According to the National Honey Board there is no concrete definition for the term “raw honey.”  However recently the state of Utah passed HB148 that requires that honey produced, packed, repacked, distributed, or sold in this state may only be labeled as raw honey if meets the definition of raw honey described as follows:

“Raw Honey” means honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling, or straining; and that has not been heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit during production or storage; or pasteurized.

As a beekeeper and connoisseur of fine honey I personally believe that honey cannot be considered raw if it has been heated over 105 degrees.

TEXTURE

Heating honey over 105 degrees fundamentally changes the consistency of the honey.  You can often tell whether honey is raw or not by the texture of the crystals when crystallized.  However this isn’t always the case as each varietal honey has a different crystal size.  From my observation honey with lower water content has a coarser crystal.

When analyzing whether your honey is raw or not based on crystal structure, remember that raw honey has a much finer crystal than the honey has been heated, filtered and pasteurized.

Not Raw Honey

Raw Crystallized Honey

TASTE

Heating the honey past 105 changes not only the texture but also the taste of the honey.  Raw honey is often creamy and smooth with little to no aftertaste.  Pasteurized honey (burned honey) has a noticeable smokey aftertaste.  I’m not sure quite how to explain it but if you have had the pleasure of enjoying raw honey frequently, you’ll immediately notice the distinctly burned taste.

Which is better: Raw or Pasteurized?

When you purchase The Honey Jar honey you can rest easy knowing that whatever honey you purchase is as natural, raw, and pure as the day the bees produced it.

Thanks for reading and be sure to like us on facebook and share us with your friends!

Thanks so much for your support and patience as we’ve grown and matured over the past 6 years.  Things are always changing and hopefully improving.  As always we are striving to bring you the best pure raw honey and look forward to many more years of the same.  I hope you’ll allow me a few minutes of self indulgence as I reminisce and dream a bit.

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to own a business.  I remember working on birdhouses at 12 years old and kids rocking chairs after that.  Those never panned out but while on the Family vacation the year I turned 17, I discovered something that would change my life.  I had never intended to be in the honey business but somehow the cards played in my favor and my dream became a reality.  But not in the ways I had imagined.  I could tell you its all been fun and games but to tell the truth some days I would trade it all in for a steady job and health benefits working for someone else and never having to make the big decisions again.  But all in all I wouldn’t give up these 6 years for anything.  I have grown, matured, and developed right alongside The Honey Jar.  Granted I am not anywhere near where I thought I’d be after 6 years but I’m happy with where we are heading.  And we owe that all to you our loyal customers.

You’ve put up with us as we’ve matured.  You’ve allowed us to fix our mistakes.  You’ve been patient with us when it’s taken a little longer than expected to get your order shipped out.  And many of you are much more than just customers… you’re our friends!  And I mean that with all sincerity of heart.  Who would have thought that complete strangers from different parts of the country could connect and become friends because of honey.  So to our friends, past, present, and future… Thank you!

Kyle Kanno

The Honey Jar

We launched our first website in 2006

using a wysiwyg editor called sitespinner ™

This was my first attempt at website design and it took me a long time to get it this good.  I think this site showed our character the best but back in 2006 broadband was still new to the game and it just took too long to load.

 Plus everytime I needed to update the site I had to have access to the program it was written in.  That made it difficult to keep up to date.

Website number 2 was launched in August 2007

This website was developed using x-cart and took a little bit of custom skinning.  I wanted the added functionality that x-cart brought to the table but wasn’t happy with how much work it took to edit the appearance and make it look good.  I think the main reason I finally decided to redo the site again was shipping calculation problems.  It looks like the new website has that fixed!

Our newest website was officially launched September 2010

And after working on this new website since May 2010 the new website officially launched today,  September 29, 2010.  I am very pleased with the new website.  Built around a wordpress blog the new website incorporates some great new technology.  Besides fixing the shipping calculations the new website also incorporates social media.  Facebook and Twitter were high priorities in the development of the new site.

Some other cool new features of this site:

• A blog
• A store locator
• Faster load time
• Better looking graphics
• And an easy to use shopping cart!

Thanks for stopping by.  I would love to hear your comments about the sites.

UPDATE:

I guess you can say webdesign is a little hobby of mine and a good website is always improving.  So here is Version 4.0 of our website.

Friendlier Design

Maintains same basic framework of version 3

just updated

It was a beautiful day outside here in Honeyville, Utah home of the best honey in the world.  I may be a bit partial but who isn’t?  So in an effort to put off what I actually needed to get done today I got suited up and did a checkup on the bees.  Who would have thought that a simple walk to the back yard watching these industrious creatures could be such a relaxing and interesting experience.  Each of the four hives in my backyard have a story and each is special to me.

The Honey Jar - Honeyville Utah Beehives

The one on the left is my first hive, my first adventure in beekeeping.  I had so much fun watching them that when someone in Ogden called with a swarm on his pear tree I just had to go and get it.

Although a month had passed between the first hive and the second, good ol’ number 2 is almost caught up.

Hives 3 and 4 were purchased in May and shipped in from California.   Something happened to number 4 sometime in June and the hive is just starting to catch up again.  Hopefully he makes it through the winter.

One of the most amazing things to me is the difference in beeswax color, and bee behavior between the four hives.  Hive 1 has a more yellow beeswax comb and is probably the most docile.  Hive 2 has the whitest comb and is probably the most industrious.  Hive 3 and 4 are about the same except for the size of the hive now.  The one just took off and the other almost collapsed.

Our Bee-utiful Bees

This year has been an adventure and one that I have thoroughly loved.  If you would like to get into beekeeping and have an adventure of your own check out the resources on this page.

The Honey Jar - Grand Opening 2005

The following is taken from an article published in the Tremonton Leader and Garland Times on October 26, 2005 by Debra Jandreau, Leader Assistant Editor

Kyle Kanno, a 17-year-old, is the owner and operator of a new business in Honeyville. Kanno said his idea for the business stemmed from a family trip to Durango, Colo. While visiting Durango, Kanno said he saw jars of Honeyville Honey. “I thought if they had Honeyville honey, then there should be a Honeyville Honey business in Honeyville,” Kanno said. “The trip home was 12 hours and I had that long to convince my family this was a good idea. Five hours into the trip, they were all convinced and we were making business plans.”Although Kanno has had no official businss experience, he difinitely has a plan. After returning from Durango, Kanno took his first order within two weeks and was featured at 2005 Box Elder County Fair and Peach Days.The Honey Jar, located at mile marker 7 on Hwy 38 in Honeyville, will feature 18 flavors of whipped honey, lotions and bars, cookbooks and homemade gift baskets, etc. Customers can also get a Buzzen Dozen Card. If the customer makes 11 purchases, they get the 12th one free.The grand opening will be next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Honey Jar will be open from noon to 7 p.m. during the week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. If customers would like to arrange a new time to visit the business, please call 279-8279.