It's not often I select 'honey' to accompany my 5 am toast, in fact I cannot remember when last I did.
As present we have three different honeys in the cupboard. One cheap squeezy bottle for cooking, one that has recently been brought back from Egypt by Kimbo (as yet unopened), and another one of organic Honey from M & S.
I would liked to have been a Bee-keeper. As a child I was fascinated by the idea. In my native Surrey village our neighbour (a Mr Prideaux) kept bees. I once asked him if he would show me his bees, and he declined; he didn't have any protective kit I could wear and he feared I would be stung all over.
I'd heard that Prideaux injected himself every day on account of all the daily stings he received, so maybe refusing my request had been wise. My Bee-keeping ambitions became instantly shelved.
So, for my breakfast I chose the M & S jar. Not because it was organic, but because it was already open. It really is a little too sweet for my taste, but delicious; so for my second slice of toast I reverted to Peanut Butter.
I did notice this rather silly label on the lid. It 'educated me' about the habits of the Bees. It seems that from their hives 'nestled in meadows', they fly around collecting nectar from 'a wealth of flowers and plants'. In particular from Sunflowers and Rapeseed.... I was amazed!
I have never been involved with agriculture in the UK, but back in France these two crops are probably more intensely sprayed with chemicals than any others. So to claim that the honey is 'organic' seems a bit far-fetched. Unless, of course, the Bees have been told not to visit flowers that smell of chemicals. Am I perhaps being a tad cynical?
It's been a very long time since I had honey on anything, though I do occasionally drink tea and put a teaspoon of honey in that. The cheap bucket of honey in my pantry is now all sugared, so I have to scrape the spoon through it to get the amount I want. I can't be bothered with the heating and melting to get it back to "normal".
ReplyDeleteWhen I had the honey yesterday, it must have been for the first time in years.
DeleteThose happy little bees have been buzzing around collecting only the best for your morning taste delight. I'm sure they turn up their little probosci-is at any nasty chemicals. We wish.
ReplyDeleteWe get pine and thyme honey, and a bit of wild flower around here. Generally I would say the honey is chemical free but there are an awful lot of olive trees. Years ago they were all sprayed from the air but nowadays they are mostly spray free. The hives are moved around, placed in the middle of pine groves or hillsides with thyme.
It's lovely stuff. We buy ours by the kilo from a local bee keeper
Bees are very obedient. They do what they're told.
DeleteI think you're right Cro, I'm sure the bees can't tell the difference between sprayed rape plants and those that are not. They'll be visiting all sorts of places on their search so claiming 'organic' is to be taken with a pinch of salt. I fancied keeping bees too, I really looked into it thoroughly and then decided that caring for them would be too intensive. They really can't be left for more than a couple of days without being checked on.
ReplyDeleteI rather regret that I never kept Bees, but as a non-sugar-eater, it probably was for the best.
DeleteThey're not just bees, they're M&S bees! (This won't mean anything to people who haven't seen M&S food adverts!)
ReplyDeleteAnd M & S Bees always do as they're told.
DeleteA neighbour at our old house kept bees and we bought our honey from him. He told us that if the bees had been feeding on rapeseed pollen they became very aggressive. Wild honey!
ReplyDeleteIn France our honey is mostly from Chestnut flower. It is very dark and slightly bitter; not to everyone's taste.
DeleteThere is an Italian food store here in Toronto where I occasionally buy some "different" sorts of honey and a particular favourite is that chestnut honey. Yes, a slightly bitter taste but I really like it!
DeleteI have a sage bush in the garden and this morning I saw many bees around its flowers, if these bees produce honey it will taste wonderful. And the most organic there is...
ReplyDeleteI love to see Bees on plants. In France they tend to gather on plants around the pool, and drink water from bowls we leave for them. They leave us alone, in return.
DeleteI too would love to keep bees. What amazes me is that any situation with a bee such as inside or near me, prompts immediate rescue or happy sitting along side a few inches away but the first sign of a wasp and everyone is on edge and worried. Or is that just me? Su
ReplyDeleteI do occasionally have to rescue Bees from the pool. I allow them to climb onto my finger, then I place them somewhere safe. As yet I haven't been stung. I wouldn't do the same for a Wasp or Hornet; no way!
DeleteThey are not just bees honey, they are M&S bees!
ReplyDeleteYou're too late, The Veg Artist got there before you!
DeleteHas Britton defined organic for food labeling? Many countries have not done so.
ReplyDeleteQuite probably, but I bet it's designed to cover all abuses.
DeleteMy great-aunt had a bee hive on either side of the front door of her cottage. I never got stung. I was more wary of the geese she kept , horrible nasty things. She had chickens too. If we looked over the wall we could see the pigs in the stye which belonged to the farm next door. I loved visiting her.
ReplyDeleteWe had a few free-range Geese in Shropshire. They were beasts!!!
DeleteSurely M & S bees are trained from birth to know the right blossoms to sip from!
ReplyDeleteOne hopes so, one would be very peeved if they weren't.
DeleteLately, I suspect the organic label means little.
ReplyDeleteUnless you produce your own goods, nothing is guaranteed organic. The label usually guarantees a higher price. I know two beekeepers with hives on their property and they do not always suit-up. They trust the bees not to sting. This always surprises me.
When I had my veg' garden in France (Haddock's), I would never have called it 'organic'; it was simply home grown (without any chemicals) as was traditional.
DeleteI have friends who keep bees. They tell me they a big problem is adulterated honey imported from our southern neighbors.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I always check when buying honey, is that it's not 'blended'. The idea of honey coming from just about anywhere in the world then being 'blended' is totally wrong. It has to come from one individual keeper.
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