Artisan Honey On My Morning Toast

A beautiful jar of raw honey graced our table this morning from Day Break Manor, an inn just down the road from us on Route 1 in Wiscasset.  Our multigrain toast with coffee was especially good as Jon prepared for another day on the railway and the girls and I talked about what sort of fun we would have together during their spring break.  Gardening, knitting and reading were top of the list. 

I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for great packaging and I love the jar in which this honey is housed, the red wax seal with an elegant fleur de lis and the black gross grain ribbon that encircles the neck of the jar.  The honey itself is also very good with hints of blueberry and rose.  The packaging says this honey is treated in the European way, and I can't tell if that means creamed honey or if it's just raw.  I think it means raw or essentially unheated.

Raw honey is filtered and either not heated at all or heated gently to a temperature below 120 degrees.  Any higher and many of the flavorful notes in the honey are destroyed along with healthy enzymes.  I prefer the taste of raw honey to pasteurized.  European style or creamed honey is honey that's been stirred once in the morning and once in the evening to incorporate tiny crystallized honey.  It's done over the coarse of three weeks and considered a real delicacy by some.  I've never had it as it is hard to find true creamed honey in the States.

In any case, I recommend Day Break Manor honey as a treat to your morning toast, yogurt or tea.  I'll sure savor it while the jar lasts.

Annie
Headed out to prune trees and plant seedlings

© 2009 Anne Mahle