Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you called Apiaries 8?

apiary [pronounced: ey-pee-er-ee]

noun, plural a-pi-ar-ies.

A place in which a colony or colonies of bees are kept, as a stand or shed for beehives or a bee house containing a number of bee hives.

Apiaries 8 chooses to predominantly use "8" frame Langstroth hives.

Raw Honey vs Processed Honey?

Heat destroys the beneficial qualities of honey, so you need to make sure you are purchasing raw honey. Most supermarket honey is pasteurized or heated at a high temperature, thus killing off many of the raw enzymes that make it so healthy in the first place.

Does honey have an expiry date?

Honey never expires. It's acidity, lack of water and presence of hydrogen peroxide allows it to last forever.

Crystallized, Liquid or Creamed Honey?

The good news is that like creamed honey, crystallized honey is just as high quality, flavourful and nutritious. This is the case even though large scale manufacturers and some consumers view it as a defect. You absolutely can eat crystallized honey, although the grittiness might cause you not to enjoy it as much. Some folks seem to prefer it. Factors which influence the rate at which raw liquid honey crystallizes include:

• Type of honey: some varieties granulate faster than others. You have probably noticed this if you are like me and keep many jars of different types of honey in the pantry.
• Temperature: Cold temperature speeds up crystallization considerably especially temperatures below 50 ºF/ 10 ºC.  If you live in a warmer climate, you probably don’t have as much of an issue with crystallized honey. In warmer climates that regularly get into the 80’s ºF/ 30’s ºC or higher, honey remains runny much longer.

The upside is that if you notice your honey starting to crystallize, it is definitely raw. This is one way to know you’ve got the real thing!

To return grainy honey to its clear liquid state, simply place the jar over a warm water bath (40-50 degree C.)

What is creamed honey?

Creamed honey is formed by blending superfine crystallised honey with a specific ratio of liquid natural raw Apiaries 8 100% Pure Australian Honey.  There is no alteration to the nutritional value.  The only additives we use are certified organic spices to create flavour enhancements to an already premium pure honey taste.  To maintain optimum flavour and texture, creamed honey should be stored in the refrigerator.

Mixed Blossom honey v Mono-floral honey

Mixed Blossom honey is simply honey that has come from a variety of different types of flowers. The colour and taste of the honey will naturally differ for each hive depending on the location and flowers available to the bees and therefore a “mix of blossoms”. Apiaries 8 does not “blend” honeys but prefers to provide premium natural seasonal honey from individual apiaries. 

Mono-floral is the honey which comes predominantly from one single variety of flowers that was available to the bees i.e. Iron Bark, Tea Tree, Yellow Box, Macadamia, Yapunyah, Brush Box etc. 

What is pollen?

Pollen is the male component of the reproductive cycle of flowering plants. It is produced in the anthers of the flowers. For fruit and seeds to form, the pollen must be transferred to the stigma to enter the ovaries. The pollen of each species of plant has its specific size, shape, colour, pollen tube length and thickness, and chemical components, preventing cross pollination.

Is honey gluten free?

Honey is naturally free of gluten.  It contains no wheat, barley, rye or oats or their by-products.  The only spices we use in our creamed honey are all certified organic and gluten free.

What is the best way to store honey?

Honey is best kept in air-tight jars (made of glass or quality food-grade plastic) in a cool place, away from the sun or direct light. Cold weather and refrigerating can cause honey to become granulated and hard, and hot weather can also cause it to lose flavour and become darker in colour over time.

Is our beeswax food safe?

There are no pesticides, antibiotics or sprays added during the beekeeping process and there is nothing added during the processing of the beeswax which is simply melted and put through a fine sieve to remove any debris.

Our beeswax does not contain any paraffin or other waxes and is not adulterated in any way.  Why anyone would want to ruin a beautiful natural product is beyond me.

Feel comfortable that our beeswax is pure and ready to use for your lip balms, scrubs and beeswax wraps.