All of the honey we use is pasteurized. We pasteurize it ourselves. There is still some concern around feeding honey to infants under 1 year old. Their immature digestive systems can't fend off a potential botulinum spore, that may or may not be present in honey, so the recommendation is to avoid giving honey to infants.

Granulation or crystallization occurs when glucose crystals grow, a natural process in all honey. Dark honey seems to crystallize faster than light colored honey. In grocery stores you will most likely liquid honey that has been heated to very high temperatures. This process is called pasteurization, in order to kill yeast spores. The store bought honey is also typically filtered to remove starter crystals.

Raw honey is honey that has not been over-heated or over-strained. Excess heating, such as used to produce liquid honey, destroys the natural enzymes that the bees have added, including the substance producing hydrogen peroxide that gives honey part of its antibacterial activity. The usage of honey as a medicine is referred to in the most ancient written records. Honey was prescribed by the physicians of many ancient races of people for a wide variety of ailments.

Redwood Hill Farm yogurt is made with pasteurized goat milk. By federal law, all yogurt produced in the US must be made with pasteurized milk.

Regular Honey that we can buy in any store is usually pasteurized, because pasteurized honey will not crystallize anymore. Pasteurized honey will stay liquid. And since most consumers prefer liquid honey, the consumer needs to be educated about the difference of the honey that our grandmothers used to swing out of the comb on their farms and today’s un-natural, processed, filtered and worst of all pasteurized honey..

If it says on the bottle or jar, it may be. Call the company and ask. Labels may be misleading most times.

Raw unprocessed honey has been valued as a health tonic since ancient times by many civilizations across the world. It was used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Chinese for skin and mouth sores and to improve athletic performance. Many historical documents, including Egyptian papyri, the Koran and Veda recorded it as a treatment for skin disorders, upset stomachs, coughs, sore throats and wounds.

No, there is no sugar added to Redwood Hill Farm yogurt. Vanilla and coffee flavors are sweetened with maple syrup. The fruit flavors are sweetened with clover honey. Plain yogurt is unsweetened.

In the state of Texas, and in most other states, it is illegal to produce dairy products for sale using raw milk. All milk must be pasteurized before sale or manufacture into other milk products. See #4 above.

Clinical studies have shown that honey is a better choice for diabetics than sugar. Honey requires lower levels of insulin compared to regular white sugar and does not raise blood sugar levels as rapidly as white sugar, due to the fructose it contains. However, diabetics should always consult with their doctor first before including honey in their diet. Every diabetic needs to ask their doctor how much honey is o.k. for them to use as a sweetener in tea or on toast.

Both. By law, any cheese made in the US of raw milk must be aged 60 days or more. So, the fresh and younger cheeses such as Chevre, Teleme, Camellia, and California Crottin are made with pasteurized milk. The Cheddar and Smoked Cheddar are made with raw milk. Redwood Hill Farm Feta comes in both a raw and pasteurized version.

My favorite way to eat our yogurt is right out of the jar with a little honey mixed in. You can add your favorite sweetener, fruit, nuts, use it instead of milk on granola, your favorite breakfast cereal or in smoothies. You can use it as a salad dressing, cold soup with garlic and salt, on baked potatoes...just about anywhere you would use other milk products. There are many ethnic recipes from around the world that include uses with dips, spreads, lamb, rice, and cold soups.

Bees are often killed in the production of honey, in the worst case the whole hive may be destroyed if the keeper doesn't wish to protect them over the winter. Not all beekeepers do this, but the general practice is one that embodies the attitude that living things are mere material and have no intrinsic value of their own other than what commercial value we can wrench from them. Artificial insemination involving death of the male is now also the norm for generation of new queen bees.