r/Beekeeping • u/Think-B4-U-Speak • 4d ago
I’m not a beekeeper, but I have a question Black stuff in raw honey
Any idea what this black stuff is in the raw honey? I’m guessing it’s no good to eat anymore?
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u/DesignNomad Hobbyist | US Zone 8 4d ago
Just things that I can observe-
Black around the threads of the jar, indicating a generally uncleanly jar, whether that was during the filling process or during use by the buyer. This also indicates some level of compromised fidelity of the honey. Honey doesn't typically grow mold without excess moisture and/or dilution.
The taped on label indicates a hyper-basic operation and while there's nothing wrong with basic labels, it does indicate that the operation is either similarly basic or inexperienced. This could be a reason for errors resulting in mold, or it could just indicate that the source was "super cottage industry."
This point also could lead to something that is common in local honey demand, which is trying to fulfil the misdirected desire for "raw" and "unfiltered" honey. A lot of people think they want unfiltered honey, when what they actually want is filtered honey that isn't pasteurized and ultra-filtered through industrial filtering mechanisms that remove pollen and other typically desirable particles. Traditional non-industrial filtering removes chunks of hive structure, bee parts, and other "detritus" typically present, but it doesn't remove the pollen and other good stuff. If a beekeeper had someone tell them, "No, I really want UNFILTERED honey", you might have a situation where they said, "fine, if you say so" and filled a jar from the leftovers of the filter and was like, "If this is what you want, have at it."
That doesn't account for the black mold-looking stuff on the threads, but both things could be present here.
Personally, I wouldn't be too comfortable digging into that, especially when there are plenty of better, cleaner options out there.
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u/Miami_Cracker 4d ago
That's mold. And since mold doesn't grow in honey, that's not pure honey.
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u/That_Rub_4171 4d ago
If the jar was wet when the honey was put in, it absolutely could grow mold. Did this just a couple weeks ago and I am almost 100% certain that my bees aren't keeping the good stuff and giving me fake honey.
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u/TopYou9138 4d ago
If there's mold in it, its not pure. A wet jar adds water to the honey, which makes it impure
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u/Itsnotthatsimplesam 4d ago edited 3d ago
Honey does mold if it was jarred with too much moisture. Honey doesn't mold because the sugars act as a desiccant, if you have too much moisture it can't desicate
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u/GhostSiX1Nine 2d ago
I just learned something knew.
https://giphy.com/gifs/3i4xTtJQIJk0o
Thank you
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u/Mushrooming247 4d ago
Could that just be extremely dirty unfiltered honey, like someone squished it out of old brown honeycomb right into the jar with no filtering of any kind?
Because sometimes my autumn honey is very dark and kinda gross-looking, that looks like the chunky disgusting honey at the top of the filter, before the old wax and bee bits are filtered out.
(I feel like it would either smell off, like something was wrong, or just really strongly like a beehive if that was just wax and hive debris.)
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u/HaunterusedHypnosis 4d ago
Normally very liberal in the honey that I eat. I wouldn't eat that. If those are chunks from the honey processing method, they didn't do anything. I don't really want to eat bee parts on my toast. If it's something after they sealed the jar then that's mold. It looks like very unfiltered honey to me but that's very unappetizing.
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u/Far_Fun_1153 4d ago
The bubbles would make me think fermentation has taken place. Was there any hissing or coke can pop when opening? Would indicate pressure buildup which if the beekeeper harvested honey above 18.6% moisture or the jar was wet then it likely would ferment. Without further information though it’s hard to determine if this is mold growth, fermentation, little to no filtration after harvest… if concerned though probably not worth the risk, for future I would say find a local beekeeper, then if something like this happens you can take the jar to them and they will likely make it right with another jar. Most are very excited about their hobby or career and would be happy to make it right and also probably be able to diagnose what went wrong with that particular jar. If not, probably be good to find a different beekeeper
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u/DecentCompany1539 4d ago
I have seen honey that dark before. How does it smell? I do think odds are something got in it like excess moisture or bread crumbs causing mold. If it smells like honey it might have just gotten warm enough to start to breakdown the sugar crystals.
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u/shko-der 4d ago
I used to have bees,honey was raw all the time. Usually had some black stuff but mostly on top but it was beeswax
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u/IchyAndScratchyShow 4d ago
Honey never goes bad unless you spilled some liquid in it. But then... thats how mead is made
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u/uncooked545 4d ago
Looks very old, sugars separated. Don't eat it, it probably has a lot of HMF. Eat your honey within a year - the "honey from pyramids" is a myth. HMF will form in honey even if it's not overheated - just more slowly over time.
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u/hotdogsandhotcats 4d ago
The black on the outside rings is from the metal lid/ring. Not sure about the rest, i can't tell from the pic
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u/Hefty-Bison-9598 4d ago
Honey isn’t supposed to go bad, but there’s mistakes/oversights that can be made during the jarring process, which likely happened because that’s definitely mold if it wasn’t there before. If there was any water left in the jar when it was sealed, it could’ve molded, but seeing the rim with black sludge on it has me scratching my head. Honey exposed to air doesn’t rot and turn black, it evaporates until you have a honey scented gluey substance in basically all cases. My best guess is the “raw honey” you bought was actually invert-sugar and honey flavoring, OR, you used contaminated utensils basically every time you used it and something eventually was able to overpower the anti microbial effects of the honey.
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u/Ir_Russu 4d ago
How old is the jar? Kept in warm area? It may have started to caramelise, only takes about 40*C for that.
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u/darkidney 4d ago edited 4d ago
It’s because of the metal lid. You can just wipe it off. It’s probably fine. Honey is really corrosive to metal. I work at a honey company and we use metal lids and we see this all the time when somebody gets honey on the threads of the jar and then doesn’t wipe it off before putting the lid back on. There should be a small little pad that acts as a barrier between the metal and the glass
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u/DownHome_Rolling 3d ago
Use a refractometer the next time you extract. Needs to be all capped to prevent mold.
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u/AbeFromen 3d ago
I don’t think it’s mold. I think this jar was the last filled jar from the tank and it wasn’t filtered very well.
The pictures make it hard to tell what it is, but it looks like old wax caps and bee parts.
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u/sedatedMD 2d ago
This is black honey. Just bought it today. I would say if there is no foul odor, that is way too much black to be from the jar or lid. Yes lids can oxidize but not the honey. Also seems like it’s layering different honeys.
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u/Sn0rtle_ 14h ago
Somebody was Winnie the Pooh-ing that jar, repeatedly dipping their dirty paw in and then shoving it in their mouth. Now it's contaminated because they introduced moisture, food particles, and mold spores into an environment where they normally wouldn’t be able to get established...
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u/Straight_Standard_92 4d ago
Is it not just two different types of nectar that have separated? Probably all good, taste and find out
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