It’s been 4 years since we introduced our revered wild forest honey from the wilderness of the
Sunderbans. There have been many folks in Mumbai who have been regularly ordering this
honey from us and they absolutely love it.
The authenticity, the richness and the nutritional benefits is what has led to a stamp of approval
from many.
While this has been happening, there is something different about wild forest honey and about
any wild produce in general. The inconsistency in external factors like flavour, taste, aroma, size
or look while being consistent in its authenticity & high nutritional value is what makes wild
produce so precious.
Now let’s talk about this dilemma of inconsistency, taking our wild forest honey as an example.
Recently, we received a fresh batch of wild forest honey– it is unprocessed and raw as usual,
but has a distinct taste and flavour to it, while comparing it with our previous batch. There might
also be a layer of froth on it if kept ideal for a few days at a stretch.
We followed our usual process of sample testing, sample tasting, hand-filtering the honey and packing them in glass bottles.
This honey was shipped to various existing and new customers. And boom – we started
receiving messages and images from a small a section of our existing and new customers
saying that this honey might be spoilt (To be exact, it was 20% of the overall customers who received the honey and that is a minority, but still a larger number).
The reason was unanimous – it has froth on it and therefore it might be fungus.
Yes, it kept for a few days; wild forest honey (mostly but not always during monsoons) might
have a layer of froth.
Does that mean that the honey is spoilt?
Absolutely Not!!
I can assure you there is nothing to worry when you see that – it is actually an indication that
your honey is raw and unprocessed when you see a layer of froth on it.
This froth can be there for two reasons (and it occurs mostly during the monsoons) –
1) During the monsoons or otherwise, while the honey is being collected by the beekeepers, there could be a few droplets of water which would have entered the honey, therefore slightly higher moisture content results in a layer of froth.
2) It could also be air bubbles which get generated while the honey is being packed in
bottles (this can happen in any season).
Now, the question arises, do we consume this honey as it is? Or do something with it?
> We need to just stir the honey well and it should be fine to consume.
> We can filter it using a muslin cloth or fine meshed hand-filter which can help separate
the froth and wild forest honey.
How can I be so sure about this and where did I learn about this?
> These are anecdotes of wisdom passed on from the beekeeping communities we work
with.
> And yes, I personally consume this honey myself at home and have faced no health and
medical issues.
What I’ve learnt and understood over the past few years of working in this space of indigenous
and wild foods is that we, urban consumers have been made to consume “consistency and
standardized food – visually and as for the taste as well. This conditioning over many years has
led to us wanting consistency all the time.
Therefore at 1st look, when we see something different then what we have consumed earlier, it
seems wrong or spoilt. I used to react the same way, but unlearning and getting to know about
the real wisdom of food can be eye-opening.
We need to unlearn what the industry has been feeding us, while acknowledging and exploring
traditional wisdom from our rich and bio-diverse land.
May it be honey, wild rice varieties, wild pulses or mushrooms - it is all about savouring their
distinct flavours, colours, aromas while benefitting from their nutritional profiles.
To savouring the wild forest honey as wild, raw an unprocessed – Cheers.