Honey: Things to Know

Information you need about honey

The FDA does not have any standards for honey. So you can call corn syrup and water honey. There is no official definition for Local Honey or Raw Honey that I can find.

Is this Organic Honey?

From NHBI get this question at least once a week. Is this Organic Honey?
I say, there is no such thing as Organic Honey!! The reaction from the person asking this question is usually I don’t know what I’m talking about. FACT: The bees can forage over 6000 acres. No one can control if they get sprayed with pesticides or forage on genetically altered crops so the honey can not be Organic. So if you are paying a lot more because it is Organic Honey, guess what!!

What is Local Honey??

I get this question all the time. Is this honey local?
That I know of there is no definition for local honey.
Everyone is looking for local honey because of the benefits for allergies and such. I would define local as honey from an area that contains the same plants, trees etc. 10, 20 or even 30 miles would fall into this category. The more important question that should be asked is. Is this honey RAW? If the honey is not raw it could be from next door and would do you no good.

What is RAW HONEY??

That I know of there is no official definition for raw honey. This is what is most people consider what is RAW HONEY.

The myths
1) The more bee parts and wax floating on top the better. Common sense will tell you this is BS. I can ground up some bees and wax, put it on top and double the price.
2) The honey has to bee crystallized to bee raw. Again BS. Within 4-8 weeks all my honey is crystallized in the buckets. So I can put it in a container wait 4-8 weeks and double the price.

The facts
1) RAW Honey contains all the good stuff that the bees put in, Pollen, enzymes, wild yeast, and other compounds.
2) If honey is heated too high everything that makes honey, honey is killed. 150 degrees kills everything.
3) The majority of the honey in the big Grocery stores is heated to above150 degrees.
4) If you heat the honey and kill the wild yeast you can add water.
5) The heating also keeps the honey from crystallizing as fast adding to shelf life. If honey crystallizes on the store shelf they throw it out.
6) You do not know were the honey has come from and what chemicals that could be in it. Honey from other countries has been dumped down the drain by the FDA due to chemicals that were found in the honey. Some of them considered carcinogens (cancer causing). Not every barrel of honey is checked when it comes into the USA.
7) If the beekeeper treats with chemicals while having the honey boxes on, the honey will contain those compounds,
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/08/honey-laundering/
http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/honey-laundering-fradulent-and-tainted-honey-and-how-to-avoid-it

8) If you don’t know the Beekeeper you don’t know the honey.

9) My honey is not heated over 110 degrees usually 100 degrees to liquefy it so it can be bottled.
10) The bee parts and wax is filtered out leaving all the good stuff and no yucky stuff.
11) The only 100% guarantee for RAW HONEY is COMB honey. There can be no processing, heating etc in comb honey. What you see is what you get.

Crystallized Honey is still good

Many people think crystallized honey is no good. This is far from the truth. All good honey will crystallize with a few exceptions. I define good honey as any honey that is not over heated during the extracting or bottling process.

DO NOT ADD WATER TO YOUR HONEY!!!! WATER IS THE ONLY THINK THAT CAN CAUSE HONEY TO SPOIL!!!!!

If your honey is crystallized there are several ways to liquefy it.
1) If you have a warm day put it on your car dashboard. Depending on the amount in the container 2-3 hours and it will be just like the day it was bought.
2) Put in hot tap water until it liquefies. DO NOT BOIL IT!!
3) Put it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds let it set 2-3 minutes, shake it then repeat. If there is a small amount of honey put in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Do this until it gets liquid. Do not try to get it clear like when it was purchased you will over heat it and ruin the honey. Just get it liquid and do not worry about the crystals still floating.