faq

When substituting honey for granulated sugar in recipes, begin by substituting honey for up to half of the sugar called for in the recipe. For baked goods, make sure to reduce the oven temperature by 25°F to prevent overbrowning; reduce any liquid called for by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used. Because of its naturally high fructose content, honey has higher sweetening power than sugar. This means you can use less honey than sugar to achieve the desired sweetness.

When choosing Honey you have likely come across labels that use words like “raw,” “pure,” “organic,” and “unfiltered” – but you may be left asking what exactly the difference is.

Pure Honey: A “pure honey” label means that you are getting 100% honey, without any other ingredients (such as corn syrup, which is sometimes added to industrial honey to reduce costs). However, “pure” honey alone doesn’t always tell you much about the varietal or how the honey is produced, so it’s good to look for more information to make sure you’re getting all the benefits you can from honey when it’s produced in the most bee- and environment-friendly way.

Raw Honey: The difference between raw honey and pure honey is that in addition to being pure, “raw” honey has not been heated to the point of pasteurization (no higher than 118°F). The benefit of not heating honey is that the naturally occurring enzymes, vitamins and minerals are preserved and you get the full benefits of them from eating raw honey.

Organic Honey: Organic honey is produced from the pollen of organically grown plants, and without chemical miticides to treat the bees. Buying organic honey ensures that you avoid contact with pesticides that may be sprayed on or near the plants visited by honeybees.

Unfiltered Honey: “Filtering” honey means processing the honey to remove very small particles, often even as small as the pollen. Filtering honey is not the same as straining honey, which is commonly done to remove bee parts and other large debris prior to jarring while still retaining the pollen and other beneficial qualities of honey. With filtration, honey is also often heated to become more liquid in order to make the filtering process easier, meaning that the honey is no longer raw.

UMF™ is the standard of measure used by the UMFHA – Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association. A UMF™ grading test measures Leptosperin, MGO (Methylglyoxal) DHA and HMF.

MGS measures MGO and DHA levels in Manuka Honey between 5+ and 30+ and the number assigned correlates to the equivalent phenol strength of the Manuka honey antibacterial activity. MGS will not provide a grade for Manuka honey which has MGO levels of less than 100 mg/kg.

MGO measures the methylglyoxal level in Manuka Honey. MGO is the strength and energy within Manuka Honey and is what makes it effective for health and wellbeing. MGO is not a technical grading system. It is a measure of the MG (methylglyoxal) level in the Honey.