Thirty honey samples from different regions of Estonia were investigated to determine the chemical compositions, physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds, and sensory characteristics of typical honeys from a northern climate. The physicochemical parameters, such as electrical conductivity, moisture content, free acidity, hydroxymethylfurfural, diastase, and invertase activity were measured. The color was measured and expressed by L*-, a*-, and b*-coordinates. Sensory parameters were determined by using “fruity”, “floral”, “berry-like”, “herbal”, “woody”, “spicy”, “sweet”, and “animal-like” as the main odor and flavor attributes. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were in the range of 26.2–88.7 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per 100 g and 1.9–6.4 mg quercetin equivalents (QE) per 100 g, respectively. The identified polyphenols showed the highest intensities of caffeic acid, coumaric acid, and abscisic acid and its derivatives. The protocatechuic acid intensity was highest in honeys containing traces of honeydew elements and of cinnamic acid and myricetin in heather honey. The water-soluble antioxidant values were 37.8–311.2 mg ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE) per 100 g and the lipid soluble antioxidant values were 14.4–60.7 mg Trolox equivalents (TE) per 100 g. The major amino acid in the analyzed honeys was proline, with variable values depending on the honey’s botanical source. Correlations were calculated based on the results obtained. It was revealed that the typical Estonian honey has floral, berry-like, sweet, and rather mild sensory characteristics. Most of the honeys lacked stronger spicy, woody, and animal-like attributes. The typical color of Estonian honey is quite light.

The influence of furcellaran as a secondary stabilizer, together with guar gum, on ice cream rheological and sensorial properties during 13 months of storage was studied. The results were compared with various guar gum/carrageenan blends. While the addition of furcellaran to ice cream was found to slightly decrease the scores of colour, odour, and flavour characteristics, it also increased the creamy sensation and had a good stabilizing effect on the ice cream during extended storage.

Water sorption isotherms are important tool for designing the technological processes and predicting stability and shelf life of food. The aim of the work was to determine the water sorption isotherms of commercial furcellaran at different temperatures (20, 35 and 50 °C) using a gravimetric method under different levels of relative humidity (19–95%). The experimental data obtained have been interpreted in the terms of various isotherm models and it was found that the best results were obtained with the Peleg model (P < 2.1%; RSME <0.01; R² = 1.00). The obtained isotherms followed the type II pattern and, in all cases, the sorption capacity increased with increasing water activity and decreased with increasing temperature. The maximum net isosteric heat for adsorption and desorption was 938.9 and 988.6 J g ⁻¹, respectively, at an equilibrium moisture content of 0.05 g_w g_db⁻¹. The net isosteric heat of sorption decreased exponentially with increasing moisture content and approached zero at 0.26 g_w g_db⁻¹ for adsorption and 0.32 g_w g_db⁻¹ for desorption. The developed mathematical relationships can be used to optimize the drying processes and storage conditions of furcellaran.