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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Wildflower Honey, Swan's Maine Beekeeper, Albion, Maine

I got this honey for the holidays. It is packaged (and likely harvested) in Maine by Swan's Honey, which is now owned by Lincoln and Karen Sennett. The Sennetts own a family farm in Maine that has been in their family for over 100 years, and kept bees to pollinate their crops (blueberries mostly). In 2002 the Sennetts bought Swan's Honey so that the 70-year old Maine company would continue. Since buying Swan's Honey, they've expanded their bee operation and now harvest, package and market Swan honey as well as produce and sell candles and balm. In addition, they are active in the beekeeping community, teach beekeeping, and provide pollination services to other farmers, some as far away as Florida (for the orange and other crops). Local honey production is generally blueberry and clover.

The raw and unfiltered wildflower honey that I have has a reputation of being authentic to the area. Clara wrote a brief online comment about it that says it has the same flavor as honey she remembers eating that her grandmother harvested.

It is an opaque soft, light yellow color. It is very, very creamy and looks as if it has been whipped, with the consistency of melted marshmallows.It has a very smooth flavor as it gradually melts in your mouth. It doesn't have a complicated taste, but a solid, cool, honey (slightly floral) sweetness throughout with the same after taste. Given the consistency and the robust, consistent flavor it would be perfect on buttered toast, in tea, in baking, in hot cereal or just eating right out of the jar. Yum.

I saw a few online sites that sell it, if you aren't in Maine and interested. Just search for Swan's Maine Beekeeper Raw & Unfiltered Wildflower Honey and the sites will pop up.

9 comments:

  1. I recently bought a jar of this honey and will never buy anything else again. It's absolutely delicious and the best honey I have ever had. Of course, I AM in Maine and am local, so supporting local business is always a bonus, too. ;-)

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  2. I just tried it because I read raw honey is good for sinus troubles. One tsp in a cup of green tea and my headache faded. Very tasty in green tea. I'm a loyal customer from here on out.

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  3. I just bought some of this most delicious honey,I like how it spreads so easy and the taste is perfect! I'm glad I found this beautiful product at the Fryeburg Fair. I will be buying more now that I know about this Raw Unfiltered Wildflower honey,it was perfect on my toast this morning,tea is next! Thank You Very Much!

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  4. I've never seen any other honeys that have that whipped appearance; I've had some in the cupboard for a year and it never crystalized. Is that whipped texture normal? Do they add something to it? I love it myself, but just wondering why it's like that. I don't want added corn syrup or something....

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  5. The whipped texture (creamed honey) is normal. Creamed honey is full of small crystals that prevent the formation of larger crystals that can occur in unprocessed honey. It is the larger crystals that we think of when we think of honey that has crystallized. Some honeys naturally have a creamed texture (small crystal formation), while others are processed to make them this way. The process is to heat the honey (pasteurize it), add some creamed honey to the mix (seed small crystal formation) and then keep it at a controlled temperature (57 °F) for a week or so.

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  6. I recently purchased this honey and cannot wait to try it, especially after reading this posting. I just have one question before I do, if you don't mind. The top did not "pop", nor did it have a wrapper. Is it normal of all their jars in your experience? I just want to make sure I didn't purchase something already opened before I taste it. Thank you!

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    1. In my experience honey doesn't have a wrapper or 'pop' when you open the jar. These are ways of preserving some products (apple sauce, peanut butter, etc.) until they are opened, by preventing the introduction of bacteria etc. Honey generally doesn't go bad like other foods so this isn't needed. If it does, it usually occurs because it starts to ferment. Heating honey (pasteurizing it) is often done to prevent this. So- it is pretty normal not to have a wrapper or hear a pop when you open a jar of honey for the first time. I hope you enjoy the wildflower honey- it is very nice!

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    2. Thank you. I think I just get paranoid, as most products have some sort of safety seal or a "pop" that lets you know it was never opened. I Thank you so much for responding! It came just in time, as I was making toast and tried it right after reading your response. Amazing. I have never had honey with a creamy texture such as this honey. It was delicious. Thank you for your review and your response.

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