Raw Honey: How to Buy It, Store It and Use It at Home (Video)

Transcript

Honey is the oldest sweetener we keep at home, but it’s often misunderstood. Let’s explore how to pick, store, and enjoy raw honey safely.

A Sweet Start

Honey has been on our tables for ages, yet many of us don’t know the basics. The biggest rule is simple: never give any honey to a baby under one year. That rule stands no matter the form.

At a glance

People have used honey to soothe a scratchy throat, sweeten drinks, mix into winter tonics, and even as a gentle face wash. Most homes use one to two teaspoons a day, once or twice. When you shop, look for a named floral source, a harvest date, and expect a little graininess, that means it’s real.

The warning that comes first

Honey must never be given to an infant under one year. Raw honey can carry spores that an adult gut handles fine, but an infant’s gut cannot, and the result can be serious botulism. Heating or baking does not reliably destroy those spores, so there’s no safe workaround for babies.

What honey actually is

Bees collect nectar, pass it mouth to mouth, add enzymes, and fan it dry in the comb. The finished honey is mostly sugar with a bit of water, enzymes, pollen, and aromatic compounds. Raw honey is simply strained from the comb, maybe warmed a little. Commercial honey is heated and finely filtered, losing pollen and the tiny crystals that cause graininess. Both are safe, but they taste different.

From the hakeem's cupboard

In Unani tradition honey, called shahad, is seen as warming and is the base for a thick paste with seeds and nuts for winter. Ayurveda calls it sweet with an astringent edge and advises against strong heating or mixing with hot ghee. These are cultural guidelines, not medical prescriptions.

Crystallisation is a feature

If your jar turns pale and grainy, that’s natural. Glucose crystals form, and the speed depends on the flower, mustard honey may set in weeks, acacia can stay liquid for a year. To loosen it, sit the jar in warm water around 40 °C for twenty minutes, stirring gently. Never microwave or boil. Keep the jar sealed, away from light, at room temperature, and use a dry spoon. Properly stored honey can last for years; if it smells yeasty, it’s gone bad and should be tossed.

How much and how to use

Treat honey as sugar with personality. One to two teaspoons a day is a common amount for most households. It has similar calories and blood-sugar impact as other sugars, so count it if you’re watching your intake. A classic warm honey-lemon drink, water cooled to about 60 °C, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of honey, can be soothing at night. Add a thin slice of ginger if you like, sip slowly, and rinse your mouth afterwards to protect enamel.

A jar that never crystallises has usually been talked out of being honey.

Manuka and what to say

Manuka honey comes from the manuka bush in New Zealand and Australia and is graded by a marker compound, which pushes the price high. Laboratory work shows it behaves differently from plain syrup on surfaces, which is why medical-grade honey is used in dressings under clinician supervision. The jar on your kitchen shelf is food, not a medical product. If you enjoy the taste and the price feels right, go ahead; otherwise, a local single-source honey gives more pleasure per rupee.

Honey on the skin

Raw honey can be a gentle face wash or mask. It holds water on the skin and rinses away without stripping. Always patch-test first: a pea-sized dab on the inner forearm for twenty minutes, then rinse and wait a day for any reaction. For a wash, warm half a teaspoon between damp palms, massage onto a damp face for a minute, then rinse with lukewarm water. Use twice a week, avoid eyes and broken skin, and never apply to a wound that needs a doctor.

Go easy if

Avoid honey if you’re feeding a child under twelve months, managing diabetes or any blood-sugar condition, or have a known bee or pollen allergy. Pregnant or breastfeeding people can enjoy honey in normal amounts, but the baby still shouldn’t have any until one year. Anyone on medication or with a health condition should check with their doctor before making honey a daily habit.

Living with a jar

Consider keeping two jars: a cheap blended honey for cooking and baking, and a good single-source jar for drinks, toast, and spoonfuls at the counter. The second jar lets you taste the honey’s true character, and the supermarket bottle stops fooling anyone. Store them beside other sweet, warming pantry staples, just like you would keep jaggery or til for winter sweets.

Try this week

Pick up a small jar of single-source local honey, 250 grams or less, from a seller who can name the flower. Taste it straight from a spoon and compare the finish to a supermarket blend. The difference is subtle but tells you a lot about quality and will change how you shop.

For more details, read the full post on thecareonline.com. Remember, this is food advice, not medical guidance.