Polenta Stuffed Chard with Quick Honey Tomato Sauce

The inspirations for this bubbly dish of goodness came from a few sources.  The first is a recipe for polenta stuffed chard by Gretchen McKay published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The second is a quick pasta sauce recipe in the Best Recipes Cookbook by America's Test Kitchens.  And finally, our recent honey extraction, the big leaves of Swiss chard growing in the garden, and the bumper crop of garlic scapes inspired me to fiddle with both of these recipes.  Though the dish requires a few steps and a little advanced planning (the polenta needs some time to set up), it's not that complicated--and it's delicious!

Truth be told:  you could make this dish with any nice tomato sauce recipe you have--you don't need to have a drop of honey in the house (or garlic scapes for that matter; just substitute some minced garlic cloves).  But this is a blog about cooking with honey, so there's honey in this dish!

For the polenta:
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth, or even water if you'd prefer--though you may need a bit more salt)
1 cup of polenta (or coarsely ground corn meal)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of salt

Lightly oil a 4x10 glass dish (or 8x8).  Bring the broth (or water) to a rolling boil in a sauce pan.  Slowly whisk in the polenta, stirring constantly. Lower the heat so that the polenta barely plops an occasional bubble. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to be sure the polenta does not stick to the bottom of the pan.  When the polenta is very thick, remove from the heat, stir in the butter and the Parmesan, blending well.  Pour the polenta into the prepared glass dish and cool for at least 15 minutes.  Place in the refrigerator to set up for about 30 minutes.  If you're making the polenta well in advance, cover it. It can sit overnight.  When ready to make the rolls, cut the polenta into 12 pieces, about 2x3 inches.

While the polenta is setting up, make the tomato sauce:

For the honey tomato sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 garlic scapes (about 4 inches long), chopped
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, chopped
1/8 cup honey
1 tablespoon vodka
4-6 good sized basil leaves, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
salt to taste.

Heat a frying pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil, letting it heat for about 30 seconds or so.  Add the minced garlic scapes with a pinch of salt and saute for about 1-2 minutes, being careful not to let the scapes brown.

Add the tomatoes, stirring to distribute and bring them to a gentle simmer.  Cook for about 10 minutes so that they become thick and reduce a bit.

Stir in the honey, vodka and basil and cook for a few minutes more then remove from heat.  Taste and check seasoning, adding some salt and pepper (and if you'd like, red pepper flakes).

Prepare the Swiss Chard: 

You'll need 12 large Swiss chard leaves. Wash the leaves and cut the thickest part of the stem out, trying to keep them intact if you can. Put the leaves in a bowl and pour boiling water over to wilt them.  Let them sit in the water for about 6 minutes and then drain in a colander.

For the rolls:

12 wilted Swiss chard leaves (see above)

12 pieces of polenta, about 2x3 inches long

6 1/2 inch slices of mozzarella cheese, cut in half

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Quick Honey Tomato Sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover the bottom of an 9x13 glass baking dish with some of the Quick Honey Tomato Sauce. (I used two 8x8 glass dishes.)

Place a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) on the counter and put one wilted Swiss chard leaf on the towel, blotting it a bit to sop up any water that's clinging.  Place one piece of polenta on the edge of the leaves and top with one piece of mozzarella.  Top with about a tablespoon or so of sauce.  

Fold the leaf over the polenta and cheese like you're making a burrito: fold the side closest to you up first then fold over the two edges.  Roll until the leaf fully covers the polenta, cheese and sauce.

Place the roll in the prepared pan and continue making the rest of the rolls until you fill the pan.  Top the rolls with the remaining tomato sauce then top it all with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until the dish is hot and bubbly. Let sit for about 10 minutes to cool then serve.  This recipe makes 12 rolls, or enough for 6 people (without seconds!). 

Honey and Infants (+ healthy salads for new parents!)

My niece and her husband just had their second child (a boy!) and I've been making some healthy meals to keep them well fed while they settle in with their new one.  Preparing food for the newly expanded family and an email exchange with our friend Jarrett (also a new papa and a big honey fan!) made me look more closely into the reasons that infants should not be fed honey.  My niece is breastfeeding and I wanted to be sure that  any honey I used in the meals I'm making wouldn't cause any trouble.  So, first things first: I'm not a doctor and I'm not dispensing medical advice here, but this WebMD page suggests that if eaten in "food amounts," then honey is fine for a breastfeeding mom to eat.

Why shouldn't infants (under 1 year old) have honey?  An in-depth 2002 article from American Family Physician offers a wonderful overview of this issue, which is worth a read if you're a new (or old!) parent  with questions.  The reason that raw unpateurized honey should not be fed to infants under 1 year old is that it may contain botulism spores that a baby's young intestines are not yet equipped to combat.  The American Family Physician article also includes this surprising information:  though infant botulism is rare worldwide, most diagnosed cases are in the U.S.  The article attributes this to more awareness in the US (not that there are more spores in the US).

Looking for less in-depth but reliable info about infant botulism and honey?  Here are two great sources:   the Mayo Clinic website and the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Pub-Med Health webpage.   If you want to do your own searching for more information about this, try "infant botulism and honey" as search terms.

Two Healthy Salads for New Parents (both with lovely lime dressing!)

Quinoa, Red Pepper & Black Bean Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a seed that growing in popularity primarily because it's a great source of protein and easy to make.  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations compares the nutritional quality of quinoa to dried whole milk.  You can find it now in many grocery stores near the rice section.  Most of the quinoa we get in the US is grown in Bolivia.  As with just about every food option, the popularity of quinoa has advantages and disadvantages.  Want to read more?  Check out "The Paradoxes of Quinoa" from the Alpha Galileo Foundation.)

1 cup quinoa
2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can, drained)
1 red bell pepper, diced in 1/4- inch dice
2 scallions, sliced in 1/8-inch circles (include some of the green part)
1-2 tablespoons honey
juice of one lime
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place quinoa in sauce pan with 2 cups water, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 20 or until all the water is absorbed.  Cool.  Place cooled quinoa in a large bowl.  Add the peppers, beans and scallions.  In a small jar, combine the honey, lime juice, vinegar and vegetable oil and shake to emulsify.  Pour over salad and mix well.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This delicious corn salad comes from Jarrett who claims they're making it at least twice a week!

Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing
2 ears fresh sweet corn, grilled and scraped from cob (remove husks and grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning--the corn should have some brown spots on it and be tender, but not mushy)
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 avocado, diced in
2 ears fresh corn
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Gently toss all of the above in a bowl

Honey Lime Dressing
juice of one lime
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne (optional--I'd leave this out if making for a new breastfeeding mom)
Place dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to combine.  Pour over salad and gently toss.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes so flavors meld and deepen.  Enjoy (and thanks, Jarrett!)

Family and Friends' Fabulous Recipes

Dylan's Waffle Honey Breakfast

Ardent honey lover, skilled air traffic controller, New York resident and long-time friend Dylan sent us this photo of a recent breakfast, prompting me finally to post a number of honey recipes that friends and family have sent us this year.

Jessica's Great Granola Gifts

(adapted from a recipe on Epicurious)
Jessica is a friend who's become family.  She gave us a mason jar filled with this delicious granola as a Christmas gift this year.  We gobbled it up in less than a week.



1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place honey and oil in a sauce pan and gently heat over medium low flame until well combined and slightly warm.  In a large bowl, toss the oats, pecans, coconut, brown sugar and spices together.  Pour the honey/oil mixture over mix together being sure that the oats and nuts are well coated.  Spread onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool and add dried fruit and mix.

Ali's Honeyed Carrots with Beets
(also adapted from a recipe on Epicurious)
Our niece, Ali (now becoming well known as "Sam's mom") made these carrots for Christmas dinner this year.  Don't think there was a carrot left on the table.

1 large, fresh beet, roasted and chopped*
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch rounds
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1-2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped.

Place carrots, orange juice, butter, honey and ginger in a large skillet, cover and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes over medium high heat. Remove lid, turn down heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until carrots are soft and glazed.  Stir frequently.  Remove from heat and toss in chopped beets and tarragon and serve.
* To roast the beet:  heat oven to 350 or 400.  Place the beet on a sheet of tinfoil that is large enough to wrap around the beet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt; roast for at least 40 minutes or until soft all the way through.

Kerry's Award-Winning Peanut Butter & Honey Dip for Fruit
Kerry and Tom are relatively new friends (and second-year beekeepers). This wonderful recipe won the fan favorite award at the 2011 joint Burgh Bees / Beaver Valley Area Beekeepers' picnic.
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter (more if you love peanut butter--almond butter also works nicely)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups whipped cream cheese at room temperature
Whip all ingredients together.  Refrigerate for 24 hours.  Serve as a dip for fruit or a spread for crackers.  Easy. Easy. Easy! :)

Update on What's Missing from Commercial Honey?

The NPR food blog, "The Salt," offers another take on the "What's Missing from Commercial Honey?" story, noting that ultra-filtering (which many producers do to remove all particles--including pollen) is a common practice.  This doesn't mean that honey without pollen isn't honey; it does mean (at least from our perspective) that some of the good stuff that makes honey honey gets filtered out.  Large producers ultra-filter honey to slow the crystallization process. Honey that crystallizes quickly hasn't been filtered.

For more information on what's in honey, check out previous blog posts:  Sorting out honey terms and What exactly is honey?

What's Missing from Commercial Honey?

Take a listen to Living on Earth's broadcast, What's Missing from Commercial Honey?  It aired on 90.5 FM, (Essential Public Radio) on Sunday morning, December 4, 2011.

Professor Vaughn Bryant, of Texas A&M University, was asked by Food Safety News to test honey sold under various commercial names in the US and he found that 3/4ths of the honey tested did not contain pollen.  Click on the Food Safety News link above for the full story.

Western PA + Fall Wildflowers + Honeybees =Unique Fall Honey!

Western PA's beautiful late summer- and early fall-blooming wildflowers are one-third of the equation that adds up to the dark, rich fall honey that is the unique flavor of our region. Another third is, of course, the honeybee's tireless labor. She and her sisters turn the dark nectar of these lovely fall blossoms into a delicious expression of Western Pennsylvania!

Ironweed photo by B. Zuberbuhler

Ah, but what's the final third, you ask?  It's the unique climate and terrain of this area.  In warmer regions of the US, honey production ends by mid-summer.Western Pennsylvania's wet and chilly climate and hilly terrain combine to create a unique setting that often enables our honeybees to eke out a fall honey crop. Some years, the fall honey harvest can be small (and even non-existent), so it's not wise for beekeepers (or honey lovers) to count their fall honey before it's made.  But when fall honey flows, nothing is sweeter!

Japanese Knotweed photo by B. Zuberbuhler

Curled leaved mint; Photo by B. Zuberbuhler

Golden Rod Photo by B. Zuberbuhler

These photos, from Wildflowers of Western Pennsylvania, is the labor of love of Bob Zuberbuhler, a retired pediatric cardiologist, hobby photographer and wildflower aficionado. He's posted beautiful photos of area wildflowers as well as useful information for identifying an unusual and unknown bloom. Check it out!

Emerging Worker Bee: The Life of a Tireless Worker!

In just about the center of the photo below, you can see a young worker bee almost fully emerged from her cell.  At the top center, you can see a worker bee has just chewed through the beeswax on her cell and will soon be joining her emerging sister.  Shortly after a worker bee emerges, she gets right to work.  Her first task usually is cleaning out her cell! 

Can you find the emerging bee in middle of cell?  Click on the photo to enlarge

As the worker bee ages, she progresses through a series of responsibilities that support the colony's life.  She begins by feeding and tending the brood (the eggs and larva) that will become the next generation workforce. After a few days, she'll graduate to taking nectar from foraging workers and evaporating it into honey.  If needed, she'll secrete beeswax and begin to build honeycomb.  As she ages, she'll progress to becoming an undertaker, removing any dead or ill bees from the hive.  After about three weeks of her six-week lifespan, she'll advance to becoming a guard bee, charged with keeping out any interlopers that threaten the colony (like wasps, skunks or humans!).  In the last two weeks of her short life, she's promoted to forager, and tirelessly brings back nectar, pollen and water for her colony. In fact, many worker bees literally die of exhaustion in their effort to help their colonies thrive. The National Honey Board claims that one worker bee produces about 1/12th a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime, which gives you as sense of just how valuable honey is!

What Exactly is Honey?

Such a simple question.  The answer...well, that's a bit more complex!

Honey is a blend of simple sugars, primarily fructose (about 40%)  glucose (about 35%) with a little sucrose (about 2%).  The other primary ingredient in honey is water, which should be between 16 and 18%.  The remaining ingredients are "trace"--that is, they aren't present in enough quantity to make honey a significant source for them.  These include minerals (such as potassium).  Honey is also somewhat acidic (a result of the enzymes honeybees add to the nectar when they begin to ripen it into honey).

Honey compared to sugar:  Honey has more calories than sugar (there's about 16 calories in a teaspoon of table sugar while honey has about 22 calories per teaspoon).  But honey tends to be sweeter, so you may not need to use as much of it.  In sugar, the fructose and glucose are linked together, while in honey they remain separate.  This accounts for honey's sweeter taste:  fructose is sweeter and because it's not linked to glucose in honey, its sweetness shines through.

From the bees' perspective, honey is a carbohydrate that gives them energy. And because honeybees are indeed busy,  they need all of the energy that they can get!  (Honeybees also collect pollen, which supplies their protein. Together, honey and pollen provide honeybees with a complete diet.)

Spring Honey Extraction!

Frames of capped honey waiting to be extracted

Spring honey is one of Western Pennsylvania's most amazing delicacies. Nectar from early and late spring tree blossoms, especially the black locust and tulip poplar trees combine to create a delightfully light and delicious spring honey.  With all the rain in early spring, we were worried we wouldn't have much of a spring crop.  Rain can dilute the nectar so much that the bees have trouble turning it into honey.

     Once foragers collect the nectar, they store it in their "honey stomachs" and take it back to the colony.  At the colony, waiting house bees take the nectar from foragers in a mouth-to-mouth transfer.  The house bee will work with honey for about 30 minutes, moving it in and out of her proboscis, a process that adds enzymes and helps with evaporation.  Nectar is usually about 80% water, while honey is about 17% water-very dry!  Once she works with the nectar, she'll place it in a cell to evaporate more.  She and her sisters will fan the nectar until most of the water in it has been evaporated.  At that point, they'll cap the cell with a bit of beeswax to prevent moisture from getting back in.

A close up of nectar and just-capped honey (as well as some pollen)

Here's a close up photo of nectar on the verge of being capped.  In the top left, you can see some that the bees are starting to cap some of the cells.  The shiny cells have nectar not yet ready to cap.  In the lower right, the cells are filled with solid, colorful pollen. Nectar and honey are the bees' source of carbohydrates.  Pollen provides their protein.

Uncapping the honey to get it ready to extract

To extract the honey, we remove the beeswax cappings using a hot knife. The frames are then put into the extractor.









Here's a photo of "Big Green," our four-frame "antique" honey extractor, which we use when we don't have a lot of honey to extract.  The extractor spins the honey out of the cells using centrifugal force.

"Big Green" our 4-frame extractor  

And voila! Honey flows from the extractor into a strainer and a gated bucket.

Fresh spring honey!

Memorial Day Picnic Recipes

SPICY VEGETARIAN HONEY-BAKED BEANS!

Dark fall honey makes a great substitute for molasses in baked beans. These beans are quite spicy, so if you want to tone that down a bit, add a little less (or omit altogether) the chipotle pepper.

2 cups dried navy beans (we've actually used black-eyed peas for this recipe with great results)

2 teaspoons

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried ground chipotle pepper

1/2 cup dark fall honey

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

ground black pepper to taste

Rinse and pick through beans to be sure there aren't any stones. Place in a bowl and cover with cold water three inches above beans. Place in fridge and soak over night. (If you're short on time, you can place beans in a pot, add water to cover three inches. Bring just to a boil--just until the small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot. Turn off heat and cover for 1 hour. You'll be ready to continue with the recipe.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large, oven-proof pan (like a Dutch oven) and saute onion and garlic until soften. Drain beans, rinse well, and add to pan. Stir in 4 cups water, chipoltle pepper, tomato paste, honey and salt and stir well. Cover pot and place in oven. Cook for 3 to 4 hours, checking about once an hour to stir and see if the beans need more water. Add more water as needed. Serve hot or at room temp. Beans should be very soft and the sauce quite thick.

Another vegetarian addition: Add a few pats of butter when you remove from the oven to make the beans even more...mmmm!

Omnivorian addition: You can fry 4 or 5 strips of bacon (cut in 1/2 inch pieces) until crispy. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and reserve. Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon fat. Add the fried bacon when you add the beans. Makes about 8 to 10 servings

HONEYED COLESLAW
Very simple--but deliciously tangy. You can also use sour cream instead of the Greek yogurt (that is if your calorie budget can bear it.)

4 cups finely shredded cabbage

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons celery seeds

Combine well and chill. You can add some shredded carrots for color.

Makes 8 servings

GRILLED SKIRT STEAK WITH HONEY MARINADE

We sent this recipe out last year to the folks who subscribe to our email newsletter list recommending this marinade for the delicious skirt steaks the McElhaney Family Farm sells at the St. James Farmers' Market (and elsewhere). One reader wrote that McElhaney steaks are so good, nothing should be added to them! So, if you want to "gild the lily," try this recipe.

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup summer (or fall) honey

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup canola oil

2 pounds skirt steak

Combine everything except the steak in a jar with a good-fitting lid and shake to mix well. Add the steaks to a zip-lock bag along with the marinade and refrigerate over-night (but not longer). Prepare grill for cooking on medium-high heat. Remove steaks from the bag and discard marinade. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes on each side (slightly less for very thin steaks). Let rest 5 minutes (crucial step!). Slice thinly against the grain and serve slices with freshly grated horseradish or horseradish sauce. This recipe serves 4, but if used for sandwiches it will serve 8.

Looking for dessert? Check out our honey rhubarb pie recipe previously posted!

Review of Honey Cookbooks, Part I

Our collection of honey cookbooks is by no means exhaustive, yet I have to say that I have been underwhelmed by most of the honey-focused cookbooks on the market. They tend to be out of date, with recipes that don't stand up to the test of time. This post provides a quick review of some of the best honey cookbooks I've read and used so far, as well as some cookbooks that I wouldn't recommend. I have a list of additional books on the way and I'll review those in a later post. If you know of other honey-based cookbooks, please post a comment here with your review!

RECOMMENDED:
Joanne Barrett (1981) Cooking with Honey (North Adams: MA: Storybook Publishing). At only 32 pages, this is more of a booklet than a book, but it includes some unique honey-based recipes (like honey root beer). Barrett is a beekeeper and owns an orchard. When she began keeping bees, she set a goal to get rid of all process sugar in her cooking. The emphasis is on sweet dishes and some miss the mark, but the book usually goes for less than $5 and certainly worth the price.

Jane Charlton and Jane Newdick (1995) A Taste of Honey: Honey for Health, Beauty and Cooking (Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books). This is by far the best cookbook in our collection. It's gorgeously illustrated and written, and includes a variety of recipes, some of which are quite inventive (individual honey souffles or lavender honey cheesecake, anyone?). The photographs are fascinating, the history compelling and the recipes inspiring. The one catch is that I think it's out of print, though used copies are available from sellers on-line for less than $10.

Kim Flottum (2009) The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook. (Beverly, MA: Quarry Books). As the title suggests, this book is written for backyard beekeepers, so much of the information is aimed at helping small scale beekeepers treat their honey with care and respect. Flottum is the editor of Bee Culture magazine and is an authoritative honey (and bee) booster. He's not a professional chef or recipe developer, though, so this may not be that helpful for non-beekeeping honey aficionados. Like his other book, The Backyard Beekeeper, Flottum offers a nice collection of recipes at the end of the book. These include recipes for spring lamb roast and spaghetti sauce. It's in print and available for less than $20.

NOT RECOMMENDED
Dorothy Mech (1994) Joy with Honey (NY: St. Martin's Press) Written by a beekeeper in Washington State, this is one of the most comprehensive honey cookbooks I've found, yet the recipes often have been disappointing. They seem to reflect a 1990's "health-food" approach and the results tend to taste like food that is good for you, but not very tasty, alas!

Joe Parkhill (1983) The Wonderful World of Honey: A Sugarless Cookbook AND (with Sandi Knode) (1989) Honey: God's Gift for Health and Beauty (Berryville, AR: County Bazaar Publishing). These books give you the impression that Parkhill is not only a big believer in the health benefits of honey, he's also a big believer in himself! The "about the author" note in the books proclaims that he received a "honeyologist degree" from the National Preventive Medicine Foundation. The books read like a community cookbook and it's not always clear that the recipes have been tested. Chapters include recipes for beauty and healing as well as drinks, meats and other dishes.

In a future post, I'll review Gene Opton's Honey: A Connoisseur's Guide with Recipes, Jenni Fleetwood's Honey, and May R. Berenbaum's Honey, I'm Homemade: Sweet Treats from the Beehive across the Centuries and around the World.

Sorting out honey terms

Varietal Honey? Raw Honey? Organic Honey?

A growing interest in locally produced honey and honey's many benefits has also prompted a dizzying array of terms for various types of honey.  Since there is no honey standard in the United States, the definition of these terms is very much up for grabs right now.   When sorting out terms for honey, keep in mind that bees can travel up to 3 miles from their colonies to collect nectar and pollen.  This can make it very difficult to determine the specific nectar sources the bees are visiting.  At the market, we're often asked about varietal honey, raw honey and organic honey.  Here's how we define these terms:

Varietal honey:  Bees that are placed in midst of large tracts of a particular plant (like lavender fields in France or orange orchards in Florida) can reliably be expected to bring back nectar from that one source and can therefore be labeled a varietal honey like “orange blossom” or “lavender.”   At our apiary, we can usually pinpoint the time of year that the bees gathered a particular nectar and can therefore label our honey seasonally, though we can't specify a particular bloom visited exclusively by our bees.  

Raw honey: Some consider “raw honey” to be unstrained honey, which means that the beeswax (and bee parts) have not been strained out of the liquid honey. This results in quickly-crystallizing honey with lots of extra bits in it.  We strain our honey, but we don’t filter or heat it and for that reason, consider it to be “raw.”

Organic honey:  A 2008 survey by the Seattle PI found that much of the honey labeled as “organic” in grocery stores is marketing hype.  It's very difficult to keep bees from visiting nectar sources that are not kept organically, so unless they're on an island or surrounded by acres of organic farms, beekeepers cannot easily promise a fully “organic”  product, even if they themselves do not use any chemicals in their beekeeping.  Even a “USDA organic” sticker on a honey jar doesn’t tell you much, since right now, there are no organic standards for honey.  What can you do?  Buy honey from a local beekeeper who you know and can talk with about their practices!