Buying Honey in Local Markets

[L&J]

Are there good reasons not to buy the honey that is sold in the the bottles in all the local markets?

I prefer to think I'm helping out the little guy rather than getting it in the supermarkets or Makro, but

are there legitimate risk in using this kind of honey, other than finding a few ants floating around in it?

[Farma]

You may find a good supplier however there are many who add sugar water to increase their profits.

[naboo]

Biggest risk is that it might not be real honey, may be sugar water. But if it tastes good, keep buying it there.

There are some good honey producers around, you just need to find them. My wife's father knows I like the good stuff and he usually has a bottle waiting for me when we go to see him, straight from the hive in the tree, wax and ants and all. Good stuff.

Edited July 23, 2013 by naboo

[zeichen]

actually biggest risk would be botulism if they don't sterilize their bottles and have clean working conditions. Though some smaller outfits are good I personally don't risk it when it comes to food.

[scd]

The GF informed me once that some of the sellers are actually using cheap store bought honey with a piece of honeycomb thrown in to up the price. Not wanting to paint all sellers with the same brush. Buyer beware etc.

[elektrified]

I would day that more than 65% of sellers at the Thai markets are selling sugar water, a little honey, etc. The comb is all for show. There is a real honey shop on Chang Klang in the Night Bazaar but is expensive there. Royal Project honey is 100%. There are many good suppliers that are not expensive. I would avoid the guy on the street.

[HullyGully]

Yes, we came to the conclusion. ots of sugar inside

[Beetlejuice]

My wife and I enjoy the taste of that stuff. Usually pay between 150 baht to 200 baht per bottle. It does make a nice sweetener in cakes and great mixed with some aspirin for the relief of colds and flu.

But I can assure you it is not pure honey or anything even resembling real honey. I do not know the exact ingredients. My wife says it`s just mostly water with a large amount of sugar and God knows what else with perhaps a spoonful of real honey added for taste.

You pay your money and get what you get.

[chuang]

I would day that more than 65% of sellers at the Thai markets are selling sugar water, a little honey, etc. The comb is all for show. There is a real honey shop on Chang Klang in the Night Bazaar but is expensive there. Royal Project honey is 100%. There are many good suppliers that are not expensive. I would avoid the guy on the street.

You can also find one at the Chiangmai 89 Plaza, Royal products..near the end of the parking lot...where they have night bazaar

in the evening..

[masuk]

I've often bought honey in Chiang Moi road, before you get to the China town archway, where there is a guy selling only honey.

It seems quite tasty to me, and as that's his sole product, hopefully it's the real stuff.

The Longan honey at TOPS, MAKRO etc, is hopefully checked out by the stores' buyers.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I'd stick with Royal Project, which ticks the boxes for an excellent, real, and local product, and helping small producers.

Edited July 23, 2013 by WinnieTheKhwai

[RaysFan]

Yea, I'm about 90% sure the stuff in the markets is not real.... I come from Florida, we have the real stuff and its thick, like so thick you can hardly pour it. The stuff from the markets runs out of the bottle like water almost, and it seems much to sweet to be real honey.

There are a few simple tests you can do to test if the honey is real... They always do it at the local places in Florida. Just fill a clear measuring cup or clear glass with water and pour some of the honey in.... If it dissolves or thins out, its fake. If it stays together in clumps, then its real. Also, I think honey is flammable too... The fake stuff wont be.

[isanbirder]

Ya sniff it, man!

Simple rule.... get a Thai villager to buy it for you. Get a bottle, not a jar. Avoid the places farangs go.

Or go to Royal Project, Makro etc... who quite possibly sell the real stuff.

[L&J]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Amazingly it is possible to ask a question here and get good answers.

I am to embark on the science experiments:

(There are a few simple tests you can do to test if the honey is real... They always do it at the local places in Florida. Just fill a clear measuring cup or clear glass with water and pour some of the honey in.... If it dissolves or thins out, its fake. If it stays together in clumps, then its real. Also, I think honey is flammable too... The fake stuff wont be)

and see what I find. Somehow when I look at the older lady selling me the "honey" I am reluctant to think she has created some fake product and I am usually very skeptical in these matters.

I did consider the botulism risk but after some reading up on that it appears to be a very low risk-EXCEPT FOR INFANTS!

I think that in the future i will go to the Royal Project Store as that may satisfy my interest in avoiding all the greedy middlemen.

[keithet]

Interesting idea for the water test.

I know in Hawaii they had many different kinds of honey, with all kinds of different tastes. It depended on the local flowers in the area. Some of the honey manufactures would set up honey boxes in the different fruit tree orchards... Even Macadamia nut farms that made a awesome nutty flavor. But being that Hawaii was full of different flowers all the honey was out of this world.

The local honey farmers would market their honey with the local flowers the bees were kept near. Maybe you can find a local one here that does the same then that way you can know it may "bee" real from the pride of their product???

I remember I had a bee hive in my carport. Called a local beekeeper and he collected all the bees from the hive trying to get the queen. He gave us the honey. I remember eating honey from the cone with honey dripping off my elbows. Awww good fun!

[KRS1]

I bought street honey in BKK many years ago and gave me really bad stomach cramping, after that i just stuck to the stuff in the stores.

[junglechef]

I go 50/50 for the honey out of any wild hive in my garden with whomever retrieves it from my all organic fruit tree, now that tastes great! I usually buy from that one near Night Bazaar but some of the Royal Project's stuff is good, most recently Coffee Flower Honey. Another interesting fact is that honey does not go bad.

[ESCAPIS]

My mother would drop a drop of honey on the sand (amid the horror of the sellers) and if it sinks or flattens, the stuff is fake or mixed.

If it stays in its globular form, it is the real stuff.

Of course, you might not find sand where you come across the honey sellers!

Edited July 23, 2013 by ESCAPIS

[MisterBean]

I like fora bee (.com) honey. They have a store in Chiang Mai Land and a store in front of the factory on superhighway south of the city. Many different products available, I like the longan honey.

[Beetlejuice]

Yea, I'm about 90% sure the stuff in the markets is not real.... I come from Florida, we have the real stuff and its thick, like so thick you can hardly pour it. The stuff from the markets runs out of the bottle like water almost, and it seems much to sweet to be real honey.

There are a few simple tests you can do to test if the honey is real... They always do it at the local places in Florida. Just fill a clear measuring cup or clear glass with water and pour some of the honey in.... If it dissolves or thins out, its fake. If it stays together in clumps, then its real. Also, I think honey is flammable too... The fake stuff wont be.

I tried the flammable test, ended up with third degree burns and my cat burnt to death when the house caught fire.

You will be hearing from my lawyer in the morning.

[wholetthedogout]

Sausage King gets real honey 100% pure. Go see him. (Strange but true)

[hellodolly]

Interesting thread. I had been told by a friend that he took a mixture of honey and cinnamon every day and it has removed all of his arthritic pain in his hip. They were going to replace it now it is fine.

I started a thread on this on the general topic forum. So far only one reference to its healing power. I have just about used up one jar bought here on Changklang and no help from it. I did some research on honey and it was mixed results. There is over 1,000 different types of honey in the world depends on the source the bees use. There was only one mentioned by name. It comes from New Zealand and a year or two ago there was a thread on it here. I bought some of the honey at the Friday morning farmers market behind the Kalare food court in the night Bazaar for 100 baht. I think I will give it away to the inlaws or junk it. Being diabetic I don't need the sugar. Interestingly enough some studies said it was OK to take with Diabetes. But no sense taking some with added sugar.

Where is the Royal Project Store?

[pitchag]

You may find a good supplier however there are many who add sugar water to increase their profits.

Honey should come straight from the hive using the cold knife method to extract from the comb, if a hot fife is used it and the honey is heated afterwards it takes some of the goodness from the honey.

Honey can be used to preserve foods a piece of meat submerged in honey will not spoil, ancient Egyptians used to store dead bodies in honey to preserve until they could afford a proper burial then the honey was sold cheap to the population.

A healing honey has been developed in New Zealand that has had very good results on tropical ulcers that are resistant to normal treatment it is not the same honey you buy in the supermarket. Honey gets its flavour and colour from the type of plants and trees the bees get the pollen from so you get light right through to very dark strong tasting honey but always very viscous [thick]

[jaideeguy]

actually biggest risk would be botulism if they don't sterilize their bottles and have clean working conditions. Though some smaller outfits are good I personally don't risk it when it comes to food.

botulism from honey?? I thought that honey was the great sterilizer/preservative as they used it to preserve mummies for centuries.

[jaideeguy]

Orange flower honey has always been one of my favorites, but when I inquired about the availability up in Fang [famous for orange growing] I was told that the bees won't go near the heavy chemicals they spray on the orange crop there.............made me wonder how they pollinate the flowers.

Edited July 24, 2013 by jaideeguy

[xylophone]

Interesting thread. I had been told by a friend that he took a mixture of honey and cinnamon every day and it has removed all of his arthritic pain in his hip. They were going to replace it now it is fine.

I started a thread on this on the general topic forum. So far only one reference to its healing power. I have just about used up one jar bought here on Changklang and no help from it. I did some research on honey and it was mixed results. There is over 1,000 different types of honey in the world depends on the source the bees use. There was only one mentioned by name. It comes from New Zealand and a year or two ago there was a thread on it here. I bought some of the honey at the Friday morning farmers market behind the Kalare food court in the night Bazaar for 100 baht. I think I will give it away to the inlaws or junk it. Being diabetic I don't need the sugar. Interestingly enough some studies said it was OK to take with Diabetes. But no sense taking some with added sugar.

Where is the Royal Project Store?

The New Zealand honey is called "Manuka" honey, from the flowers of the Manuka tree and it comes in various grades as regards its antibacterial properties, the higher being the more expensive.

A sterilised version of it is being used in wound dressings now available and is proven to help heal previously difficult soft tissue infections. In the old days honey would be spread on wounds and helped with healing...........seems the "old wives" knew more than we gave them credit for!!

If I get a craving for it (occasionally) I get a friend to send some over from NZ.

[llp]

Most store bought honey is heated destroying enzymes in the process. Also, it might be very filtered that leaves no trace of bee pollen (which makes honey what it is).

"lab tests show that most honey sold on supermarket and drug store shelves today isn't really honey"

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.Ue-HMY2bchM

I did however find a Honeymate brand at Rimping which is certified organic and raw (unheated), but knowing this is Thailand I don't know what goes on at the factory...however healthymate does seem to have a good reputation.

Most store bought honey is heated destroying enzymes in the process. Also, it might be very filtered that leaves no trace of bee pollen (which makes honey what it is).

"lab tests show that most honey sold on supermarket and drug store shelves today isn't really honey"

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.Ue-HMY2bchM

I did however find a healthymate brand at Rimping which is certified organic and raw (unheated), but knowing this is Thailand I don't know what goes on at the factory...however healthymate does seem to have a good reputation.

Edited July 24, 2013 by llp

[hellodolly]

Most store bought honey is heated destroying enzymes in the process. Also, it might be very filtered that leaves no trace of bee pollen (which makes honey what it is).

"lab tests show that most honey sold on supermarket and drug store shelves today isn't really honey"

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.Ue-HMY2bchM

I did however find a Honeymate brand at Rimping which is certified organic and raw (unheated), but knowing this is Thailand I don't know what goes on at the factory...however healthymate does seem to have a good reputation.

Most store bought honey is heated destroying enzymes in the process. Also, it might be very filtered that leaves no trace of bee pollen (which makes honey what it is).

"lab tests show that most honey sold on supermarket and drug store shelves today isn't really honey"

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.Ue-HMY2bchM

I did however find a healthymate brand at Rimping which is certified organic and raw (unheated), but knowing this is Thailand I don't know what goes on at the factory...however healthymate does seem to have a good reputation.

So would just buying the Bee Pollen be a good idea.

[muchogra]

I bought honey from a foreman in my village. It tasted good and got some flowery smell. He told me his family raised bees in Lampung. I used the honey for cooking and barbecuing. I tried to order two more bottles last week from him, but he said it's out of season. So, I reckon it's the real thing. I paid only B100 a bottle. It's definitely better than those I bought from a Royal Project place in Lampang on the way driving to Bkk.