As a beekeeper my love for honey will never cease, but the way in which i love honey is much like a long term relationship. One that has matured and changed in appreciation over time. The path my love of honey has travelled has been diverse, much like a winding forest path, up and down, winding around trees, sometimes drifting away for a spell but then coming back, looking for ways to re-ignite the love of the early days. Early in my relationship I thought honey was okay, but I was far from enthusiastic about it. I was going to eat more honey to introduce the health benefits. It was not a relationship with a focus on pleasure. Honey was the sensible choice.
Buying local honey from my beekeeper in the neighborhood is where my once furtive love for honey became real. (And soon after brought me to beekeeping.) The introduction of real honey to my tastebuds was a song of meadows full of
sweetness, each subtle floral flavoring, enveloped in sugary stickiness. Honey was more than just sensible, the flavor was addicting. As with any food that is farm fresh, I knew the density of nutrients was greater than any processed honey variety. It was however the amazing flavor which surpassed the grocery store's sorry substitute, that sold my tastebuds down the river of love for honey. I didn't need sue bee's honey bear, I needed the sweet satisfaction only my local girls could provide.
So it began my love affair with honey. I was hooked; In the beginning, I ate spoonfuls of plain honey daily. Now we are old pals honey and I, familiar loves. While I still love plain honey straight from the jar, I like to keep our relationship interesting with a whole host of flavors i have introduced using a sweet time honored technique of herbal infusion. A delectable treat with herbal benefits. Herbalists have taught us that a spoonful of sweetness helps the medicine go down. Herbal extraction gives me a whole new way to enjoy and appreciate honey. From the early days of our relationship until now, I have developed a variety of reasons I love honey. The unending list of uses and benefits, taken as food or applied topically. The many sweet and savory ways to enjoy honey, from baked goods to barbecue.
Discovering herbal infusions which transforms honey's innate goodness into the tasty healing oF medicinal honey was revolutionary in my relationship. The patience you must develop in the course of waiting for your sweet medicinal treat is part of the pleasure. I believe, It's those things in life that we must patiently wait to reap, that we find the greatest of simple pleasures. the anticipation of the harvest heightens in me a new headiness in an old affair.
The winding down my metaphorical path with honey through seasons of plants and divine discoveries. The endless concoctions and herbal pairings. I love finding new ways to appreciate this old love through herbal infusion as what is old becomes new again. Old school medicine reviving my love for honey as a new school treat, that is filled no less, with health benefits that are hard to beat. Like a seasoned relationship that finds comfort in what is familiar but excitement in new ventures together, experimenting with infused honey has brought new excitement to my love of honey. SO if you find yourself looking to spice up your love for honey, I can only give my highest praise for the art and loveliness that herbal infusions create with a sweet synchronicity of good health and great flavor.
Check out some additional links here for more on honey infusions and the lovely benefits they provide.
http://www.theresearchpedia.com/health/superfoods/honey/benefits-of-lavender-honey
http://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/cayenne-infused-honey/
http://www2.fiskars.com/Ideas-and-How-Tos/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Harvesting/Herbal-Infused-Honeys-to-Make-Yourself