Honey is the oldest sweetener known to man and has been an eagerly sought commodity since prehistoric times. Primitive societies hunted for trees where bees stored honey so that they could obtain a supply of the precious sweetener. Eventually beekeeping or apiculture, the science and art of raising bees in artificial hives, where honey can easily be harvested evolved and today is a major agricultural industry. Modern beekeeping not only provides a supply of a natural sweetener but, more important, makes large numbers of bees available when agricultural crops that depend on insect pollination for production of fruits, nuts and seed are in flower. This is what makes the bee keeping interesting and this is considered an important agricultural industry because about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect pollinated plants and honeybees are responsible for 80 percent of the pollination.
We at Heaven of Spices & Herbs (www.hoshonline.com) source honey from farmers group associated with UP Honey Farmers Producer Company (FPO). This FPO has farmers and bee keepers from Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur (Himalayan foot hills & Gangetic plain) region of UP & Uttarakhand, who are engaged in multifloral honey producing. Team HoSH along with Farmer’s relationship members visit bee farmers engaged in this activity visits them at field for best bee keeping practices. With the help of Government agencies, they also organise regular training to the farmers on best practices of bee keeping.
Honey can come in a variety of forms. The most common is liquid honey that is extracted from the honeycomb by centrifugal force, gravity or straining. Liquid honey is the most convenient form of honey for cooking or baking and most honey is sold in this form. We at Heaven of Spices & Herbs sold more than thousand bottles of pure & Natural Liquid Honey in the last year. In many parts of the world, creme honey is preferred to the liquid form. Comb honey is honey that comes as it is produced in the hive, in a honeybee’s wax comb. The comb, as well as the honey, is edible. Cut comb honey is honey that has been packaged with chunks of the honeycomb but at present heaven of Spices and herbs only offers natural multifloral liquid honey.
Shri Ambuj Baliyan and Dr Umesh Latyan of UP Honey FPO, who generally accompany us during our visits to the bee keepers explain the efforts taken by the bee keepers in bringing in pure honey to us.
Due to excessive commercialisation and burgeoning consumer demand honey market is loaded with adulterated products. Most of the consumers are unaware of the quality of Honey they use. People who are health conscious are opting for honey as sweetener. Honey contains other nutrients that studies show to be beneficial to health. The biggest health boost comes from the antioxidants in honey. Antioxidants reduce oxidative stress in our cells, which helps protect our cells from damage. Honey also contains amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and vitamins and minerals, such as Thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxin, vitamin A, niacin, panthothenic acid, phyllochinon, vitamin E, and vitamin C. The mix of these nutrients varies, depending on which plants the bees visited.
The team at heaven of spice and Herbs take utmost care in bring to you the natural and minimal processed foods, which are clean good and fair. Our natural honey is one such products which has helped us spread love and sweetness.
