Hi Honey

I purchased this honey bear at a local farmer’s market. Bears, as you probably know, have been associated with honey for a long time (there’s Winnie the Pooh for starters). Apparently, the word for ‘bear’ in Russian, Hungarian and Croatian is derived from a noun that means ‘honey’ and a verb that means ‘to eat’. Which explains why we get honey in little plastic squeeze bears (which is handy because honey is so sticky).

There are some people that think eating local honey is a way of introducing small and manageable amounts of local allergens into one’s system. By introducing these very small amounts of pollens into your body, it’s thought that this can help to develop immunities. This does not mean that you are out of luck regarding 'local honey' if you live in a city. In New York there is at least one organization that promotes bees. The ‘New York City Beekeepers Association’ is dedicated to urban bees and if you check out their website, they even offer to make arrangements should you care to ‘host a beehive’!

But, even if the allergen thing is up for dispute, and even if you are not hosting a hive in your back yard or on your rooftop, some honey from your cupboard can always sweeten a nice cup of tea or help you to soothe a sore throat (just mix a little honey with some lemon juice).