Raw Unheated British or Irish Honey?

[Brady]

I have been eating some local raw honey/honey comb and am feeling great (no sugar spike or candida flare up), it is also helping me digest my meat/fat so I am starting to put on some weight at last.  This is unlike the raw honey I had in Australia which caused major problems.
However the local bee keepers have very little honey left so I am wondering does anyone know of a true source of British or Irish raw unheated honey? 
Tyler I know you are pretty clued in when it comes to sourcing food can you help?

[TylerDurden]

Well, to be honest, I have never been impressed by the so-called "cold-pressed" honey available in a few organic outlets in the UK. They always gave me the same sort of nasty blood-sugar-related issues that I got from pasteurised honey.My solution was to go to local farmers' markets and only buy raw honeycomb from them. As long as the honeycomb isn't in a jar(and is sold by a local producer not from abroad), one can be 100% sure it's not been heat-treated in any way. Terms like "cold-extracted" and "raw" are bogus and highly subject to different intepretations by the seller or the government. For example, in the UK, the term "raw" for honey is legally allowed to refer to any honey that has been heated up to 80 degrees Centigrade for a short while.

I get raw honeycomb from one of the farmers' markets associated with the LFM:-

http://www.lfm.org.uk/markets-home/

Click on the farms/sellers listed under "honey", to find which LFM markets they visit:-

http://www.lfm.org.uk/producers?category=9

 The bigger LFM markets have a stall selling jarred honey(and usually a little raw honeycomb as well) once a fortnight or once a month. You'd have to ask the LFM people re this.You would have to make an order if you wanted to buy raw honeycomb in bulk.(Raw heather honeycomb is the best tasting honeycomb).

If you're not based in London, then I have no idea what to suggest, other than to state that it's invariably the smallest producers who are the most reliable re quality(ie not feeding bees sugar etc.) Trouble is that those tend not to advertise to any extent.

[Brady]

Thanks Tyler, unfortunately I live in N.Ireland so can't go to LFM.  I have also started using this honey which I got in Tesco and it is also working well with no negative blood sugar problems.  As you say it is labelled cold extracted/filtered and I am trying to speak with someone to find out temperatures etc, have to call back Monday. Anyway it is definately helping me digest my meat and fat so I will stick with it for now.

[Michael]

I was going to make a couple of suggestion, Brady, but now in the knowledge that you're in N.Ireland they no longer apply.

I can't imagine for a moment that the Tesco honey is anywhere near raw but if it's working for you - great.

Obviously your setups there may be totally different to those that we have but it's worth trying to find any small time local bee keepers in your area.  You may be surprised, as I was, that there are actually quite a few even if just hobbyists.  These can be found by keeping a watchful eye out for signs people put outside their houses, searching newspaper/shop classified ads etc.  I found the best source was to go to my local county beekeeper association.  They were able to supply me with a list of ALL the beekeepers in my area as it's a requirement to be registered I believe.  I was then able to contact them individually and narrow down the potential suppliers I'd consider (non sugar-syrup fed bees, organically raised, unheated etc).

Also, as Tyler has mentioned many times, if you can find a source of honeycomb the likelihood that it's genuinely unheated is far greater than jarred honey.  I live in a very rural region despite being in a small City and, personally, I'm fortunate to have found 3 different boxed honeycombs from local health food shops.  This is worth investigating also.

I hope that helps!

[Brady]

Thanks Michael although I am way ahead of you!  Yeah I have tracked down the local beekeepers and got some honeycomb and real unheated honey but there was very littl;e produced this year so I am trying to source more to keep me going during the winter.
I got this honey in sainsburies http://www.heather-hills.com/
It didn't say much on the label but it looked the real deal so I called them.  They were quite helpful and explained they always try to bottle in immediately so no heat is required but occasionly some batches are heated to body temperature.  However they will be harvesting the heather honey in a few weeks and said I can get a batch of unheated so I am looking forward to that.  That said the jar I got in Sainsburies was terriific and caused no problems.  If you are checking it out only get the Clover or Heather as they are produced on the farm in Perthshire, the other are fromn abroad.

[RawZi]

The bigger LFM markets have a stall selling jarred honey(and usually a little raw honeycomb as well) once a fortnight or once a month. You'd have to ask the LFM people re this.You would have to make an order if you wanted to buy raw honeycomb in bulk.(Raw heather honeycomb is the best tasting honeycomb).

    I heard from other people too who had digestion problems that heather is the best digested of the honeys that they've tried.  I just tried some Heavenly Organics White Himalayan honey, kind of interesting taste, but I'm not so sure about it and its texture plus it's here in the US, no reaction so far though.

[Brady]

Cheers Rawzi, yeah I heard that darker honeys like Heather are much more nutritious.  I will be getting a batch soon so looking forward to trying some.  My sister is visiting Newyork soon so I was going to get her to pick up some raw honey at a health store, what do you recommend?

[Michael]

Hi Brady, 

That Sainsbury's honey sounds quite promising!  I'm amazed!  I'll be interested to hear your experiences with it - particularly the unheated patch they've promised you!?  I do think it's also worth checking as many health shops as you can for some honeycomb.  As I said, I've managed to find 2 or 3 different honeycombs in just my local health shops alone!  One of these is, however, from New Zealand which is probably good from the point of view of the quality but, of course, does run the potential of having been tampered with at some point.

We have the same problem here with the low honey production this year unfortunately.  A friend of mine on the North Norfolk coast has a business selling apitherapy products around the world and is my usual source of fresh, raw honey (only sold to friends/family!).  Sadly, even her supplies are virtually non-existent this year?!

[Alomonger Pete]

Waitrose offers some unheated honeys that are delicious!  Funky Raw sells plenty of different types as well: http://www.funkyraw.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=31

[RawZi]

Cheers Rawzi, yeah ... visiting Newyork soon so I was going to get her to pick up some raw honey at a health store, what do you recommend?

Hi Brady,

    Really Raw Honey is labeled as coming out of Baltimore Maryland, but that's only where it's packed.  Their honey itself is actually from upstate New York.  I know some people at this forum say it's not raw, and one said he found chunks of wood frame in it.  I used it often, one reason is that it works for me, I've cultured things with it and with other honeys, and Really Raw seems to culture good bacteria like an unheated honey should, so I'm fine with it, as I've barely ever been able to tolerate any cooked animal foods, including honey.  You can find Really Raw in most health food stores in New York and in several other states.  Aajonus tests foods that he recommends on his list from time to time.  He recently tested Really Raw, and again reported it as unheated.

    In my experience also, just so you know, if you get this honey, sometimes the cappings on top are thick or thin, light or dark, and occasionally the honey is crystalized.

    I apologize for taking so long to reply.  I hope I didn't reply after your sister's trip.   

    Cheers.

[raw-al]

..... I used it often, one reason is that it works for me, I've cultured things with it and with other honeys, and Really Raw seems to culture good bacteria like an unheated honey should,......

Thats interesting RawZi about how you determine how honey is unheated by it's ability to culture good bacteria. Thanks. We use ours for kefir and it works well.

Locally our beekeepers have had a bumper year and we bought about 70 pounds. It is starting to harden now, so we are wondering how hard it will get in the large containers we got it in. The first batch we bought from another supplier (who has their bees close to a large city) was really strong and more clear. We found that we could only eat a little of it, but the mid season stuff was much better. I sometimes wonder if the proximity to a large urban area affects the quality of food products.

How would you know if the honey was made by feeding the bees sugar water?

[PaleoPhil]

Thanks Tyler, unfortunately I live in N.Ireland so can't go to LFM.  I have also started using this honey which I got in Tesco and it is also working well with no negative blood sugar problems.  As you say it is labelled cold extracted/filtered and I am trying to speak with someone to find out temperatures etc, have to call back Monday. Anyway it is definately helping me digest my meat and fat so I will stick with it for now.

.... Whats most amazing (and this will be of interest to people in the UK) but the honey I currently take is from Tesco (kinda like Wallmart), its called Little Over Organic Wild Flower Set Honey.  Its not even labelled Raw (just cold EXtracted), which would normally cause concern but its the real deal as I have been eating a jar of this each day for nearly 2 months and its magic. ....

Littleover Apiary Organic Wildflower Honey Set 340g
"All our honey is cold extracted, cold filtered and unblended to protect the natural proteins and enzymes in this premium honey.
Our hives are carefully sited in organic registered 'wild flower' meadows during the spring and summer months. This is to ensure that our bees are in the best possible positions to gather their organic harvest of pollen and nectar to produce the perfect natural honey."

Interestingly, the honey that Brady thrived on is just labeled "cold extracted," like he said, which sounds to me like centrifuged honey. Could this suggest that it's not all that important that the honey be completely raw (handpacked honey or untouched honeycomb)?

[Brady]

It is interesting indeed and I'm still a little puzzled myself, could I make a request to some of the RPD's in the UK, next time you're in Tesco grab a jar (if they have it, not all of them stock it) and see if you experience the same benefit I have and continue to. It is also available from their website.  Just be sure to get that exact type as they do a whole range and most make me feel terrible but not the Organic Wildflower 'Set'.  I have reported back to Littleover how good this particular honey is and have told them that what ever they are doing just keep doing it and don't change a thing.
I don't think the Organic has a lot to do with its benefit I think the fact that they are trying to produce a 'set' honey means they are processing it at very low temperatures thus maintaining its enzymes.  It is very hard and you really have to dig into it with a spoon (just like VCO at cold temperatures).

[PaleoPhil]

There are two decent centrifuged raw honeys sold locally and one gets hard quickly but the other never does. Interestingly, the one that never gets hard tastes better and I also handle it better. The hard one is a wildflower honey, whereas the soft one is a clover field legume honey. I've seen other raw honeys that the makers say are raw but stay soft too, so perhaps only certain types harden quickly?

[TylerDurden]

I have tried a variety of so-called "raw" jarred honeys in the UK and they all had a nasty, negative effect on me re blood-sugar etc.  UK law allows any honey to be labelled "raw" as long as it is only heated to 80 degrees Celsius for short period, so forget about it and just buy raw, unjarred honeycomb instead.

[raw-al]

When we bought our honey from beekeeper we tried his early (spring ) variety but it was too strong for us. So we got the later variety. It is much milder.

Some may like the stronger variety.

When we bought ours we talked to the guy directly and bought a large quantity in late summer so we got the sweet stuff.

[PaleoPhil]

I have tried a variety of so-called "raw" jarred honeys in the UK and they all had a nasty, negative effect on me re blood-sugar etc.  UK law allows any honey to be labelled "raw" as long as it is only heated to 80 degrees Celsius for short period, so forget about it and just buy raw, unjarred honeycomb instead.

Yeah, Brady, it would be interesting to see how you fare on raw honeycomb vs. your current jarred honey. Have you tried honeycomb yet?

Has anyone tried raw fermented jarred honey?

[Brady]

Yeah, Brady, it would be interesting to see how you fare on raw honeycomb vs. your current jarred honey. Have you tried honeycomb yet?

Oh yes I tried many Sections of Raw honey from local beekeepers over the summer months and yes I had great results and they tasted amazing.  However when I tried some of their jarred centrifuged honey which was not heated I had bad results so it would appear that the centrifuging is removing something I need in these cases.  But for what ever reason the Littleover works like magic.