Really raw honey?

[Guest guest]

Another interesting piece from this website:

http://www.hotcity.com/~bees/honey.shtml#bot

Bianca

What is raw honey?

There is no legal definition for raw honey in the United States. At GBA

we consider honey to be raw if it hasn't been heated above 120 degrees

Farenheit. We chose this definition because it's unlikely that honey

would ever be exposed to temperatures higher than that anywhere in

nature. And beeswax, which is the natural storage container for honey,

melts a little above 120 degrees Farenheit. A stricter definition that we

try to achieve is a maximum heating to 95 degrees. That's about the

highest temperature honey will ever see if it stays inside a beehive,

which is where it really belongs. In fact, in the beehive, honey is kept

at about that temperature all the time, suggesting that 90-95 degrees is

probably the only proper temperature for honey. But that's a bit tricky

for most of us to achieve.

Why, you ask, is this important? The floral aromatics in honey

deteriorate when it's heated. The bees maintain the interior of the hive

at about 92 degrees, and that temperature doesn't seem to be detrimental

to the delicate flavor of honey. But even heating honey to 120 degrees

for an extended period will begin to affect its flavor adversely.

Most honey that's sold in retail stores has been held at about 160

degrees for extended periods of time to make it flow quickly and

facilitate the filtration and bottling process. Creative packers call

this heating 'pasteurization', implying that it's a good thing for

consumers. If you have read the section above entitled How long will

honey keep?, you'll realize that pasteurization is entirely unnecessary

for honey. Calling this process pasteurization is misleading at best.

Just remember when reading the label that there is no legal standard for

raw honey. A packer could boil his honey and still put the word 'raw' on

the label. Let the buyer beware. Your best bet for quality honey is to

buy local, know the producer, and ask specific questions about how the

honey was processed.