Best Honey|Honey to Buy.

Raw organic honey is the best honey. Choose raw honey because it is unprocessed and therefore maintains all the nutritional  ingredients of honey in it. Processing of honey involves pasteurization and heating and filtering of raw honey, which takes away the natural nutrients of honey.

Organic honey is honey which is obtained from uncultivated land or land that is growing  plants by following strict guidelines of organic farming. Sites for such farms or apiaries have to be away from industrial pollution, urban areas, motorways, etc. Producers of organic honey have to follow strict guidelines and are monitored regularly by governing bodies.

Organic honey is therefore not polluted by the insecticides and the antibiotics  which are used to spray the plants. Manuka Honey which originates from New Zealand is believed to be very potent in its healing properties. It is derived by the bees by feeding on the manuka bushes.

Tips to Choose Your Honey.

1) Low Water Content.

Honey is hygroscopic and draws moisture from the atmosphere. Honey produced in high humidity areas is therefore likely to have a higher water content. Ideally water content of raw honey can be as low as about 14%.  Honey contains wild yeasts which are rich in sugar content. Being hygroscopic in nature, honey draws water from the yeasts, making the yeasts dormant   In this dormant stage, the yeasts do not ferment.

Higher content of water in honey, say about 19% or more, will not draw water from the yeasts, which therefore start fermenting on the store shelves. The water content of honey can be measured by a refractometer. Alternatively, you turn the bottle of honey upside down. If the water content is high, the bubbles of air will rise faster. You could do this by comparing with another similar bottle.

2) Color of Honey.

The color of honey varies from light yellow to amber to a dark color neighboring on almost black. This is because honey varieties vary according to the flowering fields and countries. The natural dark colored honey is associated with more nutritional value, higher mineral content and a better flavor.

3) Organic Honey.

Look for the certification or logo on the label of the honey bottle from the authorized body of the respective country – certifying that it is organic.

Label showing USDA certification of organic honey.

4) Hydroxymethyfurfural. (HMF) content.

HMF is a bye product that is formed when fructose in honey breaks down either due to long periods of storage or due to excessive heating during processing of honey. Pure honey when  sold in bulk has to have a HMF of 10 to 15 mg/kg. After processing, a level of 40mg/kg is reached to give honey a reasonable shelf life. In hotter climates, a higher HMF level ( up to 100 HMF) may be necessary. Higher HMF content of your honey will tell you three things:

• That fructose has broken down due a longer unnecessary shelf life.
• Heating during the processing of honey has been more leading to loss of more nutrients.
• That honey is adulterated with man made inverted sugars like sugar and sucrose and corn syrup.

5) Crystallized Honey.

Crystallized honey does not necessarily mean that the honey is adulterated with sugar water. Pure honey is highly saturated with sugar and it is normal for it to crystallize especially in temperate climates.

Testing for Purity of Honey.

Do these simple tests to verify that your honey is pure and not adulterated with corn syrup or sugar water.

• Dip a cotton wick in honey and shake off the excess. Hold the wick against a flame. If it is pure honey, it will burn immediately while adulterated honey will take while to start burning.
• Put a few drops of your honey on a blotting paper or a white cloth. If it is absorbed, then the honey is not pure.

These tests basically determine whether there is water in your honey because honey is usually adulterated with either sugar water or corn syrup.

How to Store Honey|Tips to store honey.

• Always store honey in a cool dry place. The reason for this is that being  hygroscopic in nature honey tends to draw in moisture from the atmosphere. Honey stored in this fashion will stay well indefinitely because of its acidic ph, which does not allow microorganisms to flourish.
• Cold temperatures will thicken the honey while warmer temperatures will alter the taste and color of honey.

To get the maximum benefits of honey, follow the tips mentioned above to choose the best honey.

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