Boston Honey: An Oxymoron?

Lately, I’ve had terroir on the brain.  You know, the fancy French word for what dirt makes things taste like.  So, the same grape grown in two different places (say, France v. California: always a fun fight) expresses its flavor differently based on the mineral composition of the soil, the amount of sun it receives, the amount of rain that fell, whether it was sung to and in what language, things like that.

But with the Eat Local Challenge kicking around in the back of my mind (no commitments, just a one-woman exploratory committee), I was curious about what local products Boston had to offer.  Any at all?  I mean, I don’t want to starve my family to death on a dare. 

In other words, what in the world does Boston taste like?  Frankly, I was afraid to find out.  But, it just so happened that I stumbled across local honey at Russo’s.  Not local as in the wild fields of New Hampshire, but local as in Boston.  The Boston Honey Company. 

Where the hell, I wondered, are they hiding all the bees?

I’ve seen bumblebees around periodically (they smoke like the dickens when they get caught in a halogen lamp), not to mention sweat bees, hornets, wasps, and those goddamned yellow jackets buzzing all over the place.  But, I’ve never seen a honeybee in Boston.  Or the suburbs, for that matter.  Ever.

Still, there it was.  A jar of golden honey claiming to have originated in our historic city.  So I thought about doing me some research, maybe pay them a visit, perhaps bribe some workers to let me speak to the queen, but instead I just ended up doing some serious wondering.  The bees find the flowers.  They drink the nectar.  They return to the hive where they partially digest it, then regurgitate it into honeycombs. Mmmm, sounds delicious.

Even more scrumptious was the idea that, according to the honey jar’s little cardboard tag, their bee colonies were kept along the Charles River, one of many putrid sewers of the Industrial Revolution until about, oh, three weeks ago.  Gulp.

Now, I’ve seen people fishing along the Charles River, usually with a child, so I’ve always assumed that it’s just for sport.  That they catch the fish, then throw it back.  No one’s bringing home any Charles River fish expecting to call it dinner.  But our local bait shop seems to think this is a fine place to fish, and he ain’t throwing ‘em back.  So maybe it is true that the water and the soil around it, as well as the flowers that grow nearby, wouldn’t glow green as krypton in certain specialized lighting?  Maybe the Standells were just a bunch of lazy slackers that didn’t know what the hell they were talking about? 

Still, I feel sorry for the bees.  It’s like trying to convert water into wine, with only a tiny little bee metabolism to filter out all the carcinogens.  Actually, I imagine the bees have caught on by now.  A few of their own keeling over is just another day on the job.  Martyr bees taking one for the team.  Crass, hardened, townie bees sucking down fermented liquid and vomiting up golden deliciousness like a Tuesday morning hangover.  That’s the spirit, Boston bees.

But I have to admit, begrudgingly, that the honey tasted good.  Delicious, actually.  It doesn’t smack of Storrow Drive car exhaust.  Nor rusted shopping cart.  Nor leaky subway fuel.  Just honey.  If I had to guess, I’d say clover with a hint of…dandelion?  And it made me proud to be a Bostonian, because we can make delicious honey, too.  Except we do it with invisible bees. 

[Clarification: Turns out that the honeybee colonies are actually closer to Walden Pond in Concord.  That’s about 20 miles from Boston, which means that they have a much better school system.] 

Comments

[cookiecrumb]

No, we like the French.
We beat 'em in a famous wine competition back in the '70s, and have been feeling cocky ever since.

That was a nice post about honey and eating local. You're smart to do your homework in advance of the challenge; my first time I think I was a little close to starvation the first week.

And maybe you don't see the bees because many of them like tree pollen, so they're, y'know, *up there*.

[squeezyB]

I once heard that if you eat honey produced within X miles (I can't remember - 10? 20?) of your home, you are less likely to get the usual winter colds and flus.

I haven't researched this at all. It's probably just an urban myth. Anyway. That's my two cents on local honey.

[Tammy]

Good enough for me, squeezyB. Come to think of it, I have been mucous-free this winter. Not vomit-free, though. Goddamned bees!

Yeah, CC, I really need to thoroughly research this eating local thing. Low blood sugar doesn't look good on me. Rumor is there's emu on offer somewhere around here, though. That's good news.

[Marika]

Reseska Apiaries also bottles under the name Golden Meadow. I make special trips to Whole Foods for it. Not only is it delicious it's hands down some of the best honey I've ever had. I LOVE butter and honey on toast so I get nervous when we have fewer than three jars in the house. I think I may have a problem...and if you need PB&Honey sandwich, Teddy's peanut butter is made in Everett so you can keep it local.

[Becky]

Bees are attracted to the smell of less than pure water sources. They would take chlorinated pool water over spring water any day.

There was an article last October in the Boston Globe about a beekeeper in Jamaica Plain so honeybees do exist in Boston.

[Tammy]

Becky, there's nothing bees like better than a challenge, I guess!

Marika, it really is surprisingly good. And thanks for the Teddy's PB tip. My kids have a peanut butter addiction to go with my honey addiction.

[Helen Rennie]

Hi Tammy,

I just tried this honey based on your recommendation (from Russo's) and it was very yummy. I wasn't sure which jar from this company to get. They were all priced differently and I couldn't figure out what the difference between them was besides the bottle shape (some where glass, some plastic, etc). So I just bought the little bear since it was the cheapest and easiest to get honey out of. But I am not sure if the other ones are somehow better. Would you happen to know why they price it the way they do? Which jar did you get?

Cheers,
-Helen

[Tammy]

Hmmm. Not sure. I noticed that Russo's has expanded their honey selection with regard to Reseska Apiaries. When I bought mine, I think there were only a few choices. I bought a cute, little glass bottle with a cork and wax seal that was labeled, the Boston Honey Company. Then, I bought a plastic bear labeled, Golden Meadow.

Now that you mention it, I sent an e-mail asking about the difference between where the bees resided and pollinated because I thought the two types of honey tasted very different (Boston Honey = sweeter; Golden Meadow = more complex and herbal). I should check back.

[Emily]

I purchased the same honey in the adorable glass bottle with the wax cork...and have been trying to figure out how to remove the cork ever since! How did you open yours? Any tips would be appreciated. :)

I'm usually looking for honey when I have a cold and to be confronted with a wax cork when you're sick and cloudy headed usually ends in me sadly putting the bottle back on the shelf and reaching for the bear. I am glad to hear it's good honey though!