Drop an e-mail if you have question that isn't answered, I'll add it to the list.
Our bees forage on different wildflowers at different times of the year. Each batch tastes a bit different...
No. Although honestly it probably doesn't make any difference, nothing that beekeepers use should be harmful to you. As a small scale beekeeper I can afford to spend a bit more time and do things in a more natural way.
The bees do most of the work... I lack the time, equipment, or motivation to do a lot of after harvest processing. We remove the frames from the hives, cut the cappings off with a cold knife, and spin the honey out of the frames with a centrifuge. All honey is passed through a mesh strainer to remove large pieces of wax or other material, and then bottled. That's it! There may be a few pieces of wax or pollen left. Tastes better that way.
Honey is a very concentrated mixture of simple sugars dissolved in water. The sugars can (and will!) form crystals if given enough time. All honey will crystalize. Commercially processed honey tends to crystallize more slowly, largely because it is heated (which dissolves any seed crystals) and filtered with fine filters (which strains out anything that can start a new crystal). We don't do that. Tastes better if you don't.
So, what do you do if your honey forms crystals? Several options:
1) Eat it! It is perfectly fine to eat, just has a different texture.
2) Melt it! One easy way is to leave the bottle in your car when it is parked in the sun. It will get hot enough to re-liquify the honey.
3) Make creamed honey! Creamed honey is 100% regular honey, just fully crystalized. Do a quick google search for a method.
If the honey has a low enough water content, it will keep forever. You will lose the flavor complexity over time, but it will still be sweet. And it will crystallize.
If the honey has a higher water content, it can start to ferment in the bottle. How would you know? You'll know. The honey will look different, smell different, and fermentation makes carbon dioxide gas that will build up in the bottle. If it makes a noise like a pop bottle when you open it, that is CO2. It is still edible, just might taste weird.
If you want to ferment your honey, that is a thing. People have been doing that for thousands of years, it is called mead. :) I make at least one batch of mead a year, it keeps for a very long time. If you are interested, I can send a recipe. If you are interested and local, come on over and I'll open a bottle or two to share.
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