Understanding Honey
When you look at honey on the grocery store shelf, or grab a "honey packet" at your favorite fast food restaurant, you should be aware of what you have just put your hands on.
ALL Honey, is not created equal. Many distributors work diligently to "hide" or label their product to mislead the consumer.. Anything that says "Honey Sauce" should be avoided, beyond that, there are still many different types of processing.
I am going to post an excellent link below to help sort out a few differences. While i have never seen anything distinctive written about the different grades, especially something that would be Legal and binding, the write up below would be a great start;
My opinions do not reflect those of LABELS.NET, I am simply using their Excellent write up to express my own.
If you need Labels, you now have a go to resource!
The type of labeling shown above would clear things up a little... Honey imported, legally or illegally is often heat processed and ultra filtered.. The ultra filtering removes sources of pollen, so that the honey itself cannot be traced back to its country of origin.. it is now, and has always been my opinion, that if you want ultra filtered, then you may as well use Corn syrup..
Buying ultra filtered honey means you are likely getting something from another country that was shipped to the US in bulk, after it was repackaged somewhere else.
Heating/pasteurizing has its place.. it keeps the honey from crystallizing longer, so that it LOOKS nicer on the shelf, but the heat also kills enzymes etc that are good for you, and depending on how much heat is used may also darken the honey and change the flavor.
Did you know that setting your crystallized honey jar into warm/hot water will re liquefy it?
I don't mean to boil it, just hot water.
Honey is a huge industry, and greed has much to do with big industry and "honey Sauce" Mixing honey with corn syrup or other sweeteners is cheaper than using the real thing, and saves money, that is better spent giving the corporate executives multi million dollar bonus checks.
Check the label when you buy honey. Buy LOCAL honey if you can. if you cant find local honey, stick with the stuff that was packaged here in the US. RAW is my first choice when I buy honey, then Unfiltered, and then pure.
Why not Organic????
I have yet to figure out how a beekeeper can keep his or her bees within his own "Organic" fields.. Bees will fly up to three miles from their hives when times are good. When times are bad, they may go as far as seven miles, possibly more in search of nectar and pollen... In most cases, that means they have left the organic area and are foraging on flowers in town, in ditches, in gardens, and in places where people are working to water and "treat" their plants. Now if you live on an island all alone with your bee hives, that is at least ten miles away from any other place, then i guess you should have the right to claim your honey is organic!!
Again, read the label, and dont assume anything looking at the large print. Support your local beekeepers! It is reported that local honey with the pollen still in it helps allergies..
I do know that fresh raw honey tastes leaps and bounds better than anything I have ever purchased in the supermarket, that wasn't local.
If you need Labels, you now have a go to resource!
The type of labeling shown above would clear things up a little... Honey imported, legally or illegally is often heat processed and ultra filtered.. The ultra filtering removes sources of pollen, so that the honey itself cannot be traced back to its country of origin.. it is now, and has always been my opinion, that if you want ultra filtered, then you may as well use Corn syrup..
Buying ultra filtered honey means you are likely getting something from another country that was shipped to the US in bulk, after it was repackaged somewhere else.
Heating/pasteurizing has its place.. it keeps the honey from crystallizing longer, so that it LOOKS nicer on the shelf, but the heat also kills enzymes etc that are good for you, and depending on how much heat is used may also darken the honey and change the flavor.
Did you know that setting your crystallized honey jar into warm/hot water will re liquefy it?
I don't mean to boil it, just hot water.
Honey is a huge industry, and greed has much to do with big industry and "honey Sauce" Mixing honey with corn syrup or other sweeteners is cheaper than using the real thing, and saves money, that is better spent giving the corporate executives multi million dollar bonus checks.
Check the label when you buy honey. Buy LOCAL honey if you can. if you cant find local honey, stick with the stuff that was packaged here in the US. RAW is my first choice when I buy honey, then Unfiltered, and then pure.
Why not Organic????
I have yet to figure out how a beekeeper can keep his or her bees within his own "Organic" fields.. Bees will fly up to three miles from their hives when times are good. When times are bad, they may go as far as seven miles, possibly more in search of nectar and pollen... In most cases, that means they have left the organic area and are foraging on flowers in town, in ditches, in gardens, and in places where people are working to water and "treat" their plants. Now if you live on an island all alone with your bee hives, that is at least ten miles away from any other place, then i guess you should have the right to claim your honey is organic!!
Again, read the label, and dont assume anything looking at the large print. Support your local beekeepers! It is reported that local honey with the pollen still in it helps allergies..
I do know that fresh raw honey tastes leaps and bounds better than anything I have ever purchased in the supermarket, that wasn't local.