Raw honey

Sweet Melissa · 05-29-2008, 01:08 PM

OK, help please! I've tried to find the answer to this, to no avail.

A couple years ago, we were given some fresh, raw honey from some people who raised bees. They told us at that time that it is a common practice to add a certain percentage of corn syrup to honey and market it as "pure honey."

So, if I want to buy just honey- no corn syrup- do I have to buy "raw" honey or can I still buy "pure" honey?

7pointbull · 05-29-2008, 01:17 PM

Raw honey is 100% honey that has not been pasturized. It is the only way to eat honey in my opinion. The stuff whith HFCS is bad for your system and is responsible for the rise in Diabetes IMHO

Sweet Melissa · 05-29-2008, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7pointbull

Raw honey is 100% honey that has not been pasturized. It is the only way to eat honey in my opinion. The stuff whith HFCS is bad for your system and is responsible for the rise in Diabetes IMHO

So, is it true that honey labeled "pure" can contain HFCS? It's less expensive, for sure.

Cornbread · 05-29-2008, 01:42 PM

A lot of Orchards around sell 100% non-pasteurized honey.

7pointbull · 05-29-2008, 01:46 PM

I think it is more of a marketing term and not a grading term. So I imagine it can contain anything because it is not labled 100% pure honey. KFC has packaged honey and it is labeld pure honey and it is mostly HFCS.

Here is a USDA Grading doc.

You can also go to beesource.com and the guys there will know for sure.

Sweet Melissa · 05-29-2008, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornbread

A lot of Orchards around sell 100% non-pasteurized honey.

I think I'm going to start buying it locally, because I use quite a bit of it in bread baking. Hopefully, it's a little less spendy, too.

Chrome Bumper · 05-29-2008, 02:24 PM

Scappoose Farmers Market, Saturday's 10 AM. A bit far from Yamhill Co though.

Sweet Melissa · 05-29-2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrome Bumper

Scappoose Farmers Market, Saturday's 10 AM. A bit far from Yamhill Co though.

LOL.

Yeah, I don't want to blow my whole gas budget for the week to buy honey.

wthr4d · 05-29-2008, 02:58 PM

I have been told that if you eat local raw honey you will experience less allergy symptoms after little awhile. I have not tried it but have been told that by more than one person.

Paul

Sweet Melissa · 05-29-2008, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wthr4d

I have been told that if you eat local raw honey you will experience less allergy symptoms after little awhile. I have not tried it but have been told that by more than one person.

Paul

That's cool. I have never heard that. I don't have allergies, but I have a friend who has them really bad. I'll be sure to mention this to her.

HntnFsh · 05-30-2008, 07:18 AM

Should work,its the bee pollen thing.
Ive also been told to get honey that wasnt pasteurized or seperated using heat.

negoc8 · 05-30-2008, 07:29 AM

We get real good honey from the stand thats located on 99 just north of the intersection of highway 18. Not cheap but very tasty.

7pointbull · 05-30-2008, 07:40 AM

Heat ruins the taste honey . It is done to kill the natural yeast. You will be reading a lot in the next few years about the resurgence of honey as a natural anti biotic in wound care. The enzyemes in honey kill surface bacteria and as MRSA progresses they are looking for alternatives to traditional antibiotics.

If you ar baking or cooking with Honey get the cheapest you can find for eating You want to look for honey that is a medium to darker amber in color for the most flavor. The lighter honey that they sell in the stores is clover honey and it is the mildest in taste. I get an almost balck honey in the very early spring and it is very strong but if you use it in teas it tastes like someone poured flowers in your cup. I think the best tasting honey I have ever tasted come from California in the east hills where they grow Oranges among the sage hills its a blend of orange and sage that is hard to describe. The best place to buy honeys at a state fair or farmers market where you have have multiple producers. Also post an add in the classified section of Beesource .com and buy honey form other parts of the country. You can buy a galloon to 5 gallons and have it shipped fairly cheap. people even sell 50 gallon barrels if you want to divide it amongst friends.

Honey prices are at an all time low. The Chinese have been dumping honey on the market for several years. The prices are heading up with coloney collapse disorder and bee populations falling however.

Just say no to white sugar use honey

Cornbread · 05-30-2008, 09:37 AM

Just be careful if you have allergies that lead to asthma attacks. My little brother almost died from an asthma attack brought on by the pollen in honey. It can help with allergies by building up your tolerance to them but you need to be careful you don't get to much of a good thing or you could end up like my brother did and go into anaphylactic shock. Like anything natural it can be good in moderation but some people should talk to their DR before they try it.

TJfirebug · 05-30-2008, 07:41 PM

Raw local honey is the way to go!!!!

happybrew · 05-30-2008, 11:24 PM

I know you have small children. Honey can be a botulism risk in children under 2 years old.

Sweet Melissa · 05-31-2008, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happybrew

I know you have small children. Honey can be a botulism risk in children under 2 years old.

I'm careful about what I feed the baby, though I've heard conflicting reports about whether it's still potentially harmful in something that's been baked or cooked.

happybrew · 05-31-2008, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweet Melissa

I'm careful about what I feed the baby, though I've heard conflicting reports about whether it's still potentially harmful in something that's been baked or cooked.

Infant botulism is caused by spores which enter the digestive tract and grow, causing the child to absorb the toxin. The spores are not killed by normal cooking techniques. The only way to destroy them is through both heat and pressure. This is why green beans and meats require processing in a pressure canner. I suppose you could try pressure canning honey, but I don't know what your results would be. Probably not good, as it would likely carmelize. I tried to can a sugar cured ham once and it was nasty, as the sugar underwent a serious Maillard reaction (a type of chemical reaction of sugar with heat, responsible for browning of breads and creation of dark beers, among other things.)

Anyway, baking and cooking on a stove will not destroy the spores and you child will still be at risk. It is rare, but I wouldn't want my child to be the 1/100.

happybrew

Sweet Melissa · 06-01-2008, 08:14 AM

Bought some pure local honey, not raw, yesterday at a nearby fruit stand. We had it on biscuits this morning. Yum!

PaPa Jon · 06-02-2008, 11:18 AM

After reading this thread and since I have hay fever allergies I talked to the wife about finding some raw honey (I have it on waffles with peanut butter allot).
She came back from the store with a container of Honeymaid Raw Natural Honey made in Canada. I checked their website and it has been pasteurized. So I guess the hunt for local raw honey is still on.
Thanks for all the good info

Sweet Melissa · 06-02-2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregon Boater

After reading this thread and since I have hay fever allergies I talked to the wife about finding some raw honey (I have it on waffles with peanut butter allot).
She came back from the store with a container of Honeymaid Raw Natural Honey made in Canada. I checked their website and it has been pasteurized. So I guess the hunt for local raw honey is still on.
Thanks for all the good info

Let us know if it works for you. If it's true, it should help some others out there.

TheDandyDuck · 06-02-2008, 03:25 PM

Ok, I want to help but I am not sure if this info is ok with the Mods. So please feel free to delete this post if I am breaking the rules.

I have purchased 100% raw pure honey from C & J Apiaries down in the Dayton area. They offer it at the Beaverton Farmers Market in space 23 nearly every Saturday. This stuff is of the Blackberry formula and is just wonderful.

I have the phone number if needed, just send me a pm and I will return it to you.

Good luck
and I hope again that I did not break any rules.

Dan

urban4x4 · 06-02-2008, 03:41 PM

I also buy my honey from C & J Apiaries at the Beaverton Farmers Market, it's excellent. For allergies it's best to get honey that is as local to your home as possible. This way you will be exposed to the same pollens that are causing your allergies. Honey from different regions will be made with different pollens that you may not be exposed to in your area, and you would not build up an immunity to the correct allergens.

STGRule · 06-02-2008, 05:06 PM

Names are just fine. Addresses, phone numbers, and internet links are not. PM's and e-mail are a perfect way to trade the information.

water and sky · 06-02-2008, 05:20 PM

Sometimes you can find raw wild honey advertised on homemade signs near where you live. I see several of them in Clackamas county. If your'e going to rely on it for allergy help you need to start taking it before symptoms begin. That way, your immune system has time to to react to the "allergens" in the honey. Then, when you are exposed to those allergens in the air, your immune system is some what desensitized.