Mmmmmmm! Honey is so yummy. But what is raw honey? You may have heard this term, or you may wonder why some honey you buy is not "raw". I will explain.
 |
This honey bee is using her proboscis to collect nectar from this ceanothus flower.
Also, see her full pollen basket on her leg? |
 |
| This bumblebee also wants some of the action. |
Simply put, honey is flower nectar that the bees have collected and then stored in the hive. They fan their wings to evaporate the water and it becomes the thick honey that we know and love. The color and taste of the honey depends on the kind of flower the bees collect the nectar from. When the honey's moisture content is below 18% it is ready, and the bees cap the storage cell with wax. When we harvest honey from our bees, we take it out of the hive and extract it from the honey comb. We strain out the loose beeswax and we are left with the raw honey. We make sure the bees have enough for their needs over the winter, and we keep the extra.
 |
| Capped and uncapped honey |
 |
Honey in the comb from different flowers,
after we cut the cappings off. Such a contrast!
See the strip we missed on the right there? |
Raw honey means that the pollen has not been filtered out of the honey, and it has not been heated (over 140 degrees Fahrenheit, though we have seen numbers as low as 120 degrees and as high as 165 degrees). Filtering honey gets all of the particles and small air bubbles out and makes it crystal clear. It also slows down the natural crystallization process. Don't think of raw honey in the same category as raw milk or raw meat. Raw honey has been minimally processed; less filtering and no high heating and that's all. Some people believe that it provides health benefits-that's a subject for a different time.
To learn more about honey visit the National Honey Board at
http://www.honey.com/
To learn more about keeping bees look to the Washington State Beekeeper's Association:
http://wasba.org/
 |
| Cutting off the cappings. |
 |
| Fresh honey! |
