Honey, a delicious liquid food made by honey bees, is enjoyed by people worldwide due to its numerous health benefits and sweet taste. However, there is often confusion between regular honey, typically found in grocery stores, and raw honey. This article will explore the differences between the two.
Key Takeaways
- Raw honey is unheated and unpasteurized, preserving its natural nutrients and enzymes.
- Regular honey undergoes heating and filtration processes, which often destroy beneficial antioxidants and enzymes.
- Raw honey has a milky, unclear appearance and is solid at room temperature, while regular honey is a clear, golden liquid.
When you see the term “raw,” it means that the honey mentioned is unprocessed and retains all the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals naturally present in honey after it is produced by honey bees. You can compare raw honey to a raw vegetable and bottled honey to a cooked vegetable; during cooking, the raw vegetable loses much of its nutritional content.
The pasteurization process that regular honey undergoes to be preserved and sold in stores destroys many of its nutrients, including powerful antioxidants, enzymes, and natural vitamins. Raw honey is known for being anti-viral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial, but these properties are often lost in regular honey due to the heating process.
Many enzymes in raw honey are lost during the filtration process, which is done to make the honey visually appealing. Another difference in appearance is that raw honey is solid at room temperature, while regular honey is a thick liquid. Raw honey looks milky and unclear, while regular honey is transparent and golden. If you buy honey from a local beekeeper and it appears milky, you can be confident that it still contains all the beneficial enzymes, bee propolis, pollen granules, and natural vitamins that make it a powerhouse for health.
