HONEY

Our honey is available for sale here in our shop, and through several local farms for their CSA members and many of the area’s best restaurants that they supply.

Honey: Welcome

WORKING TOGETHER

with local farmers and their CSAs

GOOD DOG FARM

Organic produce in Baltimore County, Maryland

MOON VALLEY FARM

Organic produce in Frederick County, Maryland

Honey: Clients

Honey: Pro Gallery

ABOUT OUR HONEY

We bottle each of our apiaries separately so we can tell you exactly which Maryland county your honey is coming from. Try each area to experience the rainbow of floral flavors. Or try our “all of the above” which is a blend of a bit of all our apiaries. As we run out of honey from a particular county/ apiary over the course of the year, it will be removed from the website.

Honey is a seasonal agricultural product that relies on the health of our bees, the health of our environment, and is highly dependent on the weather. Some years are better than others in the availability of nectar (what is blooming) and days in which the weather conditions are right for flying. Because of this the color and taste of our honey will vary year to year, and from site to site.

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Honey: Our Story

Local Family Farm

We are a small family operation from start to finish. We are raising our own queens and bees, managing the colonies all year long, extracting and bottling the honey, and even designing the labels to put on the bottles and packaging it ourselves.

The "honey" stuff you get in the grocery store is bulk barreled, ultra-filtered, heated to high temps to keep it moving through pumps and lines, the “honey” often devoid of the pollen to even confirm what country it's from.

Honey fraud is a real and unfortunate thing, out of state/country “honey” may even be cut with syrups! If you want to learn more about this awful practice check out the Netflix special called Rotten.

If you want to know what you are getting, you’ll want to know your beekeepers.

Don’t be afraid to ask where the honey is coming from and if it is from their bees. You won’t find orange groves in Maryland, so why would a local beekeeper have orange blossom honey? Either they are a commercial beekeeper who’s traveled with their bees down to the orange blossoms of Florida and back, or they’ve bought barrels of it from another beekeeper or conglomerate, shipped it up to Maryland, and have re-bottled it with their label.

What would you rather eat? The difference is up to you.

Honey: Image

What is Raw Honey?

Raw honey means that the honey has not been pasteurized or heated higher than 118 degrees Fahrenheit. We spin our honey in an extractor and pass it through one sive to take out the largest pieces of pollen or wax that may fall in, and bottle the honey in its natural unfiltered or heated state. This means you’ll get all the beneficial enzymes, minerals, and pollen fragments that happen in honey.

Honey: Image

2 Million Blossoms!

The bees will visit approximately 2 million blossoms to produce 1 lb of honey. 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey represents the average lifetime’s work of one worker bee who will only live for approximately 6 weeks. While foraging the honey bee will fly 2-3 miles at a time visiting 50-100 blossoms per trip, gathering nectar and pollen. During the spring the hive also produces wax to build comb with (to store the honey, pollen, and raise baby bees). To produce 1 pound of wax they will consume about 6-8 lbs of honey. While we balance our desire for this delicious honey they give us, we also consider the needs of the colony to survive and thrive. We practice responsible harvesting.

The honey we collect represents the surplus of honey the hives produce. The bees consume both honey (nectar they’ve collected and dehydrated) and pollen to survive.

Here in Maryland, the nectar they will have for the whole year is primarily collected in a short window during spring.

Crystallization

Raw honey will crystallize, this is a natural process and doesn’t affect the quality or freshness. Crystallized honey signifies that your honey is raw and unprocessed, it is a sign of good honey. It is still 100% delicious, easy to spread, and has not spoiled ( pro tip: honey doesn't spoil, but it can ferment if there is too much moisture- hello mead!). Certain varietals of honey (their nectar sources) may crystalize faster or slower than other varieties.

If you wish to re-liquefy your honey, simply place the honey jar in warm (not boiling) water and stir the honey until the crystals dissolve.

Store your honey at room temperature. Storing at cool temperatures will increase the speed it crystalizes

Honey: Image

Nutrition

It's not just versatile, varied, and delicious. Research has shown that honey contains a wide array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants3. Flavonoids and phenolic acids, which act as antioxidants, are found in honey3. The amount and type of these compounds depend largely on the floral source.

Source:

3 National Honey Board, “Nutritional Benefits of Honey.” Sept 2008.

Honey: Image

USES FOR HONEY

Revered since ancient times, it's no wonder it has so many uses

FOOD AND AS A FOOD SWEETENER

Honey is a delicious and healthy alternative to sugar. It contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants. Flavonoids and phenolic acids, which act as antioxidants, are found in honey and vary depending on types of nectar collected.

BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Honey is often added to natural beauty products and soaps. It has natural healing properties, it can promote collagen-building, has natural antiseptic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

HEALTH CARE

A wide variety of health benefits are linked to honey consumption. Do your own research and always consult your doctor first for medical advice. Please remember, that honey should never be given to babies under the age of one.

Honey: List

EAT MORE HONEY

Here are some delicious ways to get you started on eating (and drinking) more honey.
Please remember honey should never be given to babies under the age of one.