A-Buzz about Honey

I have two intrepid women friends who have recently gone into beekeeping. My pal Sharon, who lives in Maine and is the brains behind the blog Delicious Musings, took classes on apiculture with the intent of creating a healthy bee population for the future. The other friend is my sister Susan who lives in Vermont and, like Sharon and beekeepers everywhere, is constantly monitoring the hives for mite infestation that causes colony collapse. I admire these hobbyists who have learned to handle insects that are known to behave badly when disturbed, that are extremely vulnerable in spite of their reputation, and are currently under threat from all the toxins we humans are dumping into their environment. Since about 1/3 of all the food we eat depends on pollination by healthy bees, it’s time to pay attention to these flying life-giving heroes.

I don’t know a honeybee from a wasp or a hornet, so in my ignorance I’m fearful of all of them. When I saw a notice in the local paper about a honey-themed event in Fillmore over the weekend, I saw an opportunity to get some education about bees.

Fillmore, a small agricultural community about 25 picturesque miles from Ojai, was hosting thousands of visitors at their Honey Harvest Festival in the town square, but I headed a few blocks away and boarded the Fillmore & Western train for a ride another 15 miles out in the country for a tour of Bennett’s Honey Farm.

After observing the process of harvesting, filtering, grading and bottling honey (simplified for us rookies), we enjoyed a tasting of honey made from local sage, clover, wildflowers, buckwheat, eucalyptus, orange and avocado blossoms, and cactus.

Scraping frames to release honey into the centrifuge.

Raw honey is filtered through two layers of fine mesh.

It was apparent that learning to taste the terroir of honey was as subtle as refining the palette when tasting wine or coffee or olive oil. We were encouraged to note the different colors of honey (avocado is very dark, clover is almost clear) and the “nose” of each varietal.

While most of us consume liquid honey that is extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force and strained, there is also comb honey that is sold just as the bees produced it – in the wax comb, whipped or creamed honey that spreads like butter, and raw honey which is unprocessed, unheated, unfiltered and comes right out of the hive and into the bottle.

So I’m not an expert and I still wouldn’t want a hive in my backyard. But I honor those fearless souls who wrangle these little critters and harvest a natural food that is healthful, healing and delectable. For my part, I vow to become a more educated consumer of honey by avoiding supermarket brands and buying from local apiarists.

Harry Potter on my Mind

In a couple of weeks my granddaughter and I are headed to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Florida. The trip is in honor of her tenth birthday, a present I have promised both my grandkids when their age flips over to double digits. She has read the entire Harry Potter book series and seen all the films; she also started a Harry Potter Fan Club at her school. She is an expert in Hogwarts, Sorting Hats and Quidditch.

And it's a good thing because she and I will be joining a group of other grandparents and kids to spend five days exploring this world of spells, potions and magic. We'll visit Hogsmeade, take a ride on the Hippogriff, buy a magic wand, dig into the hidden meanings of the books, and eat all of Harry Potter's favorite foods like treacle fudge and butter beer at The Three Broomsticks restaurant.

I've been feverishly playing catchup because I until recently, I didn't know a thing about the Harry Potter world. Yesterday I managed to finish the third book in the Potter series in one sitting, then dashed off to the store to replenish the larder which was down to Mother Hubbard standards. Imagine my surprise to stumble upon this item at my local market: Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer!

Touted by the manufacturer as a "magical brew for under-aged wizards and unrealized wizards alike...known to accelerate wizarding abilities in borderline wizard cases." That's the tonic for me, I thought. so I grabbed a four-pack and headed home, confident that after a few bottles I would not shame my granddaughter with my ignorance.

Tucked into the tongue-in-cheek back story on the packaging was this:

Giggle Potion Recipe

1 ice cold bottle of Butterscotch Beer
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

Chill down a nice beer mug in the freezer. Put a scoop of ice cream in the glass. Slowly pour the Butterscotch Beer over the ice cream. Watch out for an attack of delicious foam.

 A delightful explosion of creamy vanilla and butterscotch flavors for wannabe wizards anywhere.

Munching on Mulberries

Ojai's farmers' market was bursting with summer fruit yesterday. Baskets of cherries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries were everywhere, but my eye went to the odd-looking mulberries from Pudwill Farm. I wasn't sure if I'd like them so I picked up some blackberries and golden raspberries too.

Take a look at those long mulberries on the left. They have a distinctive taste, a nice flavor boost to my cereal this morning. I've learned they have a very short shelf life, even in the fridge (no wonder I've never seen them in the store), so I'll be eating them quickly and often in the next day or two. Mulberries and creme fraiche for dessert tonight!