FOOD NEWS
What You Need To Know Before Heating Honey
BY BRIAN UDALL
Raw honey is full of nutrients and antioxidants, but much of those nutrients are lost with the high heat of pasteurization. However, that doesn't mean honey can't be heated.
Since bees keep their hives at a steady temperature of 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, raw honey can be safely heated to that same temperature without destroying any nutrients.
At 98 degrees F, hundreds of components in the honey will break down. At 104 degrees F, the honey's invertase is destroyed, which is arguably its most important enzyme.
Any temperature hotter than 104 degrees F will start a process known as caramelization, which turns all of honey's beneficial complex sugars into not-so-beneficial basic sugars.
To keep all the nutritional benefits of your raw honey, simply don't heat it above 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Heating it to that level can help if the honey has crystallized.
The cheaper pasteurized brands of honey you find in grocery stores aren't exactly the healthiest versions. For the good stuff, you need raw honey, which you can likely buy locally.