Pure Honey, Middle Earth Farms, Amesbury, MA

I go to my local farmer's market when I can (Brookline Farmer's market) and recently picked up some honey from the Middle Earth Farms stall. I asked the women who sold it to me what the flower source was and she said, "everything around the farm." Well, that cleared that up.

I don't know much about Middle Earth Farms, except that it is a chemical-free farm that supplies arugula, Asian greens, bok choi, collards, garlic, kale, potatoes, salad greens, Swiss chard and tomatoes to local farmer's markets. Although they don't list it online, they also produce their own honey. It comes in small ($4) and large ($8) jars with a simple label that simply says, "Pure Honey, Middle Earth Farms, Amesbury, MA." With a name like Middle Earth Farms I think I would have been more creative with the label; I'd have dragons or mythical creatures on it. It could be the Middle Earth Farmers are just too busy farming, though, to give the label much thought.

The honey itself is a deep amber color and a little cloudy. It is on the thick side and completely liquid at room temperature. It is a smooth honey with marked floral tones in the beginning. These make way for a subtle smoky flavor as a final taste. It is not too sweet. Overall, this is a nice, somewhat complicated honey. I think it would be great on toasted bread, or in a black tea. It is runny enough also to mix into yogurt. Very nice.

If you are interested, Middle Earth Farms has stalls at Farmer's Markets around the Boston area: Andover, Brookline, Everett, Marblehead, Newburyport and Stoneham. You can also find their contact information online. Given that the flower source is whatever is going on around the farm, I suspect that the character of the honey will change depending on the season. I got this honey in August, but I'm not sure when it was collected.

Jahan Natural Honey, Iran

The Jahan Natural honey that I have was a gift from my mother-in-law who lives in Montreal. It is imported to Montreal by Jahan, and apart from the label stating that it is natural honey and a product of Iran, I have no other information about it. A quick google search to see if I could find out more came up empty. So, I don't know what the flower source is, the precise region, or anything else.

Iran is a pretty big country (relative to most European countries)- a little larger than Alaska- and has a very diverse geography and climate, ranging from rain forests in the north, deserts in the east, mountains in the west, and seas to the south. Climate ranges from subtropical to arid; You can't get more of a range than that! So it is hard to narrow down where honey is produced; It could be everywhere with quite different types of honey from each region.

I'm an oil brat and spent my middle school years in Ahwaz, so I'm vaguely familiar with the western, desert part of the country, but didn't travel much at that age. I was surprised by how different the regions of Iran are when it comes to climate and terrain.

It goes without saying that Iran has an incredible history and culture, with some cities dating back to 7000 BC. There was no information, however, on Wikipedia (my trusted source) about honey regions, honey sources or, actually, anything at all about honey. The closest I got was finding a list of honey exporters when I did a google search. In summary, then, I know that Iran produces honey (at that is about all).

The Jahan honey is a deep amber color- almost burnt orange. It is thick with no crystals (a toothpick with stand upright in it). Great, smooth texture with weight. Perfect for drizzling over plain yoghurt (and if I remember rightly, yoghurt honey is an Iranian treat). It has a robust sweet honey taste; A deep nutty taste in the beginning, followed by a smooth honey taste, and a lingering final taste that is a little floral. This honey would be perfect on hot, buttered toast, or in tea.

If you know anything about Iranian honey, I'd like to hear from you! In the meantime, you can pick up some Jahan Natural Honey in (all places) Montreal, Canada.