Bedford Hills, Westchester County, NY

Since ancient times, honey has been used as both food and as medicine. Honey  is a magical food that contains natural enzymes, vitamin and minerals, pollen, propolis and a perfect protein combination that improves general health. The pollen is known to ward off infections, provide natural allergy relief and boost overall immunity. Unlike processed honey, raw honey does not get robbed of its incredible nutritional value and health powers.BENEFITS OF RAW HONEY

• Healthy Weight Management.
• Counters Pollen Allergies.
• Natural Energy Source.
• Antioxidant Powerhouse.
• Sleep Promoter.
• Wound and Ulcer Healer.
• Diabetes Aid.
• Natural Cough Syrup

Raw honey cannot be heated above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the normal temperature of the bee hive. While it’s OK to strain raw honey, it’s never filtered or pasteurized. Raw honey contains 22 amino acids, 27 minerals and 5,000 enzymes. Minerals include iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and selenium. Vitamins found in honey include vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin. From a microbiological point of view, mature honey is a very stable product, which is neither altered by, nor, does it permit the multiplication of bacterial or fungal organisms. Crystallized Honey? Many consumers still think that if honey has crystallized it has gone bad or has been adulterated with sugar but this is not true.  Raw honey will eventually crystallize. Avoiding crystallization is an important characteristic for honey marketing so most honey sold in stores was heated to avoid crystallization thus loosing many of its health benefits. In temperate climates most honeys crystallize at normal storage temperatures. This is due to the fact that honey is an oversaturated sugar solution, i.e. it contains more sugar than can remain in solution. The crystallization results from the formation of monohydrate glucose crystals, which vary in number, shape, dimension and quality with the honey composition and storage conditions. The lower the water and the higher the glucose content of honey, the faster the crystallization. Temperature is important, since above 25 ° and below 5 °C virtually no crystallization occurs. Around 14°C is the optimum temperature for fast crystallization, but also the presence of solid particles (e.g. pollen grains) and slow stirring result in quicker crystallization. Once crystallized, honey turns lighter in colour because the glucose crystals are white. Crystallized honey is totally safe to eat, and can easily be returned back to a liquid state. Simply place your jars of honey into a pot with hot water.