Initially, the answer seems obvious. Honey bees of course!
There are native bees that produce honey too, though not in the volumes that the familiar European honey bee(Apis mellifera) does.
The honey on the supermarket shelves might not be the honey you’re expecting. There’s been a global shift toward honey adulteration where honey is mixed with sugar syrup and other substances to increase profits of unscrupulous operators.
Large scale commercial honey is pasteurised to eliminate the risk of fermentation, but it deactivates the enzymes, minerals and vitamins that make honey beneficial. Pasteurisation effectively turns honey into honey flavoured sugar.
Real honey is a sweet, viscous substance made by honey bees from the secretions of plants (nectar) or of other insects such as aphids(honeydew). The bees reduce the water content of the nectar to less than 20% for Australian honey or 18.5% for northern hemisphere honey. The bees add a range of enzymes in the process.
To prevent any degradation to the honey, Aussie Mike never allows his honey to exceed 40°C.
Aussie Mike recommends buying your honey from a local beekeeper. Look for one that is happy for you to visit to see the bees and the honey room where he or she extracts and packages the honey.
Make sure the jar has an approved label. It should have honey details, name, address and contact details of the beekeeper, nutrition table, weight and a 100% Australian logo.
For more information on labels see the Journal section.
