There's a lot of interest in the difference between raw and organic honey. It's a fair question, and some experts wonder if purely organic is reasonably possible – you'd need to guarantee that no bee came in contact with a plant grown with chemical pesticides and fertilizers. If you bought Hawaiian honeys, for example, you can better understand where the bees gathered pollen. But even there, guaranteeing 100 percent organic might be questionable. Raw honey, on the other hand, is more about unfiltered or lightly filtered honey that is as close as possible to its natural state. It's excellent and widely available.
The flavor, color, and consistency are affected by the plants bees pollinate. Flavored products achieved by keeping hives near certain crops are increasingly popular. In Hawaii, for example, macadamia nut honey is a popular product. Good honey crystallizes over time and may be cloudy in appearance. As you're shopping, keep these things in mind and consider them as much as you do the product label. Product labeling also has wide latitude, and some things may be intentionally said to make certain products sound better. When you know what to look for when buying honey, you can decide for yourself.
Some mass-produced honey is pasteurized (heated) during processing and heavily filtered. Many foodies agree it tastes flat and ordinary compared to raw honey. It also may have fewer beneficial nutrients because they are filtered out or affected by the heat. A few mass producers may even mix in corn sweeteners to lower their prices, but clearly, it affects the quality of the product you're buying. Choosing raw honey, looking at the product in the jar, reading the label, and knowing the store where you purchased it all make a difference. You'll quickly learn which ones you enjoy the most for their flavor.
Wildflower honey is also popular and means the bees have lived in an area with a broad range of vegetation. The pollen they collect is varied in flavor and will give the honey a unique taste. It's preferable to some people, while others like distinctly flavored honey from keeping hive yards adjacent to certain crops. Or, bees may be kept in certain areas, such as near the Hawaiian rainforest where Lehua honey is produced. Specialty honeys are popular each year, encouraging producers to devise new ones. It does make honey taste different and work in recipes.