Our Raw Honey Is The Real Thing

All of our honey processing here at Sun Mountain Honey -- extracting, straining, and bottling -- is done at room temperature. (We strain our honey to remove pieces of wax, but never filter it, which would remove the pollen. Our raw honey contains all the live pollen originally in the honey.) When our label is stamped “raw,” you can be sure that the honey in the jar has never been heated. And it will be crystallized, unless the honey is freshly harvested. (Our harvest season runs from May through October.)

Unheated honey is cloudy as soon as it is extracted. This cloudiness gradually increases day-by-day as the honey thickens, and ultimately raw honey becomes hard, or crystallized.

Many health-conscious shoppers prefer raw honey, because it contains all the enzymes and live pollens which are destroyed by heat. But most people also prefer their honey liquid. They also prefer their honey clear so that it sparkles like a jewel when held up to the light. However, the only way to have clear, liquid honey is to heat it. And heated honey is, of course, no longer raw.

Some beekeepers, after heating their honey to liquefy it, label it “raw,” because they know that “raw” sells. To our way of thinking, this is like heating a salad to 130º or more and calling the resulting wilted mess a “raw” salad. Several years ago we called the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C. and were told by a person knowledgeable about such things that there are no regulations governing raw honey. In other words, a beekeeper could boil his honey and still call it “raw” if he wanted to.

We see “raw” or “virgin” honey on supermarket or health food shelves all the time. Some of it is crystallized; some of it is clear. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to tell if honey has been heated or not: simply hold it up to the light. If the honey is clear, then it’s been heated -- it’s as simple as that.

There is only a short period of time (ranging from several weeks to several months, depending on the variety) when raw honey will be liquid, and even then, it will be cloudy and opaque. Eventually the raw honey crystallizes to a margarine-like consistency, which many people prefer -- it can be spread on bread without running off the edges, will dissolve in coffee or tea like liquid honey, can be spread on waffles or pancakes, and can be used for cooking -- crystallized honey can be used in every way that liquid honey can, and is a healthier, more natural product, besides.

Frankly, we don’t see how people can sell raw honey in narrow-mouthed containers. After the honey crystallizes, it will be difficult to remove. (There are some honeys that never crystallize, but these are rare as far as we know.) We package our raw honey in wide-mouthed pint tubs so that it will be easy to spoon out.

Comb honey is the most natural honey of all. It is totally raw, totally unprocessed, and is packaged by the bees themselves. Unfortunately, we didn’t produce enough comb honey to sell it online this year. Please check during the summer of 05, when we plan to have plenty of comb honey available.

-- Gordon and Laura Solberg
Sun Mountain Honey