So we know we need bees to keep our food production going, but what other awesome thing do bees provide us with?
Honey, of course.
I was lucky enough to grow up with grandparents and an uncle who had bee hives.
As a result, I learnt early on that it is important to never be scared around bees and how delicious fresh honeycomb is!
In fact, it wasn’t until I left home that I ate store-bought honey. I was astonished that store bought honey not only tasted VERY different, but also never crystallised.
Believe it or not, honey straight from a hive crystallises, or goes hard. This is normal and it can be re-softened by simply leaving it in the sun, or putting the jar in hot water. Funnily enough, some people even enjoy eating crystallised honey, as it’s not as messy!
Crystallised Honey
The speed with which honey crystallises is dependant on the flowers the bees frequented.
Very simply, glucose and fructose are the sugars which give honey its “sweetness”. Glucose is the one that influences crystallisation and the more glucose in the honey, the sooner your honey will crystallise.
The process in a nutshell: Water in all honey (less than 18%), binds to the sugars, yet can separate from glucose. When glucose loses water, it becomes a crystal. Once a crystal forms, it will continue to build more crystals until the entire container is crystallised and things like pollen, propolis or wax, will get trapped in the crystals.
The reason store bought honey doesn't crystallise and tastes different is due to a few factors. Store bought honey is usually a combination of honey from different suppliers and regions, therefore a wide variety of flowers were used in the making of the honey. In addition, the honey is put through a refining process, which some believe changes the structure.
My grandfather’s raw honey always tasted different, depending on what was in flower at the time. When the Leptospermums, tea trees were in flower, a dark full body honey was produced. When the iron barks were in flower, a light coloured, lightly flavoured honey was produced.
As with most foods, it is always better to buy and eat unprocessed food. Raw honey is always, in my opinion, going to be better for you, so do your research and find out where your honey is coming from.
Don't just buy it from a stranger because they say it is raw and/or organic. Believe it or not, many markets are not regulated by government guidelines, like primary producers or retailers. Look for certified sellers and be sure the buyers meet government guidelines.
Trevallan stocks Robo and Sons locally produced Honey.