[Sca-cooks] honey

[Terry Decker]

The difference could be pasteurization.  Commercial honey is often 
pasteurized to reduce moisture content and reduce potential fermentation 
(bacteria doesn't live in honey, but some yeasts do)  It also slows 
crystallization.  And commercial honey often has the impurities removed. 
Raw honey, as from the farm, tends to have a higher moisture content and 
some impurities even after cleaning.

Bear


Galefridus commented:
<<< Inexpensive
grocery store honey is OK for initial practice, but the higher quality
honey behaves differently and results in a more delicate flavor. >>>

Ok, I can believe that the generic grocery story honey has a different 
flavor, but what do you mean it behaves differently?

I think that common grocery store honey is honey that comes from bees 
feeding on unknown plants or at a variety of plants that the beekeepers 
couldn’t really track. Usually clover honey here in Texas.

Suey, here in the U.S., the food laws and the food labeling laws are fairly 
strict, although with a few loopholes. But diluting the honey down or adding 
sugar water to it would likely bring the authorities down on anyone doing 
that. Does your country not have similar laws?

As others have mentioned, buying from natural food stores might be an 
alternative. You can also get specialized honey by mail or on the web. I 
know some of our local brewers have banded together from time to time and 
bought drums (30 gallon? 55 gallon?) to get something other than the generic 
(here, clover honey) at better prices.

At one time there was a merchant at Pennsic and Gulf Wars who sold a large 
variety of different honeys. Not cheap. :-) But when he went out of business 
I bought a lot of small jars of a wide variety of different honeys. 
Unfortunately, as a diabetic, I can’t indulge in these as I might like, and 
still have most of these. Somewhere.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****







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