To maintain its nutritional properties and curative qualities, honey should be consumed in its raw form. Find answers to frequently asked questions about natural honey! Discover what is raw honey, and how you can distinguish the counterfeit!
Thanks to its curative properties, honey has been used since ancient times both as food and as medicine. However, for not losing its exceptional honey qualities needs to be consumed raw, unprocessed form.
What is raw honey?
Raw honey is honey extracted from cold and packed in its natural state, without being processed, thus retaining all of the beneficial properties.
Does raw honey crystallize?
Yes, raw honey crystallizes, it is a natural process-specific. Depending on the origin of the crystallization process of floral, it’s faster or slower, e.g. acacia honey crystallizes the hardest, in a few months or even a year. Crystallization speed depends on the contents of glucose, as well as the presence of other catalysts such as grains of pollen and bits of wax, which serve as a nucleus for crystallization. Raw honey may contain small pieces of wax, pollen, and propolis and therefore crystallized quickly.
Does crystallized honey lose properties?
No, crystallized honey is as good for consumption as well as freshly harvested honey. It retains all the nutrients intact and therapeutic properties.
How to distinguish the raw natural honey from the counterfeit honey?
There is on the market a wide variety of types and brands of honey. Unfortunately, not every honey presented on the shelves is 100% natural. We can find commercially produced honey, syrups strapped sugar or honey processed, heated and filtered, in order to curb the crystallization, to preserve as much time fluid form.
There is also the honey in which were added various syrups in order to obtain larger amounts. These types of honey do not bring anything good for our body, that does not contain specific nutrients that natural raw honey does, but on the contrary, we may do more harm.
The most reliable method of testing the honey is a laboratory, which however is not even within reach of everyone. There are however a few simple methods of analysis with the help of which we can tell the difference between raw honey and the counterfeit.
To help you in the choice of honey, here’s an infographic which explains the most important differences between raw honey and the counterfeit.
Save the infographic on your phone to have it always at hand and send it to your friends!
What to do before you buy!
As with any product before you purchase it, please read carefully the label, which necessarily must be translated if the product is not authentic.
Pursuing these items: the only ingredient on the label must be raw honey, 100% natural be referred to the average values, shelf life, storage conditions, country of origin, the company that sells product and contact details which verifies if the institutions or organizations are certified/attested and the product quality. Is it good to buy honey from local producers?
It is recommended to buy honey from local producers only where you know the person, and you guarantee that sell raw honey, natural, cold extracted, packaged and stored under appropriate conditions.
There are beekeepers, to obtain a production as big as possible, by resorting to various methods of falsification of added sweeteners, honey (pollen, E-s, starch or gelatin mixture, preservatives, or falsifies indirectly by feeding the honey bees with sugar or glucose).
Also, you should not purchase the honey on the roadside or in traditional fairs, especially in summer, when temperatures are very high. At temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, the honey loses nutrients.
What are the effects of the consumption of counterfeit honey?
If raw honey has multiple benefits for our health, counterfeit honey is harmful to our body. Through the intake of sugar and other chemicals that may contain (dyes, preservatives, etc), counterfeit honey is very dangerous, especially for children and diabetics. In children, it can create dependency and can produce allergies and major imbalances in the body. There is also the problem of diabetics who, through the consumption of counterfeit honey may be anytime in diabetic crisis due to the sugar content in excess of fake product.
Updated: 15 April 2019
