pollen and investigate the effects of bee pollen addition as a carrier material on honey powder.Design/methodology/approachThe effects of bee pollen addition as carrier material in corporation with gum arabic at different ratios (25, 50 and 75% of total carrier material amount) on vacuum-dried honey-bee pollen powder were investigated.FindingsThe bee pollen concentration raise in the mixture increased the particle size, total phenolic, flavonoid and sugar contents and antioxidant activity, whereas decreased the Hauser ratio and Carr index values, hygroscopicity and solubility of enriched honey powder samples. The honey powder samples had passable and poor flow properties and very hygroscopic (>20%) structure because of the high sugar content. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of honey powder samples with bee pollen changed between 1531.59 and 3796.00 mg GAE/kg and 424.05–1203.10 mg QE/kg, respectively, and these values were much higher than the control sample. On the basis of linear correlation analysis, there was a very high positive correlation between total phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant activity, while there was a very high negative correlation between these parameters and solubility.Originality/valueThe study evaluated that enriching of honey powders with pollen, which is a product of both plant and bee origin, rather than enriching with different plant and animal sources has an innovative approach. Additionally, the usage of bee pollen as a carrier agent in food drying has not been previously reported in any study.

Evaluation of physicochemical properties of honey powder using rice and pea proteins as carriers

Honey is a special product widely appreciated because of its peculiar flavor and aroma as well as its beneficial effects on health due to its constituents. However, the use of honey in its natural form can present several disadvantages to the food industry because of its high viscosity and density. This work aimed to obtain honey powder using rice, pea, or a mixture of both proteins as carriers by spray drying and to characterize physiochemically. Also, the mass balance was performed to evaluate changes in humidity and temperature that occurred by the drying air during the process. The honey showed acceptable physicochemical parameters by the legislation of honey quality control in regard to color (143.43 ± 4.34) mm Pfund, free acidity (46.41 ± 0.53) meq/kg, pH (3.73 ± 0.03), fructose content (46.52 ± 0.56) g/100 g and glucose content (35.88 ± 0.16) g/100 g, which leads to the production of honey powder. Among the carriers tested, the honey powder using rice protein achieved the highest powder recovery yield at (64.88 ± 0.64) %. The physicochemical properties were evaluated and the phenolic compounds were not negatively affected by spray drying conditions, maintaining a value of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) content at (301.31 ± 20.95) mg/kg of honey. Therefore, this work shows honey as an alternative food ingredient in powdered form, including the growing market for using alternative protein.

Honey powder produced by spray drying as an ingredient: A new perspective using a plant-based protein as a carrier

Honey is an excellent alternative to be used in different applications by the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. However, the use of honey in its liquid form can present several disadvantages due to its high viscosity and density. In addition, honey can naturally crystallize during storage time, limiting its application in new products by industries. Thus, an alternative to using liquid honey in industry is the powder form. The objective of this study was to obtain honey powder by spray drying using a plant-based protein as a carrier. The honey used as raw material showed acceptable physicochemical parameters by the legislation of honey quality control, such as pH of (4.0 ± 0.1), the water content of (20.70 ± 0.3) g/100 g, ash of (0.48 ± 0.02) g/100 g, the fructose content of (35.42 ± 0.14) g/100 g, (43.05 ± 0.46) g/100 g for glucose, (0.56 ± 0.02) g/100 g for sucrose, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) value of (37.47 ± 1.04) mg/kg of honey, leading to the production of the honey powder. The mixture of fresh honey and plant-based protein was made with dispersions of 15, 16 and 18 g/100 g of honey using isolated rice protein as a carrier (total solid at 30 g/100 g d.b.). Finally, the honey powder produced was physicochemically characterized. The dispersion with 16 g/100 g of honey achieved an intermediary sugar/honey recovery of 35.93 ± 0.82% and 68.54 ± 2.16% of total protein recovery, and the spray drying yield was satisfactory > 50%. The overall results suggested that this dispersion is the ideal formulation when commercialization of the honey powder as an ingredient is intended.

The effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone addition on microstructure, surface aspects, the glass transition temperature and structural strength of honey and coconut sugar powders

Deep knowledge of the microstructure and physicochemical properties of polymeric food systems, such as honey powders (HP) and coconut sugars (CS), has practical importance for industry and end users. This study investigated the effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) addition on microstructure, roughness, glass transition, α-relaxation temperatures and structural strength (S) of anhydrous complex carbohydrates mixtures. The addition of PVP slightly increased the glass transition and α-relaxation temperature for HP and CS systems as high molecular weight components. Systems with PVP addition showed “stronger” behaviour according to the S approach. Polarized light, scanning electron and atomic force microscopies showed slight differences in transparency and shapes between controls and systems with PVP addition. Surface morphological changes and roughness were investigated in this study to provide insight into HP and CS particles’ structural changes. Moreover, S-involved structural diagrams were built to determine S parameters for controlling the structural transformation of HP and CS systems with and without PVP addition. The results obtained in this work provide new information on polymer-carbohydrate interactions in complex food systems and structural transformations during their production and storage.

Classification of Honey Powder Composition by FTIR Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometric Analysis

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in connection with chemometric analysis were used as a fast and direct approach to classify spray dried honey powder compositions in terms of honey content, the type of diluent (water or skim milk), and carrier (maltodextrin or skim milk powder) used for the preparation of feed solutions before spray drying. Eleven variants of honey powders containing different amounts of honey, the type of carrier, and the diluent were investigated and compared to pure honey and carrier materials. Chemometric discrimination of samples was achieved by principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) modelling procedures performed on the FTIR preprocessed spectral data for the fingerprint region (1800–750 cm−1) and the extended region (3600–750 cm−1). As a result, it was noticed that the type of carrier is a significant factor during the classification of different samples of powdered multifloral honey. PCA divided the samples based on the type of carrier, and additionally among maltodextrin-honey powders it was possible to distinguish the type of diluent. The result obtained by PCA-LDA and PLS-DA scores yielded a clear separation between four classes of samples and showed a very good discrimination between the different honey powder with a 100.0% correct overall classification rate of the samples.

Antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of ling-heather honey powder obtained by different methods with several carriers

Honey powder is being increasingly used in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, because it avoids inconveniences of raw honey, such as high viscosity, stickiness and formation of sugar crystals. It is of paramount importance to know if honey powders keep the features of raw honeys. This is the first study, in which total phenolics, total flavonoids, and biological properties of ling-heather (Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull) honey powders obtained by different drying methods (spray drying, vacuum drying and freeze drying), using different carriers (Arabic gum, whey protein isolate and maltodextrin) were assessed. Results showed that all the drying procedures and carriers retained the honey phenolics in the honey powders. Honey powders' antioxidant activities against different free radicals (ABTS•+, ROO•, •OH and O2•-) were higher than those of the raw honeys, while honey powders’ anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities against several microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli) were lower. Concentration of honey in the powder and type of carrier used for dehydration were the key factors for the quality of honey powders. However, the drying procedure did not strongly influence the parameters and properties studied.

Physical and functional properties of agglomerated coconut sugar powder and honey powder using polyvinylpyrrolidone as a binder

ABSTRACT It is difficult to develop instant coconut sugar and honey powders. Agglomeration could be used to increase the instant properties (physical and functional properties). The objective of this study was to determine the physical and functional properties of coconut sugar powder and honey powder agglomerated with rewetting method using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). PVP concentrations used are 1% and 5% compared to nonagglomerated powder as a control. Agglomeration process using PVP decreased the hygroscopic rate, accelerated dissolving time and wettability, decreased bulk, and tapped densities, which led to improvements in flowability and cohesiveness of powder. Color analysis showed an increase in color intensity for brightness (L*) and redness (a*), but a decrease in the yellowness (b*). The use of 5% PVP resulted in better physical and functional properties of powder than 1% PVP, except for the hygroscopic rate, bulk and tapped densities.

Ice recrystallization in model glucose/fructose and honey powder solutions as affected by selected stabilizers

The effect of κ-carrageenan and commercial mix of carrageenans on ice recrystallization inhibition in 50% glucose/fructose (GF) solutions and also dried honey (H) solutions during storage were compared. Samples were stored at −8°C for 96 hr and the images were taken after every 24 hr of storage. Stabilizers were also added to 30% GF solutions, than frozen at −20°C for freezing curves examination. For both 30 and 50% solutions, the viscosity was determined. The addition of stabilizers affected the course of freezing curves. Carrageenans changed the viscosity of GF solutions, while did not affect the viscosity of H solutions. The addition of stabilizers influenced the recrystallization process in GF solutions, and kappa carrageenan inhibited excessive crystal growth to the greatest extent (22.14 µm after 96 hr). In all tested H solutions, the average equivalent diameters of crystal were in a range of 20 µm during the whole storage period. Novelty Impact Statement Carrageenan's changed the viscosity of glucose/fructose solutions, while did not affect the viscosity of honey powder solutions. Honey powder solution showed great IRI effect even without other additives and ice crystals diameter wasn't higher than 20 µm during the whole storage period. Probably some other components of honey powder (not saccharides system) had a greater impact on presented properties.

Attributes of ling-heather honey powder obtained by different methods with several carriers

In order to obtain the best physicochemical and the most appealing honey powder as possible, this research assessed three procedures (spray drying, vacuum drying and freeze drying) as well as three carrier agents (Arabic gum, whey protein isolate and maltodextrin) for dehydrating ling-heather honeys (Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull). Using each carrier agent, both vacuum and freeze drying were the procedures that provided higher recoveries (76%–98%) and higher honey final concentrations in the powders (56%–73%). The most suitable carrier agent was maltodextrin, because with it, lower moisture (1.90%–4.20%), higher solubility (21 s–123 s) and lower hygroscopicity (6.32%–13.68%) was achieved. Honey powders obtained with maltodextrin by vacuum and freeze drying exhibited higher recoveries (88%–98%) and the best sensory characteristics, with stronger floral odours and flavours, stronger sweetness, lower viscosity and lower waxy perceptions.

HS-GC-IMS detection of volatile organic compounds in Acacia honey powders under vacuum belt drying at different temperatures.

Honey is a commodity of great nutritional value, but deep‐processed honey products are uncommon. Herein, we used vacuum belt dryer to dry Acacia honey at 60°C, 70°C, and 80°C, prepared it into powder, and analyzed its volatile compound differences. We established HS‐GC‐IMS method to detect the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of these three Acacia honey powders (AHPs). In total, 77 peaks were detected, and 23 volatile compounds were identified, including eight aldehydes, six ketones, three furans, one alcohol, one phenol, one lactone, one ester, one acid, and one nitrile. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) and fingerprint similarity analysis based on the Euclidean distance distinguished the three heating temperature treatments. Clearly, it was concluded that there are significant differences in volatile substances at different tested temperatures, and when the AHP was incubated at 80°C, more volatile compounds were detected.

Development of a honey-based powder ingredient using a mixture design: Botanical origin effect and hydration properties

The aim of this research was to develop and characterize a high honey content powder with good functional, sensory and hydration properties. A four-responses (hygroscopicity, solubility, cohesiveness and global sensory acceptability) D-optimal mixture design by Design Expert was used. Three factors were selected for the freeze-drying process: honey (60–80%), gum arabic – GA(0–40%) and whey protein concentrate – WPC (0–40%). Three optimal formulations (physicochemical–OPCP–, sensory–OSP– and combined–OCP–) with 72–74% of honey and different GA:WPC ratios were studied. The model prediction was successfully confirmed for the optimal points. Hydration and antioxidant characteristics were evaluated in optimal formulations for honey of three different botanical origins (Eucalyptus, Citrus and Prairie). Water sorption isotherms were sigmoid shape type II for all samples, with a slight difference at high aw for OSP. Flowability (4.5–16.3Ci), hygroscopicity (19.5–24.4 g/100 g), and solubility (87.1–94.6%), were within typical ranges. The botanical origin showed little influence in the physicochemical characteristics but showed differences in the antiradical activity (Prairie honey showed the highest values). These honey powders could be used in a variety of products in the food industry, as food ingredients or directly as a natural sweetener, promoting and diversifying honey consumption.