Why is “raw” honey thicker than the one you buy in regular super markets

honey

I tried some honey I got at a farmer's market and noticed it was really thick compared to regular honey you buy at any supermarket.

Best Answer

The raw honey at your farmer's market is likely unfiltered.

Usually raw, unfiltered raw honey can only be purchased directly from the bee farm. Characterised by fine textured crystals, it looks cloudier and contains particles and flecks made of bee pollen, honeycomb bits, propolis, and even broken bee wing fragments. Raw and unfiltered honey and has a high antioxidant level and will usually granulate and crystallize to a thick consistency after a few months. It is usually preferred as a spread on bread and waffles, or dissolved in hot coffee or tea. However, as most consumers are naturally attracted to buying and eating crystal clear and clean honey, unfiltered honey which looks cloudy and unappealing, is not commercially available on supermarket shelves.

Additionally, the pasteurization process helps keep the honey more liquid:

A lot of honey found in the supermarket is not raw honey but "commercial" regular honey, some of which has been pasteurized (heated at 70 degrees Celsius or more, followed by rapid cooling) for easy filtering and bottling so that it looks cleaner and smoother, more appealing on the shelf, and easier to handle and package. ... Heating also slows down the speed of crystallization in liquid honey. ... you may also find raw honey that are unprocessed but slightly warmed to retard granulation for a short period of time and allow light straining and packing into containers for sale.

http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/raw-honey.html