We all buy honey for its health benefits. But did you know that the majority of commercial honey sold in supermarkets has been heated to such high temperatures that it is practically devoid of any nutritional value? When honey is over-processed, it becomes nothing more than a liquid sweetener. Here are 5 clear signs that your honey is pasteurized and why you should make the switch to raw honey.
1. It is Perfectly Transparent
If you can read a newspaper through your jar of honey, it has been ultra-filtered. Raw honey is naturally cloudy because it contains microscopic particles of pollen, propolis, and beeswax. These particles are exactly what give honey its immune-boosting properties. Commercial brands filter them out purely for aesthetic reasons.
2. It Never Crystallizes
As we covered in our post on crystallized honey, raw honey will eventually harden, especially in cooler weather. If your honey has been sitting in the pantry for a year and is still perfectly liquid and runny, it has been pasteurized (heated to very high temperatures) to permanently break down its natural crystallization process.
3. It is Very Runny
Pure raw honey is thick and dense because bees naturally fan their wings to evaporate excess water from the nectar until the moisture level drops below 18%. Over-processed commercial honey is often watered down or mixed with high-moisture syrups to increase volume and profit margins, making it runny.
4. No Floral Aroma
Open a jar of NIYANTA raw multiflora or forest honey, and you will immediately smell the earthy, floral notes of nature. Pasteurized honey smells flat and tastes uniformly sweet, lacking any distinct flavor profile.
5. Lack of Lab Testing Transparency
Brands selling over-processed honey rely heavily on marketing terms like "Pure" or "Natural" without providing any substantial proof. Ethical brands that sell raw honey will gladly share their NMR and FSSAI lab testing reports with you. To learn how to test your honey at home, check out our guide to identifying fake honey.
Don't settle for liquid sugar. Choose raw, living honey for your family's health.