Is raw honey supposed to be solid?

by Howard

Hi Angela, I bought some honey here recently in Brisbane AU. The company claim the honey to be raw. I was under the impression that raw honey is solid at room temperature. What is the difference between raw and liquid honey? Or is it that liquid honey is taken from the hive in that state so remains in liquid form?

I will send you a list of items I'd like to purchase on receipt of your reply.

Thank you.
Howard.

Angela's Comments:

Hi Howard,
All honey is liquid when it is bottled but quality honey will
crystalize after bottling over time. Now, the difference between a raw honey and a liquid honey is that raw honey won't be filtered. So, all the natural pollen, royal jelly and beeswax remains. Because of this, it will maintain a more mirky color and will also return to a more solid state quicker than a liquid honey (which will have been
filtered and will appear more golden/clear).

Our liquid honey's (wildflower/summer blossom/buckwheat) are still high quality and have not been heated. They have only been filtered
so they too will crystalize over time. Most conventional, store bought honey's have been filtered and heated so much that they won't
crystalize over time and will remain in that clear, golden state which looks great on the shelf but lacks any real quality.

Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Angela

Raw Honey in liquid form?

by Shaun
(Raleigh, NC)

Hello!

All of the local raw honey in my area comes in liquid form. This is from about 5 different bee keepers. I know raw honey is suppose to be solid. But all the keepers have ensured me that no heat, pasteurization, etc. was used.

I have read on other websites that raw honey will be in liquid form until it begins to naturally crystallize (and how long does that take?). There is one bee keeper which has his honey for sale at our Whole Foods, and I have noticed some of it crystallizing over time.

Also, I have noticed all of the national brands (YS Farms, Honey Farms, even Trader Joe's brand) of raw honey come very uniform (almost to perfect).

So I guess what I'm asking is: Can quality raw honey be liquid before it begins to crystallize? If so, how long until it begins to crystallize? Can I speed the crystallization process up? How do you feel about national brands?

- Thanks!
Shaun

Hi Shaun,
Great question! Yes, raw honey is actually liquid when it enters the bottle. It 'solidifies' over time. So it is likely that the liquid raw honey products you are looking at are quite fresh. Given time, they will be solid at room temperature.

One thing you didn't mention - have the brands you have looked at been filtered? What I mean by this is have they filtered out the natural pollens, beeswax and royal jelly out of the product? Also, what color is the honey you are looking at? If it is very golden, then it has been filtered. True raw honey that has not been filtered will look almost 'milky'...

Angela

Difference between liquid honey and your raw honey

by dan
(vancouver bc canada)

I ask you whether pasturized or unpasturized honey stored better and you said unpasturized. But I notice there is a clear, runnier unpasturized honey and a stiffer white unpasturized on your site. The runnier one seems better for cooking but is their any differance? And which one is better for storage - the unpasturized clear or the unpasturized stiffer cream.

Angela's Comments:

Hi Dan,
Yes, there is a difference between the two. The white, "stiffer" honey is our raw honey. It has not been pasteurized or filtered and contains royal jelly, bee pollen and beeswax in it naturally. But it is solid at room temperature and would need to be lightly heated to be brought back to liquid state.

The liquid honey's are also unpasteurized but have been lightly filtered to give them the clear look and to also put them in a liquid state in the bottle. They will eventually return to a solid state. Because these have been filtered, they contain less royal jelly, bee pollen and beeswax in them.

Angela