Jubilee Square Farmer's Market - Brighton

A long day at Jubilee Square Farmer's Market this Saturday (15th August). The sun didn't materialise as promised - 26 degrees, you know the sort of thing the weathermen have been telling us all summer.

However, Serena did, a customer we first met at the Brighton Foodie Festival in May. Serena likes our honey a lot - I think she took about six kilos this time.

A lot of people commented on the fanatastic flavour of some English honey from Mitcham. It comes from some allotments that border a railway line there. Many people thought the flavour was elderberry but Paul, the beekeeper, tells me it's borage. The honey has a fantastic tang. Paul's going to supply us with some cut comb in a couple of weeks, so look out for that on our website.

Antonio - Fourth Generation Organic Honey Producer

We've been getting a lot of requests recently for more information about the beekeepers we get our honey from.

This is Antonio, who is a fourth generation beekeeper. (You can buy his honey here.)

He is one of the founding members of the Committee of Ecological Agriculture in Spain. Antonio is one of the few organic beekeepers in Spain.

Here he's pictured with some brood hives.

Antonio really is devoted to his bees. He looks after them very well and always makes sure he leaves them enough honey - a lot of beekeepers here tend to feed their bees with a sugar solution.

When Antonio's bees are sick he treats them with herbal remedies. One of the remedies, which he uses against the varoa mite, is made from thyme. Thyme is actually a very powerful antiseptic, thymol a derivative of thyme is one of the main ingredients in listerine.

We have noticed that his harvest of honey is available later than other beekeepers and we discovered that Antonio lets his honey mature in the comb, for at least a month and sometimes for up to three months, before extracting it. Most beekeepers exact the honey immediately but his process seems to improve the flavour and possibly the health benefits.

Antonio doesn't pastuerise his honey and most of his hives are in mountain ranges.

An analysis of his honey showed it to be very pure and very high quality. This table shows the test for pesticides in the oak honey, there were none detectable.

In the detailed analysis document we received the scientist making the analysis commented on the high quality of the honey.

Antonio lives with his wife Gloria.

I'll add some more information about him tomorrow and also about Ramon, the other beekeeper who we get raw honey from.

You can buy Antonio's honeys here. Although as a high grade honey (like a fine olive oil or wine) the price is higher than normal we do offer discounts of up to 25% - with three jars being available at 15% off.

Honeycomb In A Jar

You can buy the honeycomb in a jar here.

We'll also be selling our new honeycomb (wikipedia def) in a jar at Patchfest, just got a delivery in.

This is a fairly unique kind of honeycomb as far as I can tell. The beekeeper Antonio, whose hives are in the mountains north of Madrid, puts the jars in the hive with a little honey in the bottom. The bees then make the honeycomb in the jars. Then when the comb is sealed Antonio the beekeeper removes the jars from the hive.

Most comb honey is not good. The comb is cut and then pasteurised honey (usually from a different source) is poured over it. The reason for this is that raw honey naturally sets, and when it sets the honeycomb is hidden from view. Apparently this isn't appealing to consumers who would prefer runny honey in the comb.

We have a few jars of this honey for sale. I'm afraid it is really expensive. Antonio doesn't produce much of this honeycomb in a jar. However, the quality is exceptional. If you buy one then you should eat the whole thing, wax included. The honeycomb will contain some propolis and all the live enzymes that you get in raw honey.

This honeycomb (also known as comb honey) is certified organic. You can buy it here. When you come to enter delivery costs on the order page select the option for £4 delivery, even if you order two jars.

If you want to find out more about us then go to www.pyreneeshoney.com/organic. You can also see references from satisfied customers there.

Rare and Raw Lemon Blossom Honey

Fresh, Raw and Rare: Lemon Blossom Honey From Granada in Spain

This is available to buy by clicking here

We now have a very limited quantity of lemon blossom honey. For the last two years we've been trying to buy some raw lemon blossom honey - but without success. The only lemon blossom we could find had been pasturised and we won't sell pasteurised honey.

Now Ramon, the beekeeper we get most of our honey from in the Pyrenees has managed to source some raw lemon blossom from a beekeeper he knows near Granada in Andalusia.

The honey arrived on Monday morning at 6.30am - a day earlier than I had expected. Took about an hour to unload the 48 boxes and get them inside. Couldn't wait to taste the honey - and I wasn't disappointed. It was everything I had hoped it would be - and more - with a very noticeable aftertaste of lemon.

Here's a photo I've just taken of the jar of the stuff - you can see it is still runny.




The honey is very fresh and runny with a good consistency. If you want some please click the link below. It's £10 for a kilo.

Buy some lemon blossom honey

However, there are discounts available - three jars are reduced by 10%. You can get 25% off if you order 15 or more kilos.

We have just a few hundred kilos available, which I know will go quickly once word is out. This is really fantastic honey.

Thanks


Tim