Facts About Honey
Q: Why does honey go 'candied' or 'sugary' or 'lumpy'?
A: Honey that has 'candied' is still in top condition. It has simply gone through a natural process due to many factors, such as temperature conditions and the ratio of the naturally occurring sugars in honey. All honey will candy eventually, but some will candy very quickly - some will even candy in the frame in the hive before the beekeeper is able to extract the honey - and some honey will take many years to candy. The exact composition of honey depends from which type of flowers the honeybee has been collecting the nectar.
Q: What should I do when honey is candied?
A: 1) Spoon honey into a microwave safe container or heat resistant bowl and place in the microwave. Heat the honey in 30 second increments on a medium heat and stir at each stage (ensuring you remove the spoon between mixes) or
2) Place squeeze pack in a container or bowl of hot tap water until the honey becomes liquid again (make sure the lid is exposed out of the water to ensure that no water leaks into the pack).
NOTE: DO NOT HEAT PLASTIC CONTAINERS IN A MICROWAVE OR BOILING WATER.
Q:What is creamed honey?
A: This is pure honey (with very fine grained crystallised or candied honey added) and is whipped which adds air bubbles. This gives the honey a creamy look and a smooth, velvety taste. Pure honey is the only ingredient - nothing else is added. It is the process of whipping that gives its unique texture. Creamed honey is thicker than liquid honey and is ideal for spreading on toast and crumpets.
Q: Why are there different colours and flavours of honey?
A: The different flowers that the honeybee visits to collect the nectar to make honey determines the colour, flavour and aroma of the honey. Honey purchased that is a particular floral variety (eg Yellow Box honey) is honey that has come from an area where that particular tree was flowering. The honey that you purchase in the shop that is labelled ‘Premium Blend’ is a blend of several different floral varieties. Before the product is packed, the dark and light coloured honey and the strong and mild flavoured honey, has been carefully blended together to give a product that is generally a consistent flavour and colour. In times of extreme honey shortage, the colour and flavour of Premium Blend Honey can vary due to a smaller selection of honey varieties that are available for blending.
Q: What is added to honey when it is packed into containers?
A: When you buy Capilano honey, there is nothing added to it. There is no water, sugar or any other thing added. Honey is just that - honey.
Q: Why are honeybees and pollination so vitally important to us?
A: The large majority of the foods that we grow in Australia require pollination to produce a crop. Some of this pollination is carried out by bees naturally foraging in surrounding trees and crops. Many farmers pay beekeepers to place beehives amongst their crop to ensure pollination. Where large acreage has been cleared for crop growing, paid pollination is essential as there are no large populations of other insects in the area to carry out any 'incidental' pollination. Pollination is essential for the production of many of our vegetables, fruits and nuts and even the legume pastures necessary for the livestock industry. Two thirds of food crops grown in Australia require insect pollination to set seeds or fruit. The remaining crops are wind or self pollinated. The value of crops grown in Australia that require pollination by honeybees is in excess of $2.4 billion (legume pasture crops not included)
