Set Honey Harvested From The Derbyshire Peak District

The Peak District was the first area in the UK to be recognised as a National Park due to its outstanding natural beauty.  As a result of its National Park protected status the Peak District has remained unspoilt and is a haven for many plant and animal species.

The wild heather covered moors, rugged upland terrain, combined with the harsh winters, make the vast majority of the Peak District unsuitable for modern intensive farming.  This is ideal for our bees, as it means they aren't exposed to pesticides or insecticides sprayed by farmers.  It's also great for the purity of our set honey, made from the nectar of the many flower species found in our diverse landscape.  Our bees are fortunate to live in an environment that is increasingly rare these days in UK.  In the Peak District, hedgerows, woodland areas, heather moors and wild flower meadows are still common.  This floral diversity ensures the health of our hives as well as the great taste of our set honey.

At sethoney.com we always put our bees first.  We genuinely care about them and keep them as ethically as we can.  Any honey our bees make that we can harvest is just a bonus.  The most important thing for us is that our bees are happy and healthy.  We never carry out practices that harm our colonies and we only ever take away surplus honey that they don't need themselves.  In fact our bees are so well looked after that they have continued to breed and multiply in number every year over the past 25 years.  As a result of this we are able to sell around 100 new colonies (1.2 million bees) bred and raised here in the Peak District every year.  The colonies we sell go to new beekeepers - helping to restock the rest of the UK with these wonderful creatures.  By buying our set honey, you are supporting our bee-breeding efforts which helps to ensure the survival of our vitally important honey bees.

The first part of our honey extraction process is to carefully cut away the wax cappings that the bees use to seal the fresh honey in the honeycomb.  The white wax cappings can be seen in the above photo.

When the cappings are removed, the honeycomb is ready to be gently spun in a stainless steel centrifuge.  This removes the honey from the  wax comb.

Unlike most other honey, our set honey is not heated at any point during our extraction process.  It is drained from the centrifuge and passes though a stainless steel strainer which is specially designed to remove large particles of wax whilst still leaving all the pollen grains and nutrients in the honey.

Our honey is allowed to stand for around 24 hours in a stainless steel settling tank before it is bottled by hand.   The honey is then left to set naturally in the jar.  This usually takes around a month, but depends on what flowers the bees have foraged on.

We make no attempt to control the natural crystallisation process of our set honey.  With honey any attempt to produce a uniform, soft, creamed or liquid product has to involve heat.  When honey is heated it unavoidably results in a loss of flavour, as the delicate, aromatic floral compounds evaporate.  Heat also damages the natural enzymes and nutritional value of honey.

By allowing our Peak District honey to set naturally in the jar we ensure it retains all of its flavour.  You can taste the floral diversity of the Peak District in every jar of our honey.  Pure honey, allowed to set naturally, develops a characteristic  frosted appearance.  This is a hallmark of both the quality of the honey and an assurance that it is unprocessed.

"Frosting" - often visible through the glass of our jars is caused by the honey shrinking away from the glass jar slightly as it sets.  This leaves a unique pattern of honey crystals on the inside of every jar.