I removed my post that had the Rawesome video that Eveheart referred to because I figured I should read the German post before commenting. Eveheart appears to be correct, if the Google translator is sufficiently accurate. The German post essentially appears to be saying that no honey in Germany is boiled, nor are the extractors heated. This is possible, but as Eveheart pointed out, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that there is no difference in the temperatures the honeys are subjected to. I investigated it some more, as it's a question I investigated in the past without a complete resolution, including on an American beekeeper forum, so I was interested to see if there is any more info available.
FWIW, here's the video interview of James Stewart of Rawesome Foods (who's currently in jail for selling unpasteurized milk and allegedly violating his bail restrictions, and Aajonus apparently claimed that Stewart and/or Sharon Palmer lied about the quality of the foods sold at Rawesome, if these things matter to anyone, and which has been debated in other threads and which I don't want to get into here, though it doesn't necessarily mean what he says here is wrong, and this video appears to mostly jibe with what Aajonus and some other rawists claim):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOVDFtvH0Bg# I looked around a bit and found this:
"To have any meaning, statements about heating should therefore contain a temperature that the honey is heated to, the length of time held at that temperature, and whether it is cooled quickly or allowed to cool naturally (which may take hours or even days depending on the size and thermal properties of the container(s)). Quality claims such as "unheated" or "raw" honey that have no qualifying time or temperature, may be quite misleading. E.g. poor storage of bulk honeys, or a long shelf time of slow moving retail lines in a warm climate, will produce changes many times greater than the brief periods of accurately controlled heating during processing." http://www.airborne.co.nz/processing.shtml
So unless you check the hives yourself or feel you can trust a certain beekeeper or authority, like Aajonus, say, there's no way to know with confidence that a certain honey is not heated above the 95 F standard of James Stewart or the 92 F standard that RawZi said Aajonus recommends. Notice that they don't claim that "raw" means zero heat--just below a certain level. Aajonus reportedly believes that 92 F is the max temp that honey is subjected to in a healthy hive. 37 C is only 98.6 F, which is not that much higher than their standards and probably much lower than the temps that most supermarket honeys sold in America are heated to.
In my case, partly because it's impossible to know how much every honey is heated, I didn't rely on the opinions of anyone, including the top alleged authorities like beekeeper assocations and beekeepers (and I was astounded by the level of ignorance I found at an American beekeeper forum) or Aajonus or anyone else, but instead tested various honeys that were recommended as the best here and elsewhere and that were sold at local supermarkets, healthfood markets, a farmers market, a Vitamin Shoppe store and via the Internet or telephone order. I tried all sorts of honeys, including some honeycomb versions, some that contain royal jelly, etc. and I found only one that produced any noticeable health benefits for me (like elimination of dandruff and dry skin, hair improvements to the point where I don't need to wash it if I've been eating the honey, improved carb tolerance, and it looks like maybe some improvements in fasting and post-prandial blood glucose)--the Really Raw brand "raw" fermented honey, which happens to be a brand that was certified raw by Aajonus. It's also my favorite-tasting honey. The differences are huge and unmistakeable, so for me it's a no-brainer at this point, though I continue to try other honeys that seem worth at least a try, just in case there's another super one I missed. I tried a lot of honeys before I tried the Really Raw fermented honey, so if I had stopped after trying just one allegedly "raw" honey or even a dozen or more, I wouldn't have found the one that appears to suit me pretty well (though not without also some negative effects if I consume too much).
So that's what I recommend to anyone seeking the very best honey--become a honey connoisseur. Try the alleged "best" honeys that you have access to, whatever they are, and note for yourself the taste and any noticeable effects. For me, the effects (both negative and positive) were particularly noticeable around an hour or so after eating and upon waking the next morning, but for you, it might be different. Maybe you won't find any honey that you like or benefit from. The only real way to find out is to try some others.
Based on the testimonials I saw from a broad range of people at different sites on the Internet, plus observations of hunter-gatherers who eat honey hive contents, plus a plethora of studies finding numerous benefits from honey, plus folk-medicine reports, etc., and my own hunch, I had a feeling that I would eventually find a honey that at least wouldn't produce seriously negative effects on me at low intakes, like supermarket honeys do, as an occasional treat and sugar substitute, and I was quite pleased to find a honey that actually produces some benefits for me.
Topic: Raw honey - is it just marketing? (Read 16226 times)