From Sue Bee Honey

[Nugget Shooter]

http://spillingthehoney.blogspot.com/p/response-from-sue-bee-honey.html?m=1

[Perry]

Interesting, it gives another side to an argument I suppose. I personally would expect to find some pollen in my honey, and in fact it may lead to it granulating quicker, but then I don't have it sitting on store shelves for months and months either. Some of the honey hitting my table at the farm market now is starting to get a little cloudy, and that's without much goldenrod or aster (no fall flow to speak of) in it which would have promoted granulation even quicker.

[riverbee]

interesting response by sue bee, i wonder what the link was?

i filter, but i do not ultra filter, i don't have the equipment to do so.  my honey is filtered out of the extractor, and stored in 5 gallon pails.  the cappings gets filtered out of the cappings tub. the 5 gallon pails when ready to use is gently heated and filtered again.

i think the ultra filtration process extends the shelf life of their product. (to keep it from granulating).
we all know honey granulates, some quicker than others and some may not granulate at all or take a very long time depending on how it is stored.

i also like how the writer addressed pasteurized honey:

"The table labeled ‘What are the differences between Raw unpasteurized honey and pasteurized processed Golden Honey’ is biased, unscientific and inaccurate. Secondly, Sue Bee Honey is not pasteurized and would not belong in the ‘pasteurized’ column. Many of the check marks from the raw honey column apply to Sue Bee Clover Honey."

i frequently get asked how i 'pasteurize' my honey or if it is 'pasteurized', lol, drives me bonky.

[Perry]

This is one of those things that does not seem to have a "standard" definition. Raw, strained, filtered, etc.
I now have an inline filter, but what I use as a filter sock/bag is what makes the difference (I think ). I can run any size filter sock/bag, anything from 25 micron to 200 micron and in between, same thing as filter cloth.

[LazyBkpr]

 This process unavoidably removes the pollen that incidentally gets into the honey.

   If it is filtered that finely it is no longer honey. It can no longer be verified as to its origins, and the expense of filtering that finely has got to be greater than if an easier process was used that allowed at least some of the pollen to remain. Honey also has to be heated quite warm in order to force it through such a fine filter.

   As far as I am concerned, if it has NO pollen in it it should be illegal to sell in the US.

[Perry]

I agree. The only reason for filtering to remove all the pollen is to be able to remove trace-ability.

[CBT]

A 600 micron filter will get out the parts and leave the pollen. Contrary to popular belief a 200 micron filter is a lot finer than a 600 micron filter. It must be measured by the distance of space from one side of the square to the other.

[Mikey N.C.]

Sounds like thats what he was saying,  no trace right

[Mikey N.C.]

Is there such a thing as no trace of pollen.?

[riverbee]

yes mikey there is. hmmm......for example do a google search on 'no trace of pollen in honey'

google search; no trace of pollen in honey

[efmesch]

I think of pollen in my honey as a positive selling point. Pollen adds protein and also contributes flavor.  Remember, some people pay a lot of money to buy "bee bread" (=pollen) Sometimes (often?) customers need a bit of education about what TRUE natural honey is.  It is wise to let people realize that crystallized honey has its advantages over liquid honey (doesn't spill, spreads without dripping) and can easily be re-liquidized for those who aren't willing to try something "new".

And creamed honey---Well, that's a delicacy in its' own right. 

[LazyBkpr]

I think of pollen in my honey as a positive selling point. Pollen adds protein and also contributes flavor.  Remember, some people pay a lot of money to buy "bee bread" (=pollen) Sometimes (often?) customers need a bit of education about what TRUE natural honey is.  It is wise to let people realize that crystallized honey has its advantages over liquid honey (doesn't spill, spreads without dripping) and can easily be re-liquidized for those who aren't willing to try something "new".

And creamed honey---Well, that's a delicacy in its' own right.

   Well said!

[neillsayers]

I definitely want pollen in my honey. Without pollen, it's syrup.