Is that Real Honey, Honey?
These days, buying fruits, vegetables, eggs and meats grown close to our homes is the new trend.
“Locavores” help the environment since local foods don’t use as much fuel for transportation. They improve their health since local foods don’t need preservatives. And locavores help their community’s economy by keeping small farmers in business. So definitely, buying locally-made food is a fabulous thing!
But sometimes local isn’t what it seems. We honey lovers at True Citrus (after all, what better combo is there than honey and True Lemon?) found out from an award-winning beekeeper that many times the honey you see labeled as “local” is in fact from South America or China!
Our beekeeper pal tells us that wholesale companies often import large quantities of cheap honey and customize the label with their clients’ farm name on the jar.
What's so bad about that? Aside from just being plain dishonest, sometimes this imported honey is made by bees that have been fed a diet of corn syrup instead of feasting on flowers as they should. This honey doesn't have the local pollen that may help your immune system cope with local allergies.
Also, the imported honey is often filtered and heated to sustain a greater shelf life - meaning some of its healthy benefits are compromised.
And of course, getting honey from abroad means a local beekeeper is not getting support. Local bee-keeping is important because many local crops depend on bees for pollination.
So if you can, try to meet your nearest beekeeper or “apiarist”. They may even take you on a tour of their hives and honey and beeswax candle-making facility, which is so fun for adults and kids alike!
And once you’ve secured your source you can use some of these recipes that feature the fabulous combo of True Lemon, True Lime and True Orange and yummy, sweet golden honey.
Honey Cake with True Lemon Glaze
Tagged in: Keeping It Real
