Can raw honey look dark and runny?
I have purchased Safa raw honey. They have written that their honey is:
100% Pure & Raw
Raw
Unheated
Unfiltered
This honey is runny and dark in colour (almost black). It has some residue in it.
This website shows raw honey that looks like a paste:
http://www.hibeautiful.net/directory/skin-benefits-of-raw-honey
Have I been fooled? Can raw honey look dark and runny?
Best Answer
That seems normal.
All the "raw" means is that it was extracted from the honeycomb without significant heating. It's liquid to start with in the honeycomb, so it's normal for it to still be liquid when you get it. I don't know if I'd call it runny, it should still generally be a pretty thick, slow-flowing liquid, but it's not a paste.
The color is mostly just a function of what the bees were gathering. Dark is often more flavorful, probably a good thing, but depends on your tastes. Mass-produced honey is very often lighter, and wildflower honey (where the bees just get whatever they want) is very often darker.
I've definitely seen plenty of raw, unfiltered honey that looks liquid and roughly the darkness of the raw honey you bought, judging by the picture in the linked page. If anything, it's probably more common to find dark unfiltered honey, because the filtering can lighten it up a bit.
The "paste" you linked to looks like it's crystallized/creamed. There are a lot of tiny sugar crystals, making it thicker and opaque, which tends to make it look a bit lighter too. (It's not completely smooth, like "perfect" creamed honey, but it's a lot smoother than uncontrolled crystallization, so I think it's fair to call it creamed.) Raw, unfiltered honey does crystallize more easily, because it has more imperfections in it to jump-start crystallization, so it's not entirely surprising to see raw honey in that form. But raw honey certainly doesn't have to be that way.
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Quick Answer about "Can raw honey look dark and runny?"
Mass-produced honey is very often lighter, and wildflower honey (where the bees just get whatever they want) is very often darker. I've definitely seen plenty of raw, unfiltered honey that looks liquid and roughly the darkness of the raw honey you bought, judging by the picture in the linked page.Why is my honey dark and runny?
Crystallization occurs in raw honey due to it naturally containing high levels of glucose (anywhere from 25 to 40%). Glucose is less soluble in water than Fructose, and so it more easily separates from water to form tiny crystals in the honey.Why is my raw honey dark?
Certain plants that the bees pollinate have darker pollen and nectar, and contain different minerals in higher amounts that contribute to the darker color of the honey.Why does my honey look black?
We often get calls when people discover their honey has darkened or crystallized. Improper storage of honey can cause this problem. Honey should be stored in a cool, dry area inside a tightly covered container. Over time the honey will darken and flavor will change but it will be safe to eat indefinitely.Can natural honey be runny?
Pure honey is thick while impure honey will be runny. Pure honey sticks to the surface it is applied to and doesn't drip away. Moreover, the taste of impure honey may linger due to the presence of added sugar.Raw Honey vs. Ultra-Processed Store Bought Commercial Honey
More answers regarding can raw honey look dark and runny?
Answer 2
Honey can range from light to very dark; from what I have in stock at the moment
one may be able to see that the rightmost trends towards almost black. These samples are all from bees in the pacific northwest area.
Answer 3
It seems the further into the tropics you go the thinner honey gets. Dark honey normally has more pollen in it. So what flowers did it come from? But black honey I have not seen. Dark brown yes. If set does some bees wax form in the honey? Is there parts of bees in the honey? Unfiltered is not normal. Taste varies from week to week when fresh honey is bought. Or hive to hive in honey. Our honey they get a hive. Put it in a 5 gal. bucket. & the boys walk down the street selling it. You stick your finger in & taste it before buying. Bring your own jar. The comb is mashed &the honey filtered threw a cotton cloth into your jar. Some wax is seen in the honey. Light to dark brown in color. Not to many particals in it. Some wax. It almost sounds like you bought cooking honey. We normally use the dark honey in cooking.
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