We're often asked what the advantage is of buying local honey versus supermarket honey. It's not that supermarket honey is necessarily inferior, but pasteurized honey, for example, can be less appealing. Among beekeepers, we always take pride in saying that our honey is the best! And it's true that honey from Quebec beekeepers is the finest. Curious? Here are six reasons to buy local, unpasteurized honey.
By buying local, unpasteurized honey from a beekeeper in your region, you can be sure you're getting honey whose taste and nutrients haven't been altered by heat. Some packers pasteurize honey primarily to slow down (or sometimes completely stop) the crystallization process. This process also destroys some of the vitamins, enzymes, and minerals. Buying unpasteurized honey from a local beekeeper is the best way to ensure its quality. At Ferme Les Petites Écores, we guarantee that our honey is always unpasteurized.
Did you know that honey adulteration (mixing honey with another substance to lower the cost and increase profits) is a widespread problem worldwide? The photo on the right was taken at Apimondia in Montreal. Every empty space and every jar with a small white label was disqualified for adulteration or non-compliance with regulations. All the honeys submitted to the Best Honey competition were laboratory tested, and 451 of them were disqualified for adulteration. This is unacceptable and completely insane. What can you do? Buy honey from a local beekeeper. Are you from Vaudreuil-Soulanges? Come visit us at the honey house. We would be happy to show you our hives and talk to you about beekeeping.
Yes, invest. Not encourage, but invest wisely. By buying local, you allow us to reinvest money in the region and thus boost the local economy. Every dollar spent in your community generates an additional 2,60$ in the region. You also support job creation and contribute to building a vibrant region. Every purchase made from a local business is, in fact, an investment. Furthermore, we strive to work with local businesses as much as possible. For example, during the summer season, in addition to what we produce on the farm, it is possible to purchase products from local producers, such as a wide variety of fruits and meats. directly from the farm.
In North America, food travels on average 2600 km before arriving at your door. The long distances traveled mean that products require more packaging. As a result, you may sometimes find over-packaged items. We try to minimize packaging as much as possible by offering zero-waste solutions for several varieties of vegetables, honey, and sea buckthorn. By buying local, you reduce your environmental footprint! Plus, you can take advantage of our refill days to get a discount on refilling your honey jars.
By buying honey directly from a local beekeeper, you ensure that the environment in which the bees live is conducive to their well-being. The beekeeper takes every precaution to protect and maximize the strength of the hives. By buying honey directly from a beekeeper, you encourage us to continue working with bees and thus ensuring their well-being. Beekeepers do very important work; did you know that the life expectancy of a bee colony in the wild is only about 24 months due to environmental factors and diseases?
Have you ever noticed that honeys don't all have the same color or taste? That's normal! Each flower has its own unique characteristics. The taste of this sweet delight therefore varies from one flower to another. Honey from apple trees, for example, is quite fruity, while honey from linden trees has a hint of mint. Unfortunately, pasteurized honeys lose these subtleties. Think of honey like wine: no two are alike, and they all stand out in their own way. By tasting different honeys, you'll learn to appreciate all the nuances of this sweet nectar. Try our specialty honeys in order to discover a new world of flavors.
For all these reasons, we firmly believe that buying local, unpasteurized honey is the best thing to do. Come visit us at the farm and awaken your senses to true taste!
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