Liquid Gold, they call it!
Honey! Sweet, sticky and full of goodness!
Produced by clever and busy bees by collecting the nectar of flowers, honey has long been valued and used in food and medicine throughout different cultures.
Honey is a perfect addition and ingredient to so many of our favourite foods; Honey cakes, Honey Martini’s, Honey-cured bacon, Baklava, Hot Toddy’s or just simply honey on toast or drizzled over greek yogurt (… making you hungry yet?)
But did you know that in it’s lifetime of 6-8 weeks a honey bee only produces about 5 grams of honey, that is approximately just 1 teaspoon for you to enjoy in a cup of tea. These hardworking creatures are not only a source of natural and tasty food, they are also significantly important in supporting our food chain.
Without bees, we would not have many of our foods including Strawberries, Avocados, Kiwifruit, Apples, Nuts and even Coffee and Chocolate! All of these foods are needed to be pollinated by honey bees.
This month (September), New Zealand celebrates Bee Aware month. Run by Apiculture New Zealand, they put a spotlight on the role that Bees play on pollinators of our food.
New Zealand is famous for it’s Manuka Honey, produced by bees by collecting nectar from Manuka flowers. Manuka is a native plant to New Zealand and it’s honey has been shown to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Earthbound Honey, Organic Beekeepers is located in Bethells Valley, north-west of Auckland, New Zealand and our visitors are lucky enough to sample a selection of their honey on our Auckland tours.
Earthbound Honey are artisan, organic beekeepers producing local organic honey, collected exclusively by their own bees from Manuka, Pohutukawa and wildflowers. They offer pollination services to local orchardists and farmers and pick-up any unwanted Bee swarms from us urban folk!
As well as their beautiful selection of honey, they also produce a range of Balms, salves, candles and honey vinegar.
Next time your in Auckland make sure that you join us on one our our Big Foody food tours and taste Earthbounds bountiful produce.
On the other side of the world in Portland, Oregon in the United States, you will find Bee Local, where our customers get to sample raw honey, full of flavour and health benefits. Honey that is never blended, retains its pollen and is only gently filtered. Established in 2011 by Damien Magista after discovering that the hives that he had placed in his hometown of Portland Oregon, had completely different flavour profiles, colours and textures. Bee Local has since grown into a national company with their goal to become “the most trusted, transparent and tasty honey company in America”. Next time you are in Portland make sure that you book yourself a Portland food tour with The Big Foody and taste some of their amazing honey.
