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How to use & care

INESS Comb Honey – How to Eat, Store & Gently Soften

Comb honey is honey still in the wax the bees built. This guide is for every INESS comb size — 85 g through 150 g. The piece is the same product; only the net weight changes.

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What is comb honey?

UK law defines comb honey as honey stored by bees in the cells of freshly built broodless combs, or on thin comb foundation made solely of beeswax, and sold in sealed whole combs or sections of such combs.

It is not extracted honey poured back into wax. The bees capped the cells; we cut and pack the piece. The National Honey Board describes this form simply as honey inside the honeycomb, and notes that it is edible.

What is the honeycomb made of?

The comb is beeswax — the material bees secrete to build cells. The foundation, where used, must be beeswax alone under the UK definition of comb honey.

The wax is part of the food. You may eat it with the honey, or chew the piece and set the wax aside. Neither approach is required; both are ordinary ways to take comb honey.

How to eat comb honey

Cut or break a piece with a clean knife. Spread it on bread or a biscuit, serve it with cheese, or eat it from the comb.

The honey in the cells may be liquid, creamy or partly set. All of those states are still honey.

How to store comb honey

INESS comb honey is packed in a plastic food container. Keep the lid on, in a cool, dry cupboard, away from sun and heat. Do not refrigerate: condensation spoils the cappings.

Keep water out of the pack. A wet knife or a steamy kitchen is the usual way moisture gets in.

Natural crystallisation of the honey inside the comb

Honey in the cells can crystallise just as jar honey does. UK rules treat a crystallised consistency as normal. Crystallised comb is not old and it is not unsafe to eat.

Many people prefer it as it comes. Softening is optional.

How to gently soften comb honey when necessary

This pack is plastic. Do not put it in an oven, on a hob, or in a microwave, and do not sit it on any direct heat source. Do not use boiling water.

Honey should not be heated so that its natural enzymes are destroyed or significantly inactivated. Warm water around the pack is enough if you want the cells a little softer.

  1. 1Open the lid before you warm the pack. A closed warm pack can trap steam and wet the cappings.
  2. 2Stand the open container in a bowl of warm water. The water should come part-way up the sides only.
  3. 3Water must never enter the comb. If the bowl is too full, pour some out before you begin.
  4. 4Leave it only until the honey in the cells has softened enough to eat. Replace the lid when the pack is dry and cool enough to store.

Important precautions

  • The product contains natural beeswax and honey in a plastic food container. Treat it as food, not as something to heat like a ready meal.
  • Never boil, oven-bake, microwave, or place the container on a ring, radiator or other heat source.
  • Do not give comb honey — or any honey — to babies under 12 months. The NHS advises that honey can cause infant botulism.
  • This is food, not a medicine. We do not claim that comb honey treats, prevents or heals disease.
  • If the pack arrives crushed, leaking, or with water inside, do not eat it. Contact us with the order reference and a photograph.

Sources & further information

The notes above follow these published sources. Each link opens the original page in a new tab.

INESS Comb Honey – How to Eat, Store & Gently Soften | INESS