By the way, according to honey mavens worldwide, honey is much more than a sweetener. It is a sweet, curative, natural, ancient food that feeds the mind, the body, and soul. Waxing Kara changes varieties seasonally, and lists available honeys on their website. Some honeys are artisanal and some are varietal. Varietal honey is also known as monofloral from the nectar of a single plant variety. Artisanal honey exemplifies the adage, “Variety is the spice of life.” We now think of beekeepers as we do winemakers . Experienced beekeepers consider local plant flowering patterns when planning hive location and the timing of blossoms and each honey harvest. When we asked Kara which honey would be best for baking challah - she suggested the autumn or spring honey. Both are farmed and packaged right at Chesterhaven. The Autumn wildflower honey was featured in Food & Wine Magazine due to its distinctive mildly floral flavor and strong earthy finish. Kara suggests using this honey in tea, over fruit, and on anything raw.
From Kara at Chesterhaven Farm:. "We are on the Chester River facing the Chesapeake Bay. Waxing Kara grew organically from my work as an artist. I paint with beeswax, and in 2010, I started beekeeping to harvest wax for my encaustic paintings. I learned about the importance of bees to our planet’s sustainability and the preciousness of honey. This knowledge inspired me to expand my role and create delicious honey-based products and skin-loving bath and beauty goods made with honey. What makes our apiary different are at least 40 acres that we farm specifically for bees and other winged creatures. We began by removing genetically modified crops that farmers on the eastern shore planted because of their dependable yields. In their place, we planted high-nectar indigenous plants, like meadows of wildflowers, lavender, fruit trees, bee balm, sunflowers, buckwheat, several varieties of clover and much more."
SWEET! Waxing Kara offers beautiful honey gifts and ships anywhere. Visit their website at waxingkara.com and learn more about their products and how to order.. (FYI: the bourbon honey straws are not yet kosher certified, but all of the jars of honey are under the Star K).