By: Greg Brian
How many years have you been buying honey in grocery stores to use for breakfast or in countless recipes? No doubt you’ve been buying it for decades. Yet, have you noticed the ingredients on the label?
Chances are possible you’ve been buying pasteurized honey all this time without even knowing it. Otherwise known as processed honey, it’s a method used to help make the product look more appealing.
The problem is pasteurization takes away the healthful qualities raw honey provides.
What Exactly is Pasteurized Honey?
Pasteurizing honey is when food manufacturers boil honey to help make it look smooth. Food companies think making honey look smooth and light helps bring more consumer appeal.
While it doesn’t ruin the sweet taste, intense heat zaps away all the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals honey in a raw state provides.
This might shock you if you’ve consumed nothing but pasteurized honey your entire life. No doubt you never bothered to look at the label since you thought you were getting the real deal.
Take a second look. If you see a lot of additives in the ingredients, you’re not getting raw honey. It should always just say “Honey.”
What is Raw Honey in Comparison?
When you consume raw honey, you’re getting it straight from the hive and from local farmers without going through processing.
Some might think heating it is important to remove any contaminants. There isn’t anything in raw honey that will harm you, but it can sometimes look a little different without changing the taste.
The only thing to watch out for is not to give any form of honey to infants below the age of one. It can cause botulism for them, yet safe to consume once they reach a year old.
Otherwise, raw honey for adults is one of the most healthful things you can consume on the planet. Take a look at why.
Just How Healthy is Raw Honey?
Many don’t know that raw honey provides as many antioxidants as you’d find in many fruits and vegetables. You’ll get equally astonishing amounts of essential vitamins and minerals in just one tablespoon.
All you need is a couple of tablespoons for breakfast, and you can get nearly everything you need in your diet for the day. Just keep in mind, due to raw honey still having natural sugar and calories, you have to limit it to a moderate amount.
Perhaps it’s difficult to limit raw honey consumption when it tastes so good. For some, it might also be alarming when noticing raw honey changing color after a certain amount of time.
Don’t Be Alarmed About Crystallization
Once you buy raw honey as a healthful alternative, you might notice it turning darker over time, including some thickening.
No one should panic when this happens. It’s a natural crystallization process raw honey goes through quicker than processed honey does. When sitting for a while in warmer temperatures, it’s purely a natural procedure.
Crystallization doesn’t ruin the taste of raw honey. All you have to do is place it in a warm pot of water, and it’ll go back to being smooth again. Unfortunately, far too many people throw out crystallized honey because they think it’s gone bad.
Why Can’t You Always Find Raw Honey In Grocery Stores?
The food industry often tries to fool people into thinking they’re getting real honey when it’s far too processed. Those versions crowd out raw honey on the grocery aisles, even though some raw honey brands can be found in stores.
Our raw honey at Artie’s Harvest is found in select grocery stores throughout the Pacific Northwest. We still encourage you to buy it from us directly at our website.
Buying it in bulk is the best way to store it so you’ll have enough for a lifetime
References:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324966
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/raw-honey-vs-regular
https://www.quora.com/Is-raw-honey-healthier-than-pasteurized-honey
