08/07/2026
๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐.
And no, using a metal spoon isn't going to ruin it either.
Honey might be one of the oldest foods we eat, yet there are still a LOT of myths surrounding what's inside that jar.
Let's bust a few.
๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐
๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ฌ
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ญ
"Crystallized honey is spoiled or fake."
Nope.
โข Crystallization is a completely natural process
โข Some honey crystallizes within weeks, others can remain liquid much longer
โข Glucose-to-fructose ratio, temperature, pollen and other particles can influence crystallization
โข Crystallized honey can usually be returned to liquid by gently warming the container in warm water
Crystals don't mean your honey has gone bad.
But crystallization alone doesn't prove honey is pure either.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ฎ
"Never put a metal spoon in honey."
Your spoon is fine.
Most commercial beekeeping and honey-processing equipment is stainless steel.
โข Extractors
โข Uncapping equipment
โข Storage tanks
โข Pumps
โข Bottling equipment
Leaving honey in contact with certain reactive metals isn't recommended, but stirring honey with your stainless-steel spoon isn't going to destroy it.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ฏ
"Honey is just sugar and water."
Honey IS primarily sugars and water, and it should still be treated as a source of added sugar in the diet.
But chemically, there's more going on.
Honey can also contain small amounts of:
โข Enzymes
โข Organic acids
โข Amino acids
โข Minerals
โข Pollen
โข Plant-derived compounds and antioxidants
The exact composition varies depending on where the bees forage.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ฐ
"Good honey should always be light, golden and clear."
Absolutely not.
Honey can range from nearly colorless to amber, reddish and extremely dark.
There is even an unusual purple honey found in the Sandhills region and coastal plain of North Carolina. How cool is that?
Why?
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
Different nectar sources can produce completely different colors, aromas and flavors.
Even honey harvested from the same beekeeper can change from season to season and location to location.
That's part of what makes honey so interesting.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ฑ
"Honey never goes bad."
There's some truth hiding inside this one.
Properly ripened and properly stored honey can remain stable for an incredibly long time because of its low moisture, acidity and other chemical properties.
But honey can absorb moisture.
If its moisture becomes high enough, naturally occurring yeasts can ferment it.
Storage matters.
Honey also doesn't age like a fine w**e. Properly ripened and stored honey can remain stable for an extraordinarily long time, but its flavor, color, aroma and texture will change over time.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ฒ
"Honey is bee vomit."
We hear this one ALL the time.
Nectar is collected into a bee's crop, commonly called the honey stomach.
It's used for transporting nectar and is functionally separate from the stomach where the bee's own food is digested.
Enzymes begin changing the nectar, workers further process it inside the colony and excess water is removed until it becomes honey.
So calling honey simply "bee vomit" doesn't accurately describe what's happening.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ณ
"Raw honey isn't safe."
For most healthy adults and children over one year old, honey is generally safe to eat.
But there's one VERY important exception.
๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ญ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐.
That includes raw AND commercially processed honey because of the risk of infant botulism.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ด
"Heating honey makes it toxic."
Heating honey can change its flavor, aroma and some heat-sensitive compounds.
But normal culinary heating doesn't suddenly turn honey into a poisonous food or destroy everything in the honey.
We may choose to minimize heat when cooking with raw honey because we want to preserve all its natural characteristics.
That's different from saying heated honey becomes toxic.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ต
"Local honey cures seasonal allergies."
This one gets controversial.
Plenty of people swear local honey helps them during allergy season, and we're certainly not going to tell someone how they personally feel.
But scientifically, the evidence that eating local honey prevents or cures seasonal allergies isn't strong.
Many seasonal allergies are triggered by airborne pollen from grasses, trees and weeds, while honey bees primarily collect pollen from the flowering plants they visit.
The bigger picture of allergies is also incredibly complicated.
The gut and immune system are closely connected, and a large portion of the body's immune activity is associated with the gastrointestinal tract.
Researchers continue to study how diet, the gut microbiome and other environmental factors may influence allergic disease.
And this is where our own experience gets interesting.
We've shared before about our son, Lucas the Beekeeper, and his struggles with severe seasonal allergies.
You'd think having access to raw local honey straight out of our own backyard would have been the answer.
For him, it wasn't.
What made the biggest difference for Lucas was changing his overall diet and dramatically reducing his sugar intake. We also chose to incorporate bee pollen into his diet.
When we're consistent with his diet, his allergy symptoms have been dramatically better. When his sugar consumption climbs, we've personally noticed his symptoms tend to return.
That's our family's experience, not a promise that doing the same thing will cure someone else's allergies.
And as a beekeeper who sells honey, that's sometimes a hard pill to swallow.
Honey is an incredible food, but that doesn't mean more honey is automatically better for every person or every situation.
Sometimes we have to be willing to say that, even when we're the ones selling it.
I'm a honey producer, but I'm not going to pretend honey is a miracle cure just because I sell it. That's why we don't sell our honey with the promise that it will help your allergies. There's a lot more to allergies than simply being exposed to pollen.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ #๐ญ๐ฌ
"Dark honey is always better."
Dark honeys often contain higher concentrations of certain antioxidant compounds than lighter varieties.
But color alone doesn't determine whether one jar is "better."
Light honey can be incredible.
Dark honey can be incredible.
They simply represent different nectar sources and different chemical profiles.
And sometimes the best honey is simply the one you enjoy eating.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป
Honey is fascinating enough without exaggerating what it can do.
It's a food created through an incredible relationship between bees, flowers, weather, landscape, and God's creation.
It crystallizes.
Its color changes.
Its flavor changes.
Its chemistry changes depending on the plants the bees visit.
And that's exactly what makes real honey so interesting.
๐ค๐จ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
Which honey myth have YOU heard the most?
Or better yet...
What's a honey "fact" you've always wondered whether was actually true?
Drop it in the comments and we might tackle it in another Lessons from the Beehive.
Save this one for the next time somebody tells you crystallized honey has gone bad, and share it with someone who loves honey.
And if you enjoy learning about honey bees, native bees, honey and the incredible products of the hive, follow along. We also share the real life of the beekeepers behind the products.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐
๐'๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ฅ
HunnyButt Honey
Anna McMullen
