ion Honey is our pass
We guarantee the Highest Quality
“For three generations, everything in the Breitsamer family has been about honey. Our enthusiasm for this wonderful natural product and the careful craftsmanship of our beekeepers guarantees a pleasure that you just have to love. Our honeys are of course natural, and are continuously monitored for purity and quality – stricter than required by the German Honey Regulation.”
Robert Breitsamer
"Everything started with a milk store"
with Our Name
The Fascination with Honey
– Then and Now There have been honeybees for 50 million years and man has craved honey as a delicious source of sweetness from the very start. The earliest records of humans who collected honey date to 7000 B.C. Honey was considered something that brought beauty and well-being. It is also believed that honey sweetened the path to the afterlife as a burial object.
Honey, a wonderful natural product To this very day, honey remains a natural product that continues to amaze the honey expert. A miracle of evolution that only bees can compose. The positive effect of honey presumably lies in its interplay with its many, in part unknown, natural substances: In addition to its main components glucose and fructose, more than 1000 ingredients have been identified. These include enzymes, mineral materials, vitamins, trace elements, inhibins and secondary plant materials. For sweetening, honey is certainly the better choice and more natural alternative to sugar.
We Observe Enduring Values... ...and Watch Very Closely Strictly speaking, honey is the delicious side product of a very industrious collective: Honeybees are essential for both the environment and our economy. But the world of honey is about much more than merely enjoying this wonder ful natural product.
The honeybees allow our business to flourish Something people tend to underestimate: The busy honey bees make nature fertile and ensure that the vegetation is preserved. Approximately 80% of all blossom plants in our latitudes owe their existence to the bees. More than any other insects, bees pollinate wild plants and crops. Without our most industrious "co-workers" there would be no flower diversity, no fruit, hardly any vegetables and almost no agriculture. What the bees don’t know Honey is a purely natural product and hence always subject to environmental effects. Bees collect nectar and pollen in a circumference of two kilometers around their hive. They are not concerned about field boundaries, and do not distinguish between genetically modified and conventional plants. If it has to be, it has to be measurable The crucial aspects for the unaffected quality of honey is the location of the beehives and precise analysis with modern, extensive technology. At Breitsamer, we analyze the honey with the greatest care before we bottle it. The unspoiled quality of the honey is more than just a credo at Breitsamer, it is a must.
The German Honey Regulation applies to everyone And this without exception: "Neither be ingredients added nor may the honey's own components be removed from the honey�. This applies to all honey sold in Germany thus to german honey as well as to honey varieties from other countries. We go one step further In our in-house lab, Breitsamer sets an even higher standard than required by the German Honey Regulation. In extensive individual tests, we inspect our honey for possible residues. In addition to these checks, our many years of collaboration with our beekeepers play a key role here. We visit them regularly and always test the quality of the honey to ensure its purity.
The Nature of Fine Distinctions What distinguishes one honey from the other? Is acacia honey a regional or a unifloral honey? How can you get a pure unifloral honey when there are all kinds of plants in nature? Honey behaves in a similar way to wine. Experience what the honey "sommelier" has mastered to a "T"‌
Blossom honeys and honeydew honeys Blossom honeys are primarily obtained from nectar, a sweet secret that is excreted from the nectaries of plants. Nectaries are usually found in the blossoms but can also be found in other parts of the plants, for example the axilla. Honeydew is the initial product of leaf, forest and coniferous honeys, known as the honeydew honeys. Bees collect the honeydew– the nectar, which is particularly rich in enzymes, that is located on leaves, needles and branches.
Mixed blossom and regional honeys Most honeys are mixed blossom honeys; thus honeys that bees obtain from the nectar of various different plants. The taste and appearance vary greatly, depending on the location and type of the plants or blossoms the bees fly to. If the mixed blossom honey originates from a region that can be precisely defined, it is also called a regional honey, which may assume the name of its place of origin. These include, for example, Breitsamer's regional beekeeper specialties
from the Chiemgau, the Black Forest, the Altmühl Valley … Unifloral honeys: the fine art of faithful bees Only honeys with a nectar or honeydew produced primarily from a certain plant or blossom type may be called unifloral honeys. The first prerequisite for unifloral honeys is provided by the bees themselves: They remain true to their blossoms. If possible, they always fly to the same blossoms. The second condition for harvesting a unifloral honey is a plant’s predominance in a region. The technique of the fine distinction: How do we test the unifloral purity? First: by the pollen analysis. The blossom pollen in the honey, detectable under the microscope, gives us a clue about which blossoms the bees flew to. What is known as unifloral honeys or single-varietal honeys is defined by the percentage of pollen of a specific variety.These percentages depend on the variety. They range from 20% for acacia honey to 80% for sweet chestnut, depending on the amount of pollen in the honey. Second: on the analysis of the fructose/ glucose ratio.
Why is one liquid, the other solid? Depending on the honey variety, the quantity ratio between fructose and glucose varies. If the percentage of fructose predominates, the honey is liquid. If glucose dominates, the honey crystallizes naturally. A creamy premiere in Germany Fine-cream honey has existed in Germany only since 1970. It was the year in which Breitsamer presented its fine-cream honey, which also remains spreadable for a long time because of its new and sensational stirring technique. The concept: gentle, cold stirring of solid honey, which produces far more smaller crystals. Breitsamer's creamy honey soon became popular throughout Germany. Do unifloral types of honey always have to taste the same? Not at all – a fact that the connoisseurs of our Breitsamer unifloral honeys probably have already noticed: The unique variety of natural components in honey results in their fine distinctions in taste – depending on their place of origin.
The scent of an entire harvest year
By a passion for purest grade Acacia blossom honey From the end of May to the end of June, the robinia (“acacia�), which grows up to 25 meters high, presents its splendid white blossoms. The honey produced from the acacia varies from watery yellow to light and clear, downright mild, almost neutral in taste and very sweet. It is ideal for sweetening foods, and is easy to measure out because it remains in a very liquid state for a very long time. Forest honey This is the prominent force among the strong,
aromatic, dark honeydew honey varieties. Forest honey is a product of the crystalclear honeydew from leaves and coniferous trees. This aromatic, strong honey quality is generally rich in minerals and enzymes. Mountainflower honey A fine unifloral honey, flowery to downright aromatic, that the bees collect exclusively in mountainous regions. When thick carpets of tender wild blossoms grow in the mountains for a short time during the height of summer, the result is a markedly fine, creamy or liquid
A prize at international level The gold medal was awarded three times at the international DLG Test for our “classic” varieties of acacia, forest and “Golden Selction” blossom honey.
Our “Classics” honey. Its color varies from bright yellow to gold yellow to gold brown. Lime blossom honey Clear and liquid following the harvest, yellow-green in color, the lime honey is a natural phenomenon: a unique mixture of the lime blossoms’ nectar and the honeydew of their pale green leaves. Collected from the bees at the end of June, the beekeepers obtain this pure unifloral honey, which is fabulously fresh and has a slight peppermint fragrance.
Sweet chestnut honey In June, the male blossoms of the sweet chestnut tree bloom in exuberant white and dominate even the densely growing green of their lancet-shaped chestnut leaves. The honey of the chestnut trees is as mysterious as amber, a reddish brown and with an aroma reminiscent of blooming trees. Strong in flavor, with its typically bitter quality, the sweet chestnut honey is particularly suitable for whole grain bread, ripe cheese, fruits or nuts.
You Can taste the Character
Heather honey Just before winter, the heather beckons to its spectacle in violet; the bees harvest this powerful, aromatic honey specialty.The nectar of this honey is similar to jelly and golden brown in color. It comes from the southern regions of the Atlantic coast and from the heather clearings in the forests of northern Europe. Fruit blossom honey A honey specialty like spring's awakening in the middle of a sea of blossoms in vast fruit groves with their intensive aroma of a shiny red, this delicate, delightfully fruity honey is a pleasure on white bread and an ideal addition to foods such as natural yogurt. Rape seed blossom honey (Canola) This mild and yet savory honey specialty is light with a fine cream and reflects the gentle strength of a sunny spring day. This honey, with its mother-of-pearl shimmer, has its source in the canola blossom honey in the waving yellow color of distant fields. Sunflower honey Endless fields. A luminosity in the deep yellow of sunflowers, proudly towering above the ground. A honey specialty of an intense yellow color, creamy in consistency with a mild aroma reminiscent of magnificent summer days.
Fir-tree honey A particularly rich honey with a downright rare quality among the unmixed honeydew honey varieties.Very dark with a green shimmer, this very aromatic, resinous honey reveals its character by its taste: In midsummer, the zesty freshness in the pleasant coolness of shady fir forests. Wild blossom honey Sometimes delightfully sweet, sometimes bold, the color of this generally liquid honey also varies from light yellow to yellow gold to amber, depending on its origin. It is a blossom honey that owes its aroma to the colorful persistence of select, non-cultivated blossom landscapes. Gelée Royale So delicious and so rare that only the queen bee may enjoy it: Gelée royale can turn a simple worker bee into a queen with a life expectancy that is several times longer. So far, we can only partially explain its amazing effect. Still unexplained are several nonidentifiable natural substances – and the "classic" final secret of a wonderful natural phenomenon.
What You Have Always Wanted to Know about Honey Cold extracted? What is that exactly? We obtain honey by using the principle of centrifugal force. The beekeeper extracts the honey from the uncapped combs within a few minutes – without heating the honey. This gentle method is the standard today. Is not every pure honey "cold-extracted"? Practically yes, legally no; the law calls for one additional premise in addition to the "cold" extraction of the honeycombs: Honey must exhibit certain enzyme levels before it can be identified as "cold-extracted" on the label.This rule has nothing to do with the extraction process. There are varieties of honey that do not meet these levels in their natural state. For legal reasons, these may not be called "cold-extracted".
Does crystallized honey lose its nutritional value? No it does not. The consistency depends on the kind of honey; it can be liquid, glutinous or even solid. Why is retail honey in liquid form for so long? All honey crystallizes, it is only a question of when, depending on the kind of the honey. Also, the way it is stored is important. Direct sunlight accelerates the crystallization process of honey. Where is honey best stored? Honey should be protected from direct sunlight and heat; ideally it is stored in a dark place at room temperature.
Why do honey prices fluctuate so much? Because honey is a strictly natural product, it depends 100% on the yield of the harvest. How much it fluctuates depends on the whims of nature. What is the shelf life of honey? Honey does not spoil. It crystallizes over time and changes its taste but can always be consumed and enjoyed. Why does its label have an expiration date? This is a formality that has been required by law for several years. In practical terms, a given shelf life for honey designates neither possible spoilage nor the time of crystallization. Is there a honey for diabetics? No there is not. Honey has a high percentage of natural fruit and grape sugar, which varies by variety. That is why diabetics must very carefully consider consuming honey depending on the quantity and type, preferably after consulting a physician. Infants should not eat any honey in their first year. Why? The reason are the spores, the so-called botulism bacteria, that are everywhere on blossoms and grasses. As they are heat-stable,
these bacteria are certainly not killed in an unprocessed, raw product like beekeeper's honey. What is completely safe for both children more than one year old and adults can cause illness in an infant, particularly in the first six months of life. Under specific conditions within the baby's intestine, the spores can create toxins that can result in paralysis. What are the environmental effects on honey? Honey is a purely natural product and is thus always subject to environmental effects, which can vary according to the choice of location. The quality of honey that can be sold in Germany is subject to the strict, precisely measurable guidelines of the German Honey Regulation. In addition, there are the in-house labs in a bottling company like Breitsamer that have imposed even higher quality requirements on themselves in terms of the purity of their honey.
Breitsamer Honig Berger-Kreuz-Str. 28 D-81735 M端nchen export@breitsamer.de
www.breitsamer.de
ion Honey is our pass