One of the first things a naturopathic practitioner recommends if you have pollen allergies is add local honey to your diet.  The idea being that it introduces allergens over time and your body develops antibodies.  My pollen allergies are mild, which I find fortunate, but I still buy local honey and whether it helps or not, it’s good stuff.  Buying it locally is kind of fun, especially during farmer’s market season, when I can meet a lot of the local beekeepers.  And year round I can stop near by at a historical farm/museum that sells honey made by their many bees.  And usually get a good look at one of the bee boxes – they love showing off their bees.

Honey flavor varies from colony to colony and it seems to depend on where and in what the bees play.  Today I was at a local store that sells bulk honey and I decided to pick some up.  The flavor that looked really good was the Ambrosia Honey from Madhava.  It has been a while since I’d purchased it and I had forgotten how good it was.  Or maybe this harvest was especially sweet. They say it’s wild flower honey and I have to believe it, because most honeys I’ve had are clover and none are as sweet or mild.  I practically licked the bulk container clean after I transferred it to my “honey jar”.

Madhava is a local beekeeping farm that is the champagne of honeys locally.  They’ve been around for decades.  I met the owner and founder once and he regaled me with stories and the history of the business.  It sounds like it was basically a commune in the 70’s and has since turned into a profitable, nationally known company.  It still has that ‘hippie’ feel to the place in the front, but it’s all business in the back.  Fun to visit.

So I guess this is my pitch to remember to buy locally when you can.  I love not only supporting my local beekeepers, but meeting them, too.