How often do you consider how the honey in stores is made? You might think that it’s a simple process - Bees go off to collect nectar, they bring it home, and start making delicious honey for a beekeeper to carefully collect, package, and sell to you. Unfortunately this isn’t the full story.
The majority of store-bought honey is heated, watered down, refined, and packed with additives. All this happens before you see the jar of honey on the shelf, and it is the hidden cost of modern-day, big brand, dirt cheap honey.
So now that you know the full story the question is, how does this affect you and what is the difference between pure raw honey and processed honey products?
What is raw honey?
Humanity has cultivated and consumed honey for thousands of years - honey has been with us since the beginning, and until recently that honey was pure, raw, and un-processed. We describe honey as ‘raw’ when it has not been pasteurized nor processed.
Today however, the standard honey we see is not what it once was. Honey processing on an industrial scale has allowed corporate entities to take control of almost the entire ecosystem. Flowers, bees, and hives are grown in controlled environments, often using pesticides and chemical fertilizers to maximise efficiency.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once harvest, pasteurization begins. To allow for faster pouring and picture perfect clarity, the honey is pasteurized by heating it over an extended period of time. By performing such intensive heat treatment, all the yeast cells, plus a bunch of important enzymes, antioxidants, minerals, and helpful compounds, are all destroyed.
Finally the remaining product is filtered and can be watered down and / or mixed with any number of additives. This form of honey is far from that which nature provides - with almost all of it’s natural goodness stripped away, there is little that separates this honey with something entirely artificial.
What are the benefits of raw honey?
In addition to its great taste, raw honey has a variety of pro-wellbeing properties. Unfortunately, the intense refinement and pasteurisation processes that processed honey endures, destroys the vast majority of flavonoids, antioxidants, and enzymes that boost wellbeing.
Glucose oxidase, for example, is an enzyme that when combined with water produces hydrogen peroxide, which has strong antibacterial properties. However, this is one such enzyme that is destroyed by the high temperatures of the pasteurisation process; and hence, is only found in raw honey.
Another benefit of raw honey is it’s antioxidant concentration. According to the 2006Food Chemistry article: ‘Raw Millefiori honey is packed full of antioxidants’, raw honey can contain up to 4 times more antioxidants than comparable processed honey variants. These antioxidants boost the immune system and keep your cardiovascular system in good health.
It is also interesting to note that raw honey has been used as a natural digestive aid for centuries, thanks to the digestion-facilitating enzymes it possesses. But again, the extended heating processes of pasteurisation eliminates this property by killing the necessary enzymes.
Finally, it has to be said that raw honey simply has a stronger flavour, and in our opinion, tastes better for it. As is the case with Manuka honey, the species and health of the flowers from which honey is produced strongly impacts it’s taste. For this reasonB Brothers Honeycan not only guarantee that it’s honey is pesticide and chemical free, but that it also has the fullest and most flavourful natural taste.
In summary, pure raw honey offers the following:
- Immune system booster
- Natural antibacterial benefits
- Anticarcinogenic properties
- Easing of digestion and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- And a fuller flavour!
All of B Brothers Honey’s products are made from pure raw honey, working with bees from the Gold Coast Hinterland to Byron Bay, zero pesticides or chemicals are used in our hives or on their flowers. Using natural cold extraction methods, our honey is full of flavour and pro-wellbeing goodness - the way nature intended.