After the beekeeper collects the
honey it's processed immediately after harvesting
because it crystallizes when it's allowed to sit. It has
to be heated up between 150-170 degrees because it
carries the bacterium that causes botulism, which can be
dangerous since this is the very bacterium that causes
food poisoning. Honey is actually sweeter than table
sugar, but the problem with table sugar is that it's
bleached white since actual unprocessed raw sugar is
brown. Honey is pasteurized to kill off the bacteria
like botulism to make it safe to eat and to put in food.
Honey actually doesn't have that golden color it's
actually white and pasty looking before it's cooked down
to the point that it caramelizes. Honey also serves a
purpose in medicine and in many vitamin supplements
since raw unprocessed honey carries a high level of
antioxidants and enzymes and aids in digestion and other
health properties.
What is great about honey is that it's slowly taking the
place of corn syrup being used in a lot of the food that
we eat today because it's been linked to cause diabetes
because people eat it in such an increased amount. Honey
is being used because it's produced naturally since corn
syrup is mechanically processed. Honey is also being
used in beer and other beverage like teas and is readily
becoming a hugely useful product that puts a lot of
beekeepers back in the spotlight to produce high quality
honey. For the past 2700 years according to history
honey was used in medicine to provide topical relief for
rashes and skin irritation like the condition called
MRSA (pronounced mersa-a type of resistant staph
infection). Honey is also good for mixing it with a
little lemon to treat laryngitis and was used to treat
contagious conjunctivitis (pink eye).
There are 7 different ways honey can be processed the
most common are comb honey that's heated and treated
through pasteurization and then you got the raw honey
which is the base for pasteurized honey you see mostly
in the stores today. Parents are advised to be careful
in giving infant honey products because of the acid
levels and potential exposure to the botulism bacteria.
That's why it is wise to eat honey that's been
pasteurized since you don't know what kind of exposure
the bees who produced the honey has been around so it's
better to eat honey that's been pasteurized or produced
by an organic farmer that does raw honey because that's
probably the safest kind of honey you can eat that isn't
going to expose you to harmful bacteria.
Many beekeepers are trying to take the honey they
produce to the organic level because they don't believe
in producing a product using harmful pesticides and
chemicals. If anything organic is your best bet because
these farmers only produce a product on land that's not
treated with chemicals. Organic farming also have
standards they adhere to in terms of what the market
expects of the product and beekeepers are usually about
the natural way of things especially when it comes to
the honey they produce.