What is Raw Honey and what are its uses? 

The dictionary definition of raw honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding heat. Heat is used to pasteurize commercial honey, but natural raw honey is the specialty of smaller gourmet apiaries.

Honey connoisseurs certainly vote for raw honey vs. pasteurized honey, in terms of quality and flavor. Alternative medicine indicates the use of raw honey for maximum medicinal benefit, as important enzymes are fragile and are killed in the process of heat pasteurization. The practice that has been documented back to 2100 B.C. and more recently in Australia of applying raw honey to wounds to aid in the healing process is revitalizing again. Known by the U.S. Homeopathy, enthusiasts claim that raw honey can be an effective treatment for allergy sufferers. Because of the principles of homeopathy are based on giving a little of the irritant to the patient in order to build up their tolerance to it, it makes sense that the essences and pollen of flowers present in raw, unprocessed honey could be effective for building tolerance to hay fever and flower allergies.

Unlike commercial honey, no sugar syrup is added to natural raw honey. It is very sweet on its own. Raw honey may come in a variety of flavors, based upon the flowers the bees visit in the honey making process. Some of the most popular raw honey products include Star thistle Honey and Orange Blossom Honey. One very important thing to note about honey, however, is that it should never be fed to infants under 1 year old. This applies to both raw and pasteurized honey the infant may not capable of handling some of the properties of honey.
 

Why does my honey look/taste different than I’m used to?

 Honey comes in many colors and flavors – these are called honey varietals and they are determined by the type of flowers the bees visited for nectar.
Some are light and sweet; others are dark and bold. Pick the honey you like and enjoy!

What is raw honey?

This is the definition Bear Foot Honey uses to define “Raw Honey”.

• Raw Honey is NEVER filtered to remove the natural pollens.
• Raw Honey is NEVER heat treated or pasteurized. Should honey crystallize (as is  the natural preservation of Raw Honey), honey can be
  warmed up to 95 degrees. This is IMPORTANT as 95 degrees brings the honey back to hive temperature & does not harm the natural
  enzymes found in Raw Honey that start dying off when Honey is heated above 115 degrees.
• Raw Honey should NEVER  have additional water added to it. Even though adding 20% additional water to honey is an acceptable standard by
  the US Government to slow the crystallization. We at Bear Foot Honey feel this is unethical, the natural water ratio in raw honey upon the
  honey bees capping the honey frames is around 16-18%. Bear Foot Honey strives to “Educate not Mutilate”.Note:
  There is only 1 raw honey that will NEVER crystallize, due to the lack of pollen. This Raw Honey is known as Tupelo.

What is honey’s nutritional information?

Honey is composed primarily of carbohydrates and water, and also contains small amounts of a wide array of vitamins and minerals, including
niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Of recent interest is the antioxidant content of honey. Honey contains a variety of flavonoids and phenolic acids which act as antioxidants,
scavenging and eliminating free radicals. Generally, darker honeys have higher antioxidant content than lighter honeys.

Why can’t I feed honey to my baby less than 1 year of age?

Honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores that can cause infant botulism – a rare but serious disease that affects the nervous system
of young babies (under one year of age). C. botulinum spores are present throughout the environment and may be found in dust, soil and
improperly canned foods. Adults and children over one year of age are routinely exposed to, but not normally affected by, C. botulinum spores.

Honey is safe to consume during pregnancy and lactation. While infants are susceptible to the disease infant botulism, adults, including
pregnant females, are not. The concern for babies stems from the fact that infants lack the fully developed gastrointestinal tract of older humans.
Since the mother is not in danger of developing this condition, the unborn baby is protected.

Does honey have an expiration date?

Raw Honey has in indefinite shelf life! Stored in sealed containers raw honey can remain stable for decades and even centuries! Raw Honey was
found in the Egyptian Tombs 4000 years old & still good. Raw Honey will however naturally crystallize, this is perfectly normal.

How do I re-liquefy crystallized honey?

Real All Natural Raw Honey contains enzymes. Eating products with enzymes have many health benefits. However, enzymes are fragile;
and therefore it is our recommendation to follow this method to un-crystallize raw all natural honey.

1) Place saucepan filled halfway with water on low heat, no warmer than 95 degrees.

2) To allow proper distribution of warmth place item(s)  in bottom of saucepan  (ex. two table knifes) 

3) Place jar of crystallized honey (without lid) in saucepan, careful to not overflow water into honey jar. 

4) Allow warm water to gently warm honey back to liquid state. Stir honey occasionally to distribute warmth. 

Note: Raw Honey does not spoil, therefore it can be stored anywhere. However, storing liquefied honey in FREEZER slows crystallizing process. 
Raw Honey will NOT freeze. Do not microwave Raw Honey as the temperature of the honey is hard to control in the microwave & you may risk
killing the natural enzymes found in Raw Honey.

Does Raw Honey Cure Seasonal Allergies?

Raw Honey is made up of nectar’s and pollens that the honey bee gather. These same nectar’s and pollens that are responsible for the seasonal
allergies that plague many of us with a runny nose, watery eyes and scratchy throat. The human body is extremely intelligent in its ability to
learn & adapt. Taking Raw Local Honey for your seasonal allergies is similar to taking a vaccine. Vaccines introduce dummy versions of a particular
virus or germ into the body and effectively trick the body into believing it has been invaded, triggering an immune system response [source: UNICEF].
This produces antibodies designated to fight off the foreign invaders. When the body is actually exposed to the harmful germ or virus, the antibodies
are ready for them.

The idea behind eating local raw honey is kind of like gradually vaccinating the body against allergens, a process called immunotherapy.
Honey contains a variety of the same pollen spores that give allergy sufferers so much trouble when flowers and grasses are in bloom. Introducing
these spores into the body in small amounts by eating local raw honey should make the body accustomed to their presence and decrease the
chance of an immune system response like the release of histamine will occur [source: AAFP]. Since the concentration of pollen spores found in
honey is low — compared to, say, sniffing a flower directly — then the production of antibodies shouldn’t trigger symptoms similar to an allergic
reaction.

Local Honey is produced by honey bees usually within 50 miles of where the person eating the honey lives. There is often a sign that occurs after
injesting a local raw honey for your allergies. Often (within 5 minutes) after taking a local raw honey if the body suffers from seasonal allergies, the 
back of the throat, top of the mouth, or tongue  will get itchy or scratchy. This is the sign the seasonal allergy sufferer looks for that shows which
local raw honey will work for them. By taking at least a teaspoon of that local raw honey each day the sufferer is teaching their body how to adapt
to the seasonal allergies naturally. To clear this sensation from the sufferers throat a glass of water works well.

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