Just tried raw honey for the first time today, pretty good but prefer the liquid gold. How is raw honey prepared? So everything is in it, honey,wax,propolis ect... And it's not strained,filtered heated? How about liquid honey that we all know, the one in the grocery store is crap cause it's all watered down and filtered and heated how bout' the good stuff? Is that heated up or filtered?
DAve
The good stuff is raw, lightly if at all filtered & unheated. This is what you would call liquid gold.
...JP
I don't believe there is a legal definition of RAW honey;
Some say it is just as it comes from the hive, wax, bee parts, etc.
Others say strained, not filtered under pressure .
And of course some will heat it to 100 degrees or so to help with extraction.
All call their product RAW !
Bee-Bop
Thats the stuff I look for. That is why I became a beekeeper. You just don't know what your buying these days and how processed.
Thanx for the input.
strain it only, no one wants bee legs in their peanut butter and honey sammiches.
The raw honey I am talking about is the one that looks like a crystalized paste, how do the beekeepers make that? I had gotten raw honey from a beekeeper here in Connecticut that was probably the best honey I have had so far. That one was the liquid honey and it looked to be very lightly strained cause there were particles floating around.
DAve
Just strain it put it in a jar and it will crystallize on its own, depending on nectar source it will take different times to crystallize, crystal sizes will also depend on the nectar sources
mvh edward :-P
The "paste" looking honey is probably what's called creamed or spun honey.
Scott
I have always considered "raw" honey to mean not heated and just strained to get the bee particles and the wax out. Processed honey is usually heated and filtered to the place where most of the pollen and yeasts are dead or filtered out. Of course the rawest of honey would be that which is still in the comb or chunck honey, so you know it hasn't been heated or filtered.
Since there is really no federal standard as to what constitutes "honey", calling it raw, organic, filtered, creamed, etc. really has no meaning. I've even seen "sugar free imitation honey" on the shelf in Walmart.
Dave
Crystallized/spun/creamed honey is made by controlling the crystallization of honey so the end product is silky smooth on the tongue. Get some seed spun honey 5-10% and mix it well with raw honey and let it sit at 58 degrees. I use a wine cooler to get the temp right. My honey takes 2 weeks to get to the end product. Knapweed honey takes over 6 weeks. Honey will vary in time to get to the end product. The crsytallization of honey in the jar tends to contain large crystals that are rough on the tongue.
The Raw honey I tried has large crystals and rough on the tongue and all the health food advocates swear by THIS honey that it has everything in it, the best for you and so on. It's alright but very,very sweet with a mild honey flavor very perfumy or fragrant smelling.
DAve