Miel Mtl Official FAQS
What is Honey? Why are there different kinds?
Honey is the product of flowers nectar which honeybees collect and deposit in their hexagonal shaped cells. Honeybees will visit and collect the nectar from millions of different and unique flowers within a 3km radius.
Research shows that one pound of honey requires the nectar from two million flowers and the cooperation of fifty-thousand honeybees. Varieties of honey will thus differ depending on the flower types, region and time of the year.
What is the difference between Honey & Raw Honey?
As honey is a sticky business, heat is often added to clarify & liquefy the honey, which makes it easier to extract, bottle, blend and produce honey. Unfortunately, heating honey tampers with the properties, structure and taste of the honey. Additionally, it is known to reduce the nutritional and medicinal properties and enzymes of honey.
Research shows 70% of different honey samples from grocery stores, ‘Regular Honeys’ are adulterated or completely artificial.
Raw honey on the other hand is honey that has been extracted, bottled and produced without heat. Raw honey has much higher levels of pollen, antioxidants, enzymes, nutritional & medicinal values on top of an unprocessed and genuine honey, made by bees.
What is Cold-Extracted?
Here at Miel Mtl, we always extract and keep the honey under 25-30C, hence cold- extracted.
At Miel Mtl we do not use any heat in any stages of our extractions, ensuring a honey that is unprocessed, unheated and molecularly unchanged.
Unexposed to heat, raw honey retains the highest content of nutrients, enzymes, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals, medicinal & antioxidant properties. It is highly therapeutic with antibiotic, anti-fungal, antiviral, antiseptic, anti-aging and anticancer properties.
What are Enzymes?
One of the characteristics that set natural honey apart from table sugar and other sweetening agents is the presence of active enzymes
Enzymes are produced by living cells and known by many scientists as the “life force.” They are complex proteins found in nearly every cell of body, which serve as stimulators for thousands of known biochemical reactions to happen. They are among the key catalysts of the many processes in the body. Simply put, enzymes can be thought of as energy. Enzymes are necessary for our bodies to function optimally.
The presence of active enzymes is a part of what defines food that is alive and thus enzyme activity must be present in honey labeled “Raw.”
Enzymes in our body decrease with our age. Eating processed or foods lacking in enzymes doesn’t help either. A lack of enzymes may lead to frequent fatigue, dizziness, lack of mental focus, muscle pain, indigestion, lack of appetite, and low blood sugar.
Fresh and raw fruits and vegetables are a great source of enzymes. Raw honey also contributes to the amount of enzymes in our body synergistically work with other substances and support our health and tonic.
Enzymes serve as a catalyst for over 5,000 (known) biochemical reactions in our bodies. The Japanese are considered to be one of the healthiest nations in the world. It can largely be due to their culinary habits of eating relatively large quantities of raw, enzyme-rich foods, such as seafood, vegetables, legumes, algaes and fruits; Cooking their vegetables and foods more towards the minimum and eating as fresh as possible.
Main enzymes found in Raw Honey:
Diastase: Helps with digestion and with the digestive system.
Invertase: Helps break down sugars, converts nectar to honey and allows honey to be a readily available fuel source.
Glucose Oxidase: Aids in production of hydrogen peroxide, helps create the antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of honey.
As these enzymes are sensitive to heat, it is recommended that honey be stored away from [extreme] heat to preserve the natural goodness of honey.
What is Cruelty-free?
Here at Miel Mtl our goal is to establish healthy, friendly and productive honeybee colonies. We aim to do with by working with nature, in a cruelty-free and utmost respectful manner.
Believe it or not, there are practices done in beekeeping, or in the raising of any species, that are considered to be unjust by some. To us, Cruelty-free would be to avoid inflicting any type of pain, stress or discomfort towards a species, such as bees. It also entails being respectful and caring in the most biologically and physiologically appropriate manner.
-We don’t, nor support, physical or mental-state experimentation on bees -We don’t support artificial insemination
-We don’t kill bees, be it for undesirable traits, sampling or any other means. -Take extra measures to ensure the bees have a stress-free environment -Only used materials deemed suitable, appropriate and bee-friendly
-Do our absolute best to never harm our bees and to make sure no bees are harmed
Why is my Honey Crystallized? Is it Normal?
Crystallized honey is very normal, in fact it’s natural. Honey is temperature sensitive when it’s outside the hive; Crystallizing or solidifying at colder temperatures < 25°C / 77°F, and runny or more liquid at warmer temperatures >25°C / 77°F. Real honey will always solidify, harden or crystallize in the cold, and if it doesn’t it most likely means it’s not real!
Many honey producers will use excess heat to ‘melt’ the honey, making it more liquid, and easier to extract and bottle. This, however, will affect the molecular, nutritional and medicinal properties of the honey and thus, we believe in keeping it raw. As honey is a superfood, it is temperature sensitive and we believe at keeping it as nature intended.
Different types of flowers’ nectar & honey will also influence consistency, texture, taste and color of honey.
What do Honeybees do in Winter?
Contrary to popular belief, honeybees do not hibernate in winter, but rather form a cluster to stay warm. Using their wings to create friction: honeybees keep the inside of the cluster at an impressive 35°C / 95°F. Miel Mtl takes various approaches to wintering our honeybees in our cold and wet northern climate.
What is Pollen?
Pollen is the yellow/orange dust of the flowers, that helps create fruits, flowers and seeds. Pollen is essential for fruits, vegetables and flowers on earth, and without pollen there would be no human life on earth.
Rich in: Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids, Enzymes, Bioflavonoids & Antioxidants Benefits: Superfood, Antibacterial, Energy-Enhancer, Anti-Inflammatory, Reduces Allergies, Boosts Digestive system and strengthens Immune system.
How to use: Sprinkle on your: cereal, salads, toast, on fruits, yogurt, granola, Additionally, you can add to tea, smoothies, protein shakes and juices.
How does Miel Mtl help the bees?
Organic Honey in Quebec:
We consider ourselves [unofficially / uncertified] Organic, and this is why:
Additional Sources: https://thornhillfarmvermont.com/live-foods-enzymes-and-raw-honey/ https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/30/importance-of-enzymes.aspx https://www.sleepingbearfarms.com/raw-honey-posts/raw-honey-enzymes/ https://healthywithhoney.com/what-are-the-enzymes-present-in-raw-honey-why-are-they-important/
What is Honey? Why are there different kinds?
Honey is the product of flowers nectar which honeybees collect and deposit in their hexagonal shaped cells. Honeybees will visit and collect the nectar from millions of different and unique flowers within a 3km radius.
Research shows that one pound of honey requires the nectar from two million flowers and the cooperation of fifty-thousand honeybees. Varieties of honey will thus differ depending on the flower types, region and time of the year.
What is the difference between Honey & Raw Honey?
As honey is a sticky business, heat is often added to clarify & liquefy the honey, which makes it easier to extract, bottle, blend and produce honey. Unfortunately, heating honey tampers with the properties, structure and taste of the honey. Additionally, it is known to reduce the nutritional and medicinal properties and enzymes of honey.
Research shows 70% of different honey samples from grocery stores, ‘Regular Honeys’ are adulterated or completely artificial.
Raw honey on the other hand is honey that has been extracted, bottled and produced without heat. Raw honey has much higher levels of pollen, antioxidants, enzymes, nutritional & medicinal values on top of an unprocessed and genuine honey, made by bees.
What is Cold-Extracted?
Here at Miel Mtl, we always extract and keep the honey under 25-30C, hence cold- extracted.
At Miel Mtl we do not use any heat in any stages of our extractions, ensuring a honey that is unprocessed, unheated and molecularly unchanged.
Unexposed to heat, raw honey retains the highest content of nutrients, enzymes, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals, medicinal & antioxidant properties. It is highly therapeutic with antibiotic, anti-fungal, antiviral, antiseptic, anti-aging and anticancer properties.
What are Enzymes?
One of the characteristics that set natural honey apart from table sugar and other sweetening agents is the presence of active enzymes
Enzymes are produced by living cells and known by many scientists as the “life force.” They are complex proteins found in nearly every cell of body, which serve as stimulators for thousands of known biochemical reactions to happen. They are among the key catalysts of the many processes in the body. Simply put, enzymes can be thought of as energy. Enzymes are necessary for our bodies to function optimally.
The presence of active enzymes is a part of what defines food that is alive and thus enzyme activity must be present in honey labeled “Raw.”
Enzymes in our body decrease with our age. Eating processed or foods lacking in enzymes doesn’t help either. A lack of enzymes may lead to frequent fatigue, dizziness, lack of mental focus, muscle pain, indigestion, lack of appetite, and low blood sugar.
Fresh and raw fruits and vegetables are a great source of enzymes. Raw honey also contributes to the amount of enzymes in our body synergistically work with other substances and support our health and tonic.
Enzymes serve as a catalyst for over 5,000 (known) biochemical reactions in our bodies. The Japanese are considered to be one of the healthiest nations in the world. It can largely be due to their culinary habits of eating relatively large quantities of raw, enzyme-rich foods, such as seafood, vegetables, legumes, algaes and fruits; Cooking their vegetables and foods more towards the minimum and eating as fresh as possible.
Main enzymes found in Raw Honey:
Diastase: Helps with digestion and with the digestive system.
Invertase: Helps break down sugars, converts nectar to honey and allows honey to be a readily available fuel source.
Glucose Oxidase: Aids in production of hydrogen peroxide, helps create the antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of honey.
As these enzymes are sensitive to heat, it is recommended that honey be stored away from [extreme] heat to preserve the natural goodness of honey.
What is Cruelty-free?
Here at Miel Mtl our goal is to establish healthy, friendly and productive honeybee colonies. We aim to do with by working with nature, in a cruelty-free and utmost respectful manner.
Believe it or not, there are practices done in beekeeping, or in the raising of any species, that are considered to be unjust by some. To us, Cruelty-free would be to avoid inflicting any type of pain, stress or discomfort towards a species, such as bees. It also entails being respectful and caring in the most biologically and physiologically appropriate manner.
-We don’t, nor support, physical or mental-state experimentation on bees -We don’t support artificial insemination
-We don’t kill bees, be it for undesirable traits, sampling or any other means. -Take extra measures to ensure the bees have a stress-free environment -Only used materials deemed suitable, appropriate and bee-friendly
-Do our absolute best to never harm our bees and to make sure no bees are harmed
Why is my Honey Crystallized? Is it Normal?
Crystallized honey is very normal, in fact it’s natural. Honey is temperature sensitive when it’s outside the hive; Crystallizing or solidifying at colder temperatures < 25°C / 77°F, and runny or more liquid at warmer temperatures >25°C / 77°F. Real honey will always solidify, harden or crystallize in the cold, and if it doesn’t it most likely means it’s not real!
Many honey producers will use excess heat to ‘melt’ the honey, making it more liquid, and easier to extract and bottle. This, however, will affect the molecular, nutritional and medicinal properties of the honey and thus, we believe in keeping it raw. As honey is a superfood, it is temperature sensitive and we believe at keeping it as nature intended.
Different types of flowers’ nectar & honey will also influence consistency, texture, taste and color of honey.
What do Honeybees do in Winter?
Contrary to popular belief, honeybees do not hibernate in winter, but rather form a cluster to stay warm. Using their wings to create friction: honeybees keep the inside of the cluster at an impressive 35°C / 95°F. Miel Mtl takes various approaches to wintering our honeybees in our cold and wet northern climate.
What is Pollen?
Pollen is the yellow/orange dust of the flowers, that helps create fruits, flowers and seeds. Pollen is essential for fruits, vegetables and flowers on earth, and without pollen there would be no human life on earth.
Rich in: Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids, Enzymes, Bioflavonoids & Antioxidants Benefits: Superfood, Antibacterial, Energy-Enhancer, Anti-Inflammatory, Reduces Allergies, Boosts Digestive system and strengthens Immune system.
How to use: Sprinkle on your: cereal, salads, toast, on fruits, yogurt, granola, Additionally, you can add to tea, smoothies, protein shakes and juices.
How does Miel Mtl help the bees?
- This year: Miel Mtl is contributing 14 million honeybees, responsible for visiting and pollinating over 6 billion flowers, almost one per person on earth!
- Each hive will visit 100 + million flowers
- Each jar goes towards supporting the local bees, flowers, trees, fruits and
vegetables - Huge impact on the ecosystem, helping save the planet
- Establishing a genetic diversity program and collects data to ensure healthy,
productive and friendly honeybees for the future
Organic Honey in Quebec:
- At the moment, Honey can only be certified organic if the location of the beehives are at least 3-5km away from any cities, farms or agriculture.
- Problem is: Certified organic producers are allowed to, and often do, use chemicals, non-organic treatments for parasites and pathogens, as well as using non-organic sugar syrups to feed their bees; this leads to bias in the current application of the term “Organic.”
- As a result, the term “Organic” for honey doesn’t mean truly organic, but it means the honey comes from a more wild or remote area.
We consider ourselves [unofficially / uncertified] Organic, and this is why:
- Our beehives are in the Montreal and Quebec regions where pesticides are banned on all bee-foraging flowers by law.
- We completely avoid feeding our bees sugar syrup before and during the honey collection season(s). There is no possibility of adulteration of our honey. It is 100% purely raw honey and nectar from local unsprayed flowers.
- All of our parasite treatments are certified organic, and are chemical-free, safe and naturally occurring in honey, fruits and vegetables.
- We use organic and cruelty-free techniques to manage our beehives and within our honey operation, we use brand new glass jars, and do not use heat or add additional ingredients during the extraction and bottling process.
Additional Sources: https://thornhillfarmvermont.com/live-foods-enzymes-and-raw-honey/ https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/30/importance-of-enzymes.aspx https://www.sleepingbearfarms.com/raw-honey-posts/raw-honey-enzymes/ https://healthywithhoney.com/what-are-the-enzymes-present-in-raw-honey-why-are-they-important/
