No doubt you have heard about the sad state of the honeybee.  Bees are increasingly stressed by a host of environmental factors including pollution, pesticides, genetically modified viruses, mites and antibiotics, and are facing early death and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

But do you know the rest of the story? Have you heard about "honey laundering"? In some cases, commercial honey is doctored with the similar tasting corn syrup.  In others, banned honey is relabeled and ends up on supermarket shelves contaminated with pollutants, pesticides and antibiotics. Finally, did you know that all supermarket honey is pasteurized, which destroys yeast cells, reduces enzyme activity and negatively impacts both taste and fragrance?

At Boulettes Larder we serve and sell only thoughtfully harvested, raw organic honey from specific appellations.

Raw honey means that it is never heated during the extraction and bottling process.  Raw honey is also unfiltered and often contains pollen and small particles of wax. This local raw honey and pollen are thought to lessen allergies and offer many other healthful benefits.

Specific or single appellation honey means that the honey was produced in a geographical name (as of a region, village, or vineyard) under which a producer is authorized to identify and market his product.

Additionally, many of the honeys that we source are monofloral. To produce a monofloral honey, a beekeeper keeps his beehives in an area where the bees have access to only one type of flower and harvests the honey immediately after the flower bloom has receded. Because it is nearly impossible to contain every foraging bee, all monofloral honeys contain trace amounts of nectar from other plants and flowers. However, each monofloral honey has its own unique flavor and color from its primary nectar source.

The flavors, health benefits and aesthetic beauty of the honey that we use at Boulettes Larder are quite compelling to me both as a chef and also as someone keenly interested in the environmental role that bees play in our ecosystems. Over the years, I have developed relationships with beekeepers, both locally and in Europe, that produce these high quality, uniquely flavored products.

Here are a few of my favorites: