I would have to say that 99% of Canadians know honey as a sweet golden liquid product that comes in a squeeze bear. The marketing by the large honey companies have done a great job of connecting bears and honey to the consumers. Even in our shop, customers will initially gravitate to liquid honey.
So in order to talk about creamed honey, we first need to understand what it is and why it is unique. Honey is made up of basically two components, various sugars (dependant on the nectar source) and water. Any natural sugar solution overtime will begin to crystallize and change from a liquid state to a solid mass. Depending on the mix of sugars in the honey, the crystallized product will have a grainy to very coarse texture. This process of crystallization does not mean that the honey is going bad, it is just naturally doing what honey does.
Wood'n'Hive creamed honey, is basically crystallized or granulated unpasterized honey. The secret to making creamed honey is to control the size of the crystals as the honey naturally granulates. In the beginning , we literally grind up crystallized honey to make the crystals smaller. By adding these small crystals to the liquid honey and managing temperature, the honey as it granulates, takes on the shape and size of the small crystals we have added. The resulting creamed honey is smooth and creamy to the pallet. With each batch of creamed honey we now produce, we save 10% which will be used to "seed" the next production. In our facility, the process of creaming honey takes about two weeks, start to finish. We begin with room temperture liquid honey in the mixer and we add 10% of our seed stock. The mixer slowly stirs the honey to ensure that the seed stock is completely incorporated into the the liquid. The honey is then packed into containers and moved into storage where the temperature will be lowered and held constant for the balance of the process. Lowering the temperature, naturally causes the honey to crystallize and complete the process.
Seems like a lot of work to manipulate a natural process ? The texture of creamed honey will never change overtime, as it is already granulated when it leaves the shop. The smooth spreadable creamy honey will last forever in that state or until the last bit is scraped from the container. Creamed honey is great as a spread on toast, hot biscuits and sandwiches, as it sticks and stays. I always share the fact that if you are using liquid honey on toast, 90% ends up on the plate, 5 % on your shirt and then the balance may or may not be on your toast. In a recent in-shop , random survey, more than 50% of our customers who love Wood'n'Hive creamed honey eat it right off the spoon. I thought it was only me and a few close relatives that did such crazy things !
So at the end of it all, liquid or creamed ? In our kitchen we use both creamed and liquid depending on the required application - one may have a better fit. As a spread , we use creamed. For coffee, cereals, cooking and baking we use a liquid. If you have never had our creamed honey, stop by the shop for a sample. I am certain that you will be amazed and will understand why it is one of life's sweet pleasures.
Final thought.....I know you are thinking, "can I put creamed honey in tea or coffee " The answer is a simple yes, as soon as you warm up creamed honey, it turns back to a liquid.
Don't miss out, enjoy some Wood'n'Hive creamed honey today !
Alex