Honey Buying Guide – Essential Tips to Get the Real Goodness

Honey is the oldest natural sweetener known to man; it is nature’s sweetest of treats. Every one of us has heard about how honey is beneficial for our various health systems. From removing the bitterness from a morning mug of espresso, improving your every day drinks, to raising the kinds of most loved pastries, this natural sweetener does the best work!

Apart from knowing how great honey is and that it is flavored according to the region in which it is harvested, there is one thing that most of us probably don’t know about.

How to buy the right honey and the one you are buying is loaded with essential properties or not?

If you are expanding your knowledge about honey or interested in purchasing it, then your next step is to learn how to choose the world’s best honey. Nonetheless, before you run out and get a jar of this sweet stuff, it is a must to know about numerous types of honey.

Honey is broadly classified as liquid, granulated, creamed, chunked, or unprocessed comb honey.

• Comb honey is exactly the same we receive from the bees and has not been filtered out during the process.

• Liquid honey is by far the most popular honey available in the market. It is probably the easiest honey to cook and bake with.
   
• Crystallized honey is another pure honey with a more grainy texture. Sometime due to lower temperatures, the natural honey begins to crystallize though it doesn’t lose its nutrition and sweetness.
   
• Creamed honey is generally made by crushing the large grains of crystallized honey thereby giving a smooth & creamy texture to the product.
   
• Monofloral honey has a more distinctive flavor among all varieties of honey as it is made up of a single variety of flower & gets the perfect flavor from it.

After knowing about the classification of honey, you might be thinking it’s easy to pick your favorite honey type. Well, the things are not over yet. The phase where things actually get complicated is the processing & packaging phase. Generally, honey is subjected to several processing methods and this classification based on processing is much vast than that mention on the bottle/jar of honey.

• Raw honey is obtained by extraction from the bee hive without undergoing any heating process. This type of honey contains pollen content and even has small wax particles.
   
• Ultra-filtered honey is another classification based on processing methodologies. This type of honey is processed under high pressure by a fine filtration that results in removing all extraneous solids and the pollen grains.
   
• Next is the pasteurized honey. During the pasteurization process, it has been heated to a high temperature which in turn destroys yeast cells and also results in deterioration of the product. Heating of honey liquefies the micro-crystals which thereby delays the onset of visible crystallization.

Now you have got an idea about the classification of honey, it is time to look for natural honey that is 100% authentic. But how will you find pure honey that is not adulterated and loaded with benefits. Continue perusing and get yourself some sweet tips for buying it.

• Choose Raw Honey – Many of us prefer buying honey that is light in shade, clear and simple to take out from the jar. Say no to such type of honey. Honey having these properties is the pasteurized one that is heated at high temperatures that destroy natural enzymes & vitamins found in it. Raw honey is the exact inverse. It has not been messed with, warmed, or prepared. And thus it is simply crystallized and is perfectly good to eat.

• Buy it from an Authentic Store – Purchasing honey from a trusted store ensures you are getting pure & farm-fresh honey whilst supporting small-scale beekeepers. These products are unique and amazing and are best suited for a healthy lifestyle.
   
• Know about the Grade of Honey – It is basically graded on the basis of clarity, color, flavor and moisture content. Lighter shade honey (Grade C) is milder than amber shade (Grade B) or darker shade honey (Grade A). Apart from this, it reflects the true flavor of the source from where it comes from.
   
• Don’t Go for The Price Tag – This is another key factor to be considered while buying a honey jar. Cheap products are not necessarily better. Try to do a bit research and have a look at all the ingredients on the jar so that you may end up purchasing false & impure product that contains a variety of other sweet products or chemicals.

• Check Certificate – Always check for the certification that specifies the honey content on it before you buy any type of honey. A certified product indicates that you are buying an authentic product that is safe to consume.

Above are some of the important things that you must look for while buying natural honey. It is also good to check the reviews so that you get the finest product. Make sure to read the list of ingredients so that you don’t end up buying something that you are allergic to. So keep the above things in mind and choose the honey wisely as per your requirement.