Honey Products

~ CRYSTALLIZATION or GRANULATION ~ What is crystallization? Crystallization or granulation is a natural process that occurs in honey. Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution out of which the glucose tends to crystallize. Can I prevent crystallization of my honey? Storing your honey at room temperature will deter crystallization. Crystallization occurs most rapidly at cool temperatures (40º - 57ºF) therefore honey should never be stored in the refrigerator. My honey has crystallized. Do I need to throw it away? No. Crystallization can be reversed by heating. The primary means to heat the honey to remove the crystals is to place the honey container in a warm water bath for a period of time to return the crystals to liquid.

~ HONEY COOKING TIPS ~ Can I substitute honey for sugar in my recipes ? Yes. Follow these simple guidelines: 1. Substitute honey for up to 1/2 of the sugar. 2. Reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used in baked goods. 3. Add about 1/2 tsp. baking soda for each cup of honey used in baked goods. 4. Reduce oven temperature by 25ºF to prevent over-browning of baked goods. What are the benefits of using honey instead of sugar? Honey is 100% natural and adds distinct flavor notes to recipes. Honey also absorbs and retains moisture, thus keeping your items fresh for a longer period of time. Honey is also sweeter than sugar, allowing you to use less of it to gain the same sweetness level.

~ HONEY & ALLERGENS ~ Honey is a wholesome product created in a natural process by honey bees from the nectar of various flowers. Honey, when not fully processed, may contain residual proteins containing pollen from the plants the bees have visited. Proteins are associated with most true food allergies, and are found in peanuts, soybeans, milk, eggs, fish crustacea, tree nuts and wheat. Honey itself contains very little protein. The major components of honey are simple sugars. Because the filtration process used by Our Supplier generally removes most of the pollen, allergic reactions stemming from the consumption of honey are very uncommon.

~ HONEY & TRANS FAT ~ Does honey contain Trans Fat? Honey is a wholesome product produced by bees from the nectar of flowers. Honey is predominantly carbohydrate and does not contain any fat. Because no fat is present, there can be no trans fat. Why doesn't Black Seed Herbal Essence's label list Trans Fat on the Nutrition Information? Because honey contains 8 or more nutrients with a declared value of zero, honey qualifies for "simplified" nutritional panel format. Since no claim is made about fat, fatty acid or cholesterol content, and the amount of trans fat is less than .5 grams, declaration of trans fat is not necessary in the "simplified" format. In compliance with the FDA's trans fat labeling rule, Black Seed Herbal Essence currently meets the requirements for the simplified format and is not obligated to make any label changes. The trans fat labeling rule from July 11, 2003 Federal Register can be found at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/fr03711a.pdf

~ ORGANIC HONEY ~ What Makes Honey Organic? At the Bee Yard: Organic honey must come from organic bees. Hives that have existing honey in them are forbidden to become organic. Organic honey must be produced from naturally foraging bee colonies that are located at least 2 miles (straight-line flight) from any source that could cause the honey to contain pesticides or herbicides. Within this 2 mile radius no pesticides or herbicides may be used, and must not have had any chemical application in the previous 3 years. Feeding of bees is prohibited. If feeding is necessary to prevent starvation, the honey produced is not organic. Hives need to have all of their parts (supers, queen excluders, etc.) numbered to prevent accidental use in non organic hives. All hive parts must be made of wood. Comb foundations must be made from organic beeswax. The extraction facility must be certified organic. All organic honey must be certified by an approved organic certifying agency. The USDA’s NOP program (National Organic Program) certifies the agencies. Our Honey Suppliers are certified by PCO (Pennsylvania Certified Organic) who inspects their facilities on behalf of the USDA. Black Seed Herbal Essence and their suppliers  only accepts honey from areas that are certified organic by an NOP approved certifier; furthermore the certifier must have physically visited the organic producing area. How does Our Supplier maintain the integrity of Organic Honey? All their and our organic honey is stored in a segregated area to prevent co-mingling organic and non-organic product. The Supplier's Organic honey is only processed after all equipment has been completely flushed with hot water and PCO approved chemicals. The system is flushed with fresh water. All of their equipment is completely clean and emptied of all prior honey. Because of these requirements they only run Organic honey on Monday mornings after a complete system cleaning. All their labels must be approved by PCO before they go into production. The Supplier must be able to track 100% of the organic honey; this is inspected yearly by organic inspectors.