Honey Facts

What is Honey exactly?

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers and from sap of trees. The variety produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) is the one most commonly referred to, as it is the type of honey collected by most beekeepers and consumed by people. Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and has about the same relative sweetness as granulated sugar. It has attractive chemical properties for baking and a distinctive flavor that leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners. The nectar collected by the honey bees from flowers and plants is carried to the hive or nest and is then passed to worker bees, who prepare it for storing by adding enzymes. As the nectar is transferred to the wax storage chambers, water is evaporated away, and it is this process, combined with enzyme activity that converts the nectar into honey. Honeydew honey or Forest honey is a type of honey made—not from blossom nectar—but from honeydew excreted by plant sucking insects such as aphids. It is usually produced from trees Since honeydew is chemically different from nectar, honeydew honey is also chemically different from regular blossom honey. It is usually darker with a higher mineral content, and has with a stronger taste and particular nutritional/therapeutic benefits.

What is Raw Honey

Raw honey is defined as “honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding any heat”. Though the definition does not have any legal authority, it is provided to help in the understanding of the honey and its terms.


My Honey become solive(Crystalized), is it still good?

Crystallization is the natural process by which the glucose in honey precipitates out of the liquid honey. If your honey crystallizes, simply place the honey jar in warm water and stir until the crystals dissolve, or place the honey container, with the cap open, into near boiling water that has been removed from the heat: Or, place the honey in a microwave-safe container with the lid off and microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until the crystals dissolve. Be careful not to boil or scorch the honey. Also keep in mind that you can eat the honey in a crystallized form. Crystallization does not affect the taste and quality of the honey.


Raw Honey vs Organic Honey

Some people think raw honey is the same as organic honey, but it’s not. “Organic honey” is when the flowers that the bees get the nectar from has not been sprayed with chemicals. Pure raw hone from wild places, that isn’t contaminated and tested to show no sugar added. Simple, right? As long as beekeepers control where the bees go, they’ll know that they’re getting honey from organic flowers. Except it’s impossible to always know where bees go because they usually fly up to 2 miles (5 km) to look for flowers that are producing enough nectar for harvesting. If they need to, they can fly up to 5 miles (8 km). So that means some quality assurance inspector needs to know for sure that all the flowers for a 2- to 5-mile radius all around the beehive are indeed organic.


Is honey safe for Babies?
Although honey seems like a wholesome and natural food to give your infant, don't do it until after he/she's at least 24 months old. Honey can contain spores of a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum, which can germinate in a baby's immature digestive system and cause infant botulism, a rare but potentially fatal illness. These spores are usually harmless to adults and children over 2 years old, because the microorganisms normally found in the intestine keep the bacteria from growing.”