Honey is popularly known as a delicious, sweet and sticky syrup you drizzle onto pancakes. As we become increasingly health and environmentally conscious, organic honey is quickly turning to a staple supplement in most households. Did you know that this well-loved natural sweetener has been gathered and enjoyed for at least 8,000 years? With all that un-BEE-lievable history, it is easy to love this luscious liquid gold. As we enter the beehive of one of nature’s best raw superfoods, packed with nutrients and all natural goodness, you’ll never go back to regular honey again.
#1 What is Organic Raw Honey made of?
Of all the bees, only the honey bee can actually make honey. They start by collecting the nectar or pollen from flowers or plants, which get broken down into simple sugars and stored inside the honeycomb. The unique design of the honeycomb is fanned by the bees' wings to speed up evaporation, creating the sweet liquid we know as honey. What makes raw honey organic is the pollen that is specifically collected from organically grown plants. These plants are free from chemical miticides, a chemical agent used to kill mites, that may be sprayed on plants visited by honey bees.
#2 How is Organic Raw Honey made?
Once harvested by beekeepers, the honey is extracted from the honeycombs by straining it to remove any remaining wax, heroic dead bees and other particles. The most important part of making Organic Raw Honey is that the wellbeing of the bees are prioritised along with better and more sustainable beekeeping practices, as well as following the organic livestock standards. This means that the hives, flowers and plants must be chemical free and far from any chemical that may be present within their surrounding, and the bees cannot be given antibiotics.
Most certified organic honey makers, make sure to preserve the honey’s natural qualities by extracting and bottling them with exceptional care.
The best way to know if you are buying good quality honey, is to look at the ingredients list to make sure it states 100% organic raw honey with no added ingredients or additives.
#3 How do Honey varieties get their taste, colour and texture?
The taste and texture of honey are affected by the nectar source and properties of the nectar source like the different water level content, chemical composition and weather. These characteristics also depend on the season and the blooming plants available in the area of harvest.
As for the honey colour, that can range from a light to dark golden hue, is affected by the floral or plant source, age and crystallisation process of the honey.
#4 How should Organic Raw Honey be stored at home and does it expire?
Prolonged exposure to sunlight makes honey lose many of its health benefits, therefore it’s important to keep it in a cool location away from direct sunlight and in a tightly sealed container.
It is best to use the original container the honey came in, but a glass jar or food-safe plastic container will work just as well. Avoid storing honey in metal because it can oxidise, and in due time, cause corrosion on the metal container, unless it is stainless steel.
Contrary to popular belief, it is safe to consume honey with any spoon, be it metal or wooden. It should be noted that metal spoons in a jar of honey overnight will cause it to spoil because of a reaction between the metal and honey’s acidic PH levels.
Although honey does not expire when stored properly in tightly sealed jars, it will go through natural changes in character, aroma, taste and crystallisation as time goes by. Interestingly, archeologists have discovered honey that is thousands of years old in Egyption tombs that appeared to be well preserved and edible.
#5 What are the benefits of Honey?
How do I love thee, honey, let me count the ways…
Organic Raw Honey is known to be a good source of antioxidants, with antibacterial and antifungal properties. It can aid in healing wounds, is a great immunity booster, help with digestive issues and improve gut health with natural prebiotics. It also helps to soothe those horribly scratchy sore throats. Honey is a healthier replacement for sugar as well as a natural way to sweeten and enhance the flavour of food.
#6 How can you tell if it is Raw or Regular Honey?
The most obvious characteristics of regular honey are it’s clear, smooth texture with even colour, and inability to crystallise. This is because regular honey is pasteurised to kill the yeast and bacteria that raw honey may carry. The many steps of processing also results in it losing the beneficial nutrients and goodness from the original nectar and pollen.
In comparison, raw honey is straight from the beehive and only strained before it's bottled, so as to retain most of the beneficial nutrients and antioxidants that it naturally contains.
#7 What is so good about Melaleuca Organic Raw Honey?
Australia's Bungawalbin Valley rainforest provides our bees with some of the cleanest and greenest bush in the world to forage from. Australian tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), along with a wide variety of native Australian botanical species such as jelly bush (Leptospermum), eucalyptus and other seasonal wildflowers grow in abundance throughout the region.
This incredible environment allows us to produce honey that is superior in both taste and quality; honey that is completely raw, unprocessed, unheated and unpasteurised; retaining the naturally occurring raw honey properties, just as the bees intended!
Read more About Us and the Melaleuca Alternifolia Tea Tree.
#8 Can I eat raw honey directly? Can I mix raw honey with warm water? Will it kill the enzymes?
Yes, you can eat raw honey directly, in fact in the case of a normal, balanced diet, including 1 teaspoon of honey per day is a beneficial addition to your everyday health regimen.
Honey can lose its enzymes when mixed with boiling water or heated above 40 degrees, but with warm water you’ll still be able to preserve the naturally occurring nutrients within the honey. Drink a mixture of honey and warm water as soon as you wake up to start the day feeling energised.
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With so many types of Organic Raw Honey in the market today - from pure to regular and raw to organic, it can be hard to choose the best option to meet your health needs and satisfy your sweet tooth!
Meluka Australia Organic Raw Honey is a great option to add to your daily health and wellness routine. It’s 100% natural, unprocessed, delicious and good for you.
Need we say more except, time to get yourself a jar! Shop now.