What is raw, pure honey?
Raw honey is the sweetest and original liquid honeybees made from concentrated flower nectars. Coming straight from extractors, raw honey is unheated, uncooked, unprocessed, and unpasteurized honey, thus the term “raw.”
Where do they get honey?
Honey comes from foraging or working bees that suck nectar mostly from wild flowers. These bees swallow the nectar, regurgitate and then store or keep it in a honey crop. This is a special kind of “stomach” or “ante-stomach” that appears before the actual stomach of the digestive system. The nectar never slips into the main digestive system of the bee.
How does honey become honey and what is it made of?
Honey goes through a highly complex process while inside the beehive. It is converted from being nectar derived from flowers to being a sweet, sticky, healthy and thick liquid. It is composed of glucose, fructose, special enzymes released by bees and water. It is also said to contain vitamin and minerals and antioxidants.
Why is honey sweet?
Glucose and fructose are mostly responsible for the sweetness in honey. Honey that tastes sweeter than sugar contains high fructose levels, although some honeys are high in glucose.
What is glucose and fructose?
Glucose is simple sugar you get from food, especially those rich in carbohydrates. Fructose is fruit sugar which is also found in plants.
What benefit do we get from honey?
In raw form, honey offers unique health benefits. To name some, it is good for boosting your energy, remedying coughs, treating wounds, lessening allergy symptoms and helping the immune system grow stronger.
What are the types and flavors of honey?
There are many types of honey worldwide. Some say there are 300 varieties sourced by bees from different flower types. But to make it simpler, we refer to colors. There are light brown and dark brown honeys. Light honey often tastes milder while dark honey often tastes stronger. But taste really depends largely on temperature and rainfall.
Where does honey pollen come from?
Sometimes called “bee pollen,” worker honeybees pack pollen balls into pellets. What is called “bee bread” is actually bee pollen plus bee secretions and honey. It is stored inside the cells, chambers or hollows in wood or mud chambers created by female bees that nest in the ground.
What is Propolis?
It is a compound also produced by bees. They are made from the sap found in needle-leafed trees or the needle-leaves of evergreens. When this sap mixes with bee wax and discharges from bees’ bodies, it results to a greenish-brown, sticky substance used as coating for their hives. This is what we call propolis. It has lots of healing and medicinal values, according to some honeybee experts.
How do you know a honey brand is pure?
Simply use the water test. Pure honey will not dissolve when added in a glass of water. It will go straight down to the bottom and settle there.
Why does honey crystallize?
Because honey is made of sugars—glucose and fructose—it will naturally crystallize overtime.
How do you remedy crystallized honey?
Open the jar of crystallized honey and put it over warm or a bit hot enough water.
