10/31/2026
🍯🐝 WHAT MAKES RAW, LOCAL HONEY WORTH BUYING?
Not all honey is created equal… and we have some pretty exciting lab results to share! 💛
Have you ever stood in the grocery store looking at jars of honey and wondered, "Is there really a difference between this and honey from a local beekeeper?"
Well, we wanted to find out what makes OUR honey special, and what science had to say about it.
This year, we sent TWO separate harvests of our Kelley Homestead raw, unfiltered Michigan wildflower honey for extensive laboratory testing.
The laboratory also tested 11 nationally distributed store-bought honey products.
And the results? Our little Michigan bees gave us plenty to be proud of! 🐝🌻
🍯 1. FRESHNESS MATTERS MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK!
Honey naturally develops a compound called HMF as it ages or is exposed to heat. Generally, lower levels are a favorable sign!
Here's what the lab found:
🐝 Our early-summer honey: 2.77 mg/kg
🐝 Our late-summer honey: 7.64 mg/kg
🛒 Store-bought honey average: 115.05 mg/kg
That means our honey had approximately 15 to 42 TIMES LESS HMF than the store-bought samples!
Both of our harvests also tested well below the commonly used international limit of 40 mg/kg.
🌼 2. THERE'S MORE TO HONEY THAN JUST SUGAR!
Did you know that bees naturally add enzymes to nectar as they turn it into honey?
One of those enzymes is called glucose oxidase. It helps produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide when honey is diluted, contributing to some of honey's natural antimicrobial properties.
Heat and processing can reduce certain enzymes in honey.
Our honey tested with approximately 5 to 10 TIMES MORE glucose oxidase activity than the store-bought average!
That's something we found especially fascinating!
🌻 3. OUR HONEY CONTAINS NATURAL PLANT COMPOUNDS!
As bees visit flowers, they collect nectar containing naturally occurring plant compounds that contribute to honey's unique characteristics.
Some of these compounds, called phenolics, contribute to honey's antioxidant activity, color, and flavor.
And guess what?
Both of our honey harvests contained nearly TWICE the measured phenolic compounds of the store-bought average! 💛
These are natural characteristics of honey, not added ingredients!
🐝 4. EVERY HARVEST TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY!
Here's something else we learned!
Our early-summer honey and late-summer honey actually had different laboratory profiles.
Our early-summer honey had stronger enzyme activity and lower HMF, while our late-summer honey showed higher results across several antioxidant tests!
Why might that happen?
Because the flowers available to our bees change throughout the seasons! Clover, wildflowers, and other blooming plants can all contribute something different to the honey they produce.
That's part of the beauty of real, seasonal honey. Every harvest is a little piece of nature! 🌼
🏡 SO WHY CHOOSE KELLEY HOMESTEAD HONEY?
Because when you purchase from us, you're getting more than a sweetener.
💛 Raw, unfiltered Michigan wildflower honey.
💛 Honey produced by bees we personally raise and care for.
💛 A product with actual laboratory results showing its unique natural characteristics.
💛 The satisfaction of supporting a small, locally owned Michigan business.
We're not saying all grocery-store honey is bad. But our laboratory results show some meaningful differences between our honey and the nationally distributed products tested.
We believe knowing where your honey comes from, how it's produced, and who's caring for the bees matters.
And now we have even more reasons to be proud of what our hardworking girls bring home! 🐝🍯
Thank you for supporting Kelley Homestead and letting us share a little piece of our bees' hard work with your family.
🌻 From our hives in Monroe, Michigan, to your home!
🛒 Shop Kelley Homestead:
https://kelleyhomesteadllc.myshopify.com/
(Lab comparisons reflect our two individual harvests versus the average of 11 nationally distributed retail honey products. Results do not represent all store-bought honey. Laboratory measurements describe honey characteristics and do not establish medical benefits.)
