Support our bees by having good local honey Part 2

It’s clear now. If we want a thriving ecosystem with vibrant foods, we need our bees and they need us.

One way we can show our immense gratitude for what they do is to avoid commercialized honey and consume only the quality local kind.

Brian Campbell, master bee keeper and producer of Blessed Bee honey goes over what kind of honey to look for and some of the health benefits.

And please try this amazing grain free Pumpkin Cake recipe sweetened with honey. I will make it again and again on special days only.

Pasteurized or unpasteurized honey?

Local, unpasteurized, unfiltered, unblended honey – like Blessed Bee – is very delicious and differs from hive to hive and place to place. It’s a part of the charm.

I go to great pains to not apply heat during honey extraction because heat changes the flavour of the honey. I want my honey to be as great tasting as I can manage and don’t want to intentionally or otherwise change the flavour or the constitution of the honey.

My honey is unfiltered because a major component of honey should be pollen. It adds colour, flavour and nutritive value.

Commercial producers take the pollen out for several reasons: pollen forms a nucleus around which the sugars in honey can crystallize. No pollen plus pasteurization equals honey that stays liquid for longer.

Also, pollen in honey is used to identify the source of the honey. Without this vital clue the original source of the honey cannot be discovered, giving big honey packing houses the ability to import foreign, flavourless honey without having to be accountable to consumers. Honey without pollen can actually be mostly made from sugar syrup as well. Without pollen there is no way to know.

Avoid honey from the big grocery chains and buy local instead (see list below for where Blessed Bee honey is available).

What are the health benefits of honey?

The vitamins and micronutrients found in local honey aren’t in high enough concentrations to make a significant impact on human health but it does expose consumers to local pollens which helps to build resistance to allergies.

Local honey is a delicious sweetener though, and helps to maintain a sustainable ecosystem that includes bees and supports ethical bee keeping businesses.

Blessed Bee is available at:

Galloway’s Specialty Foods
7860 Alderbridge Way, Richmond
#110 8620 Glenlyon Parkway

Consumers Nutrition Centre
#1318-6531 No.3 Road, Richmond

Southlands Nursery
6550 Balaclava St, Vancouver

Benton Brothers Fine Cheese
3432 Cambie St, Vancouver
2104 West 41st Ave, Vancouver

West Coast Seeds
4930A Elliott Street, Ladner

Image courtesy of Dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net