Hi Marshall, Yes, crystallization isn't necessarily a sign of being 'sugared'. Indeed, I'm more apt to be suspicious of honey that doesn't crystallize. Our honey always crystallized (lots of goldenrods and two different asters of late summer). The only heat our raw honey ever knew was from the capping knife; other than that, it was pure, raw, untreated in any way. Our old beekeeper mentor told us to feed sugar syrup in the winter if too many thaws made the bees use up their stores and the supers went 'light'. We only did that once, then always left enough supers of comb to guarantee they'd get through to the gathering season.
We no longer keep our 14 hives (too taxing when my Lyme disabled me, and swarms always seemed to happen on the hottest, most difficult days of summer) but friends 'round the block keep bees now, and the neighborhood honey is as wonderful as ever. It's so important to have local honey from the same flowers and grasses, the same pollens that get up our noses and irritate. Local honey in hot tea in the Spring will usually offset this problem. Be well, Léna On Aug 16, 2013, at 9:07 PM, Marshall wrote: > On 8/16/2013 6:55 PM, phoenix23002 tds.net wrote: >> >> 'They' say a good test to know whether your honey has been 'sugared' or not >> is whether any of it crystallizes in the bottom of the jar over time. We >> have a local beekeeper whom I get honey from, 3 - 4 jars at a time. The jar >> of honey we are using now has been opened for at least 3 - 4 months and I >> bought it last summer. We don't refrigerate it.. just leave it on the shelf >> in the pantry or on the kitchen table. So far, not a speck of crystalized >> sugar in the bottom. > > Not really. All honey is a super saturated solution of glucose and fructose > (mostly). If seeded, all will crystallize. Some honeys, those that contain > more glucose, crystallize readily. This includes dandelion, aster and > goldenrod in my area. What a lot of people don't know is that if you have a > jar that crystallizes, and you end up with a layer of liquid on top, that > liquid will contain mainly the fructose and the water from the part that > crystallized. The additional water can make it ferment. Here is a good > article on it: > http://www.montcobeekeepers.org/Documents/Honey_Crystallization.pdf which has > a table of which honeys crystallize fastest. >> >> I used to buy my honey from Vermont Country Store and it was wonderful >> quality. They quit carrying locally gathered honey for some reason and I >> had to look around for another source. It was my good fortune to locate a >> beekeeper locally. > > Good. > > Marshall >> Lola H. >> >> On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 5:54 PM, Marshall <mdud...@king-cart.com> wrote: >> The large companies heat their honey, more to thin it for filtering than for >> bottling. If you exceed about 120F it kills the enzymes. Small local >> beekeepers generally will never heat their honey, nor filter it. >> They will simply strain it through some cheesecloth, or an unused paint >> strainer. >> >> Marshall >> >> On 8/16/2013 2:39 PM, finplan65 wrote: >>> >>> Does the term unheated mean raw? Also I was told all honey actually is >>> heated by necessity to enable it to be poured in to the container. >>> Otherwise it is too viscous...true? Thank you >>> >>> >>> From: Cyndi <cyndi...@gmail.com> >>> To: silver-list@eskimo.com >>> Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2013 3:22 PM >>> Subject: Re: CS> >>> >>> On 8/14/2013 10:12 PM, finplan65 wrote: >>>> Any brand names of the few percent that are authentic? >>>> >>> >>> What matters is that it is honey local to you because then it's made from >>> pollen in your area. A national brand will never meet that criteria. You >>> also want it raw, not processed. Not only is it helpful for arthritis but >>> allergies and many other conditions, especially when mixed with organic >>> apple cider vinegar. Together it's called honeger . I get my honey from >>> local feed stores. >>> >>> Cyndi >>> >>> >>> No virus found in this message. >>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >>> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3211/6083 - Release Date: 08/16/13 >>> >> >> >> No virus found in this message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3211/6083 - Release Date: 08/16/13 >> >
