A blessing from the bees…use with honor & respect.

Infused Honey is uniquely nourishing, a magical blend of the gifts of the bees with the gifts of the plant kingdom.

To begin, I would like to remind myself that honey is sacred and precious. The bee family works hard to make enough honey for the hive, the next generation of bees and us! So, I try to send gratitude to the bees whenever I have a chance. I’ve added some plants they love to my garden. Bee loving plants for the garden include Calendula, Lavender, Borage, Echinacea, Bee Balm, Anise Hyssop, Milk Weeds, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Cosmos, and Sages. It is also fun to get to know the native pollinators that live in your area. They might not make honey…but they work hard pollinating flowers and plants and deserve our love & support. I live in Southern California so I added some native Sages to my garden this year to support the local pollinators and when I hike around my home I’ve also noticed they adore the local Ceanothus. Each year as I plan my garden I’ll be adding more natives to support the local eco-system I live in.

Photos L-R: Bee loving plants - White Coast Ceanothus, Calendula & Cosmos, Rosemary

Ok…back to yummy honey….

Honey Medicinal Qualities

Nutritive Food
Emollient (softening to the skin), demulcent (soothing to mucus membranes), nutritive (nourishing) mildly laxative
Medicinal Properties that are helpful for
- Respiratory illnesses, coughs
- Sore throats/hoarseness/pain in throat
- Externally for wounds & burns
- Healing to the skin
- Helps with allergic reactions
- Recommended to not be given to children under 1 year of age.
Honey is hydrophilic, which means it draws water from the plants. When fresh herbs are infused into honey, it creates a syrupy mixture, thinner than honey itself, that’s alive with the taste and benefits of the herbs you used.
If you choose to heat honey - try to stay below 100 degrees. Honey heated above 110 degrees loses its innate medicinal properties and fragrance.

**Thyme Honey**

A sweet time will be had by all! Wonderful for soothing a dry cough or sore scratchy throat. Add 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon to hot water or hot tea. Or use as you would honey in any dish. Drizzled over goat cheese would be delicious.

Bee Facts

A single bee will make from ¼ tsp to 1/12 tsp of honey in their lifetime
A bee will visit 5000+ flowers in a single day
A hive needs 2 million + visits to make 1 pound of honey
Apis mellifera is the name of the western honey bee and makes the honey we all love
Lots of bees are pollinators, get to know your local bees and support them and love them by planting native plants in your garden.

*If bees only gathered nectar from perfect flowers, they wouldn’t be able to make even a single drop of honey.*

Matshona Dhliwayo

How to make & use infused Honey

Get some raw honey. Ideally from a local bee keeper, a farmers market or a local small business.
Choose your fresh herb. This is seriously fun! So many herbs…so little time :) Favorites of mine:
Thyme - good for calming a cough/nourishing to lungs
Lemon or orange peels - delicious and nutritious
Lavender this just makes you swoon, who doesn’t want to swoon?
Before summer ends I’ll be making fresh lemon balm, sage and rosemary infused honey and as we move into fall I’ll make whole garlic clove, and fresh ginger honey to keep me and the family healthy.
Other ideas to try: Anise Hyssop, Cinnamon, Fennel Seeds, Lemon Verbena, Mugwort, Peppermint, *Rose petals, Yarrow blossoms.
*always use organic fresh rose petals, never the ones from the flower shop or grocery store.
Roughly chop the fresh herb and add to jar. Pour honey on top and use a chop stick to gently make sure all herbs are submerged and covered. The covered part is important, you don’t want any plant material poking up out of the honey. Honey is an amazing preservative, but plant material & air…not so much. So make sure all plant parts are submerged under the honey. I try to give myself an inch or two at the top.
Allow to sit for 1-2 weeks. Strain and enjoy! Your honey will now be slightly thinner, more syrupy and infused with the delicious goodness of the herbs or citrus peels or garlic/ginger etc.
Using your infused honey. This is the most delicious part!
- Make a hot drink of herbal infused honey - 1 tbl infused honey 4-8 oz hot water
- Swirl over oatmeal, yogurt, toast, scones, you get the idea, just swirl anywhere that feels right…:)
- Eat directly from the jar!
- Add to sweeten anything you like as you would with any honey