2 million flowers. Remarkable right!? One once of honey can fuel a bee's trip around the world.
Raw honey has become a staple in my life and my diet, and with good reason. It is one of the purest, most natural and healthy substances you can put in your body. Whenever we go to Savannah we have to stop at my favorite boutique in downtown just blocks off of Bay Street. We stumbled upon it when we were there on our Mini-moon and the store is filled with all sorts of honey products and information and a very friendly staff.
Almost like a wine tasting, they have a honey-tasting setup when you first walk in, and we tasted the different honeys from blossoms in different regions of the country and world. It was truly fascinating, and very hard to pick out a favorite! Tupelo is the standard that most people are used to tasting, but I loved the winter white which is a creamy white honey from Idaho, and the orange blossom honey, which is from florida and naturally has a citrusy flavor. I have especially enjoyed the orange blossom in hot tea.
They even have one called Acacia which is from blossoms in the Italian Alps. It almost looks like water it is so clear, but it is amazingly dense and sweet like vanilla. This has been my favorite to sweeten my greek yogurt daily breakfast.
We bought a jar of each and I'm sad to say we just finished the last jar, but we're returning to Savannah in two weeks and will absolutely be stocking up.
My most exciting discovery though was the raw honeycomb. I have always loved honey, but I really was not educated as to the amazing health benefits of honey.
Honeycomb is the healthiest, purest, and most raw form of honey available. Raw honey contains 22 amino acids, 27 minerals and a spectrum of vitamins and antioxidants and 5,000 live enzymes. It contains almost all vitamins of the B complex, which are needed in the human body for digestion and metabolism of sugar. It is an excellent sweetener as an alternative to sugar, because the body doesn't waste any part of the honey and when consumed with warm water helps in digesting the fat stored in your body. As an athlete, it is a great energy source and helps in boosting the performance of athletes through maintaining blood sugar levels, muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration after a workout. It has been used for centuries as a healing remedy for wounds, coughs, and other sicknesses.
I was so interested in the raw honey heath benefits and really intrigued about the honeycomb, so we had some samples with some blue cheese and some crackers and grapes. I was in love! The texture is just phenomenal. You almost expect it to be crunchy, but then you just sink into it like quick sand in your mouth. We bought some honeycomb rounds, which is a wax circle that the bees build the honeycomb directly in. It is 100% edible and it is so delicious served with biscuits, bread, hot sweet potatoes, tart apples, and cheeses. I highly recommend adding raw honey and especially honeycomb to your diet. Your body will thank you.
Here is a great idea for serving as an hors d'ouevres
Grilled figs with fresh honeycomb & feta
Ingredients (serves 10)
1/4 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
15 fresh figs, halved lengthways
1/4 cup walnut halves (1-2 halves per fig)
fresh honeycomb
8 ounces feta hunk
Combine sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves in a mixing bowl.
Place figs, cut-side up, on a baking sheet.
Place a walnut half on each fig and sprinkle sugar mixture over figs.
Cook the figs on 340, 4-5 minutes or until the sugar caramelizes.
Then serve grilled figs on a platter with fresh honeycomb and feta or goat cheese.
Another idea is to do a baked brie topped with honeycomb and served with apples, pears and dates.
To learn more, click Honey Health and visit Savannah Bee Company for some great honey products.
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