ARDEN HILLS GOLD Honey – ToBeeYoungApiaries @ gmail.com.

                                     Raw Honey vs Processed Honey… So is it really honey?

Raw honey is in its purest form when it is unfiltered or never heated above natural hive temperatures.

Raw honey is a natural source of vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and even antioxidant-rich vitamin C. It also contains minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulfur, and phosphate.

So what is the difference between raw honey and the honey that can be purchased at the local supermarket?

Nearly all honey purchased in the market place is heated to some degree, filtered, and/or even pasteurized. Filtering honey with a micron filter will yield honey that has no air bubbles, has no particulate matter in suspension, and will be perfectly clear. The reason for removing large particles, including pollen, is that these can act as “seed crystals” for honey crystallization. Filtering helps prevent crystallization on the store shelf. Honey stored at room temperature will crystallize over time, but the process can be reversed without detriment to the product by warming the honey to approximately 98F degrees.

Filtered honey, must be heated so it becomes less viscous and easier to pump through the filter. Heating honey to temperature above 98.6 has detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey. Heating honey 100 °F causes loss of nearly 200 components, some of which are antibacterial.and destroys invertase, an important enzyme. At 122 °F, the honey sugars caramelize and it turns from a light color to an increasingly darker color as the temperature rises.

Filtering and processing eliminates many of the beneficial phytonutrients including pollen and enzyme-rich propolis and the pollen that has been denatured by the heating process.

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