The Dark Side of the Honey Industry

Summary:

• Not all honey has the same nutritional value, quality, or freshness.
• Honey is thick and slow moving, which makes it hard to package raw.
• Many honey-packers heat honey to prevent crystalization (honey turning solid), and to package honey faster/easier.
• Valley Gold Honey is packaged cold and raw, and never excessivly heated.

The Problem:

Most people probably think that all honey is created equal, or that it as least produced and packaged the same way. That’s why when people go to their local grocery store, they assume they’re getting natural, pure, and fresh honey, regardless of which bottle they happen to purchase. Unfortunately, this is not the reality. Let’s break down some of the reasons why not every honey bottle on store shelves is created equal.

• Honey has a tendency to crystalize (it slowly solidifies). This happens because honey is roughly 70% sugar and 20% water. Honey is an unstable solution, and the glucose within the honey slowly separates out of the water into a crystalline structure.
• Honey has a very high viscosity (very thick).Transporting and packaging honey requires specialized pumps and equipment that are expensive and difficult to find. This also means packaging honey into containers is very slow and time consuming  even with the right equipment (have you ever tried to pour honey from one jar to another?).

This is why MOST honey packers will heat their honey well over 150 °F when they are packaging it. Once it is heated and less viscous (and can be pumped much quicker), they will then filter the honey extensively for pieces of wax, propolis, and other naturally occurring items. This process makes the honey: easier to pump and package, more aesthetically pleasing as “blemishes” are removed, and have a uniform honey with the same viscosity and texture. Unfortunately, the downsides of processing honey in this way are:

• Natural enzymes are destroyed. Honey is full of enzymes, and enzymes denature with heat exposure rapidly. Heating above 105-110°F will destroy many, if not all enzymes within the honey with enough time.
• Taste and quality are lowered. Heat ages most things, and heating honey is like putting it in a time machine leaping forward.
• Wax, propolis, and pollen are filtered or cooked out of the honey. These ingredients provide many of the health benefits people purchase honey for! Honey just isn’t “raw” once it’s been heated and extensively filtered.

Although it’s understandable why packers process their honey, we just don’t think it’s justifiable. Crystallized honey tastes just as good as liquid honey, and in fact some people prefer it! Very often honey doesn’t crystallize for months anyway. “Creamed Honey” is just crystallized honey that has been churned to create an even paste (expect Valley Gold Creamed Honey soon). What’s more, if you don’t like your honey crystallized, simply placing your honey jar in warm water for 15-20 minutes will reliquify it. Knowing your honey is real and natural is worth the slight bit of trouble.