Fairhaven Farm honey...when asked what it tastes like, we tell people, "It tastes like summer in a jar." That's because our honey carries the pure flavours and aromas of all the plants and flowers from which the bees collected their sweet nectar. We strive to maintain this purity in several ways:
Each area where our hives are located has its own distinct plants and flowers, and therefore the honey will taste slightly different from yard to yard. We are careful not to mix different batches of honey because blending dilutes the flavours unique to each bee yard.
We produce unpasteurized - or raw - honey that is slowly strained to remove debris. This allows the honey to retain its natural sweet flavour and nutrients. We do not pressure filter our honey because, while pressure filtering is much quicker, it alters the honey's taste and removes some of the nutrients. It also removes pollen grains that can be helpful in reducing allergy symptoms and along with it, the nutritional benefits of bee pollen.
Honey is pasteurized when it is heated to 130F. This improves shelf life and melts any tiny granulated crystals that may have formed. Unpasteurized honey will crystallize more quickly, but immersing the jar in warm water will melt the crystals and restore the honey to its original form. And since edible honey has been found in Egyptian tombs, we feel that unpasteurized honey has a fairly long shelf life without being heated!
We sell only 100% Ontario honey, with most of it coming from our own yards in and around Erin, Ontario. We do not use antibiotics on our hives and strive to be as organic as possible. The fields at Fairhaven Farm are pesticide- and herbicide-free but since bees will normally forage within a 3 kilometre-radius, our hives are carefully located with the goal of minimizing their exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and crops.
Honey contains many vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. It is rich in antioxidants.