January 2021
Honey, that mythical, sweet, wonderfully golden liquid that is bestowed upon us by a lowly industrious insect that asks for nothing in return for its work. It is more than just a chic green tea sweetener. Honey has dozens of legitimate uses. In its natural, raw form, honey has numerous benefits such as nutrients, vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidants. Honey is also naturally anti-inflammatory and antibacterial.
“My son, eat thou honey, because it is good . . .” – Proverbs 24:13
You may not think honey when you think Canton First Monday Trade Days, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. There are numerous small, local beekeepers that bottle the miraculous liquid and offer it up for sale during the once a month market.
While most of use are familiar with the “honey-golden” grocery store honey, it’s quite another thing to see honey displayed in all its brilliant variety. Most commercial honey is produced from large farms that do their best to homogenize their product. Realistically, we all shop for a product because we can rely on the quality, taste, texture, or any other characteristic we value to remain consistent over time. What if Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla tasted good, but different every time you purchased a ½ gallon? Well, large honey producers do their best to ensure a consistent colored and flavored honey for the same reason: so you know what you are buying when you pick up that little bear bottle.
But, honey colors and flavors vary widely depending on the time of year and nectar available to the bees. The colors can range from almost clear golden sunshine (clover honey) to near dark sweet molasses (buckwheat honey). The flavor profiles vary just as widely. The clearer the honey, typically the lighter the taste. The darker the color, the more rich and robust the honey flavor will be.
So, what would be so different about purchasing honey from a beekeeper at Canton First Monday Trade Days? Think of it like fine wine. There would be a story behind the bottle. They might just be able to tell you what hive that honey came from and what flowers the bees used to make that particular bottle. And further, you’ll get to see and hear about their relationship with their bees. Some wisdom might just be imparted along with that honey. It truly is a different experience from just picking a bottle off the local grocer’s shelf. It’s as close as you can get to beekeeping without owning your own hives.
Some Interesting Facts About Bees and Honey
It is estimated that 1 ounce of honey could fuel a single bee’s flight around the world.
2 million flowers (give or take a few) are visited to produce one pound of honey.
Honey is the only food produced by an insect that humans eat.
A single bee makes about 0.014 ounces of honey in its life which is 35 to 45 days.
The Mexican Honey Wasp makes and stores honey in its paper nest.
Honey bees never sleep.
Topical honey treatment has been used since ancient Egypt to heal wounds and is still used today.
Whether it's honey you are looking for or something else entirely, make Canton Shopping Guide your first stop when heading to Canton First Monday Trade Days. Follow us on Facebook and leave us a review on Google.
