Oak Park Farmer's Market/Sweet Beginnings: Beeline Honey

Oak Park Farmer's Market/Sweet Beginnings: Beeline Honey

I am frequently on the lookout for interesting honey, so I read with interest MAG's post about local honey -- Beeline -- that she purchased at Green City Market.

This weekend, the vendor, Sweet Beginnings, was at the Oak Park Farmer's Market, so I stopped to chat with the folks, who manage 40 hives on Fillmore between Independence and Central.



This stuff is the clear. When I queried the vendors, they told me that it's so light and golden because the bees tend to cluster around sweet clover in Garfield and Douglas Parks.

The honey itself is probably the lightest weight honey I've ever had, not heavily viscous or syrupy. It is also not as sweet as some honey, but with delicate notes that would make it a good accompaniment with other foods. It's filtered, of course, but not cooked. $6/12 oz and $8/16 oz.

The apiary is run by the formerly incarcerated as part of the North Lawndale Employment Network (there's an analogy here, somewhere, between former prisoners and bees in their hives, depositing honey in cells, but it's not coming to me, yet). What I dig about this operation, aside from the quality of the honey, is that honey is being produced on formerly vacant lots by formerly outcast citizens. It's honey with a social conscience, pulling something good from what others throw away.

Tending the stand on Saturday was this very nice red-headed lady, who seemed kind of a hybrid Stevie Nicks-Bonnie Raitt with an overlay of Roger Corman's Wasp Woman (she had some intriguing tattoos beneath her diaphanous black gown, lending outlaw threat to her otherwise genteel, somewhat good witch-y demeanor).

Sweet Beginnings
3726 West Flournoy Street
Chicago, IL 60624
773-638-1806

David,

Given the honey's notes of stone fruits, I drizzled a bit over a nectarine sour cream custard tart that I made this weekend. It gave the tart both a bit of glisten and a spicy tone.

Good stuff.

Interesting - I can't recall ever seeing honey that light. I'll have to get out to Oak Park and pick up a jar to try. Certainly it's supporting a good cause.

David, if you like honey, I must recommend trying the pure Tupelo honey sold by Smiley Aviaries out of Wewahitchka, Fla. We drive right past the place on our family vacations on the Fla. panhandle and they are quite unique. While many claim to be Tupelo, few adhere as stringently to being pure Tupelo as Smiley.

http://www.floridatupelohoney.com/

MAG wrote:I drizzled a bit over a nectarine sour cream custard tart that I made this weekend.

That sounds fabulous. This honey does ask to be included as an "ingredient" -- I've had it on toast for the last three days, and I like it a lot, but I can't help but think how it would be with cheese or even a slice of ham (now that Roscoe and Ultimo have me thinking sweets and meats).

I can see it working very well with sour cream and fruit.

Hammond