What is raw honey?

So, how exactly do you get raw honey? Plants produce nectar and pollen, which bees collect. Bees take the pollen, which acts as a natural fertilizer, from one plant to another. The bees then take the nectar back to the hive, process it into honey, and store it inside honeycombs. While this honey serves as a vital food source for the bees, they naturally produce more than they need to ensure they can survive a cold winter. This is where beekeepers enter the picture—they harvest the excess honey from the hive by extracting it from honeycombs.


Raw honey is also a well-known home remedy to soothe a sore throat or suppress a persistent cough. Honey also boasts natural antibacterial properties that can aid in healing wounds, burns, and ulcers on the skin. There are several health benefits you can reap from eating raw honey. Raw honey contains flavonoids which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and also contains probiotics that feed the good bacteria in your gut.
 

Why is raw honey better than processed honey?

The major difference between raw honey and store-bought honey is the degree of processing. Commercial honey is pasteurized, or heated to a high temperature, and filtered to remove the pollen and other impurities. The resulting honey has a smoother consistency and is easier to drizzle from a bottle. However, pasteurizing also removes honey’s naturally-occurring nutrients and antioxidants. Many consider this practice completely unnecessary, as honey does not need to be pasteurized in the same way as milk because it is highly acidic and a natural bacteria inhibitor.

The other big difference is appearance—commercial honey is clear and has a golden tint, while raw honey is more opaque or milky Because raw honey contains pollen, it will always crystallize over time—a natural process that occurs due to honey’s extremely high concentration of sugar. The texture of crystallized honey is gritty and may be unappealing to some, but it’s perfectly safe to consume. Heating the honey will cause the crystals to melt.
 

Is your honey organic?

As of September 2015, honey cannot be certified organic by the USDA. Any certified organic honey sold in the United States is imported from other countries and certified organic by that country. A US beekeeper can have non-certified organic honey that is raised organically, but it is nearly impossible to realistically produce it. Read on to know why.

The USDA certifies organic foods, but never adopted standards to certify honey as organic. Since the USDA has no standard for organic honey, US beekeepers can’t legally label or tell consumers their honey is organic.  Here’s why: Bees forage three miles in all directions around the hive – that’s 28 square miles. In these 28 square miles, all plants, grasses and trees would need to be free of fungicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and not be genetically modified. These four requirements alone make organically produced honey almost impossible for any US-based beekeeper.

Any US beekeeper labeling their honey as organic would be significantly bending the truth to increase profit and sales unless they lived in areas completely undeveloped and devoid of people. For reference, Sebago Lake is 16 square miles and Portland Maine is 21 square miles.
 

My honey is crystallizing – what should I do?

Crystallized honey is not bad! Crystallization occurs when the glucose component of honey solidifies due to its lower solubility in the water element of honey. It occurs faster in raw honey due to the presence of particles of wax and pollen, which serve as nucleus catalysts for crystallization.

Make sure to store your honey at room temperature such as a kitchen cabinet and never in a refrigerator. To get crystallized honey back to liquid form, heat water to 150 degrees, take off of the heat and place the honey container in the hot water for 5-10 minutes until liquefied. Never microwave honey.