Recognizing Raw Honey for the Beekeeper

Honey is like cash in the bank to a beekeeper so it is important that you look after it during harvest, processing and packaging to maintain the honey in top excellent condition. Honey is considered to be in Prime condition shortly after it is been restricted by the bees. As soon as you have harvested it, it turns into the beekeepers responsibility to keep up the honey at peak condition.

Actually even the timing of your harvest can affect the quality of the honey. Honey has to be chosen as soon as practical after it is all restricted by the bees, as left from the comb it will darken over time.

Raw honey

The other Considerations When picking your honey will be the weather conditions and how soon after crop you will have the ability to extract the honey. Honey absorbs water from the air; it is what is known as a hygroscopic substance. In the hive the bees maintain the warmth and ventilate the hive to keep the atmosphere as dry as possible that preserves the quality of the honey.

Once harvested, especially in Wet or moist conditions the honey starts to absorb moisture in the air. As the water content of the honey increases the quality deteriorates to buy raw honey online. Finally when the water content is high enough, naturally occurring yeasts within the honey start the fermentation procedure.

The longer the period between Harvesting and processing and packaging the more water could be consumed. So in addition to harvesting when circumstances are as dry as possible, it is also important to decrease the time between harvest, packaging and extraction.

Some clients like to buy raw honey that has not been heated or filtered. Raw honey has a shorter shelf life than processed honey and it is more likely to crystallize sooner.

Consumers who prefer raw product feel that heating and filtering reduces or destroys a few of the health benefits of honey, they are ready to accept the reduced keeping time and organic crystallization for the additional benefits.

Honey is heated during Processing for 2 reasons, it makes it a lot easier to extract and filter the warm honey and the heat treatment destroys the yeasts which occur naturally in honey. When the natural yeasts are murdered the shelf life of this honey is extended and this is favored by the majority of market outlets.

Over heating however is another Way to undermine the quality of your honey. Too much heat breaks down the sugars in the honey making the honey destroying the more volatile flavors that give honey its distinct regional flavor attributes.