What is raw honey? Raw vs regular honey, and why it crystallises

“Raw” is on almost every honey label now, and it means different things depending on who printed it. This guide explains what raw honey is in practice, how it differs from the honey most people grew up with, and why a jar of it can turn thick and grainy.

What raw honey means

The word has no single agreed definition on labels, so it helps to describe what raw honey usually is. Beekeepers take honey from the comb and strain it to remove wax and bee parts. Raw honey is not heated to thin it out, and it is not filtered so finely that the pollen is removed.

That last point matches an international benchmark. The Codex standard for honey says no pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed, except where unavoidable when removing foreign matter. It also says honey should not be heated or processed to such an extent that its essential composition is changed.

How regular honey is different

Some producers heat honey so it flows easily and stays liquid longer on a shelf, and some filter it very finely so it looks perfectly clear. Both choices make honey easier to bottle and sell. Neither automatically makes it fake, but the honey can lose some of its aroma, and fine filtering can strip out the pollen that tells you where it came from.

Measurable quality markers

You cannot see heat damage, but laboratories can measure quality markers that the Codex standard sets limits for:

• Moisture is capped at 20% for most honeys, because wetter honey can ferment.
• Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is capped at 40 mg/kg, or 80 mg/kg for honey from countries with tropical temperatures. HMF builds up as honey is heated or stored for a long time, which is why the standard limits it.

Those numbers are for buyers who test. At home, your best tool is the seller: ask whether the honey was heated, and whether the bees were fed sugar syrup. Our guide to checking pure honey lists the questions and shows why the popular water and flame tests fall short.

Why raw honey turns thick or grainy

Honey is a mix of glucose and fructose. Glucose does not stay dissolved as easily as fructose, so over time it separates out as tiny crystals. The National Honey Board describes crystallisation as the natural process by which glucose comes out of the liquid honey, notes that honey with more glucose crystallises faster, and says all honey crystallises eventually. Particles and fine air bubbles speed it up, and cool weather makes it more obvious.

So a grainy jar is normal, and it is not proof that honey is raw. Heated and finely filtered honey mostly takes longer to crystallise, but it gets there too. Treat crystallisation as one clue, and never as a test.

How to make crystallised honey liquid again

1. Fill a bowl with warm water, not boiling.
2. Stand the jar in it and stir the honey now and then until the crystals dissolve.
3. Do not boil or scorch it. Extra heat is what raw honey is meant to avoid.

Or leave it as it is. Thick honey spreads on toast or paratha and stays where you put it.

A note on safety

Raw honey is a natural food, not a sterile one. Babies under 12 months must not have any honey, raw or not, because of the risk of infant botulism, according to the NHS. For everyone else, Lavender, Ajwain and Clover honey from Sook ul Zahra are sold raw: strained, never heated, and never from sugar-fed bees.