Honey, as a word, was first spoken to us with the meaning of sweetness and not as a reference to bees.

Today, we will speak of honey in reference to the way a hive and a colony work together to create a complete food that as an ingredient that can stand on its own ("me") and also contribute to the greater good ("we").

We are buzzing about honey! Bees and the hive they create are indeed like the canary in the coal mine, and we should pay attention to their well-being. Without bees we would lose over a third of our food. This equates to $15 billion worth of US crops. Not only do bees help crops grow, they also contribute to healthier crops.

Bees evolved around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. They are believed to have co-evolved with flowering plants, helping with pollination in exchange for nectar.

Studies show that humans have been in sync with honeybees for at least 9,000 years. The earliest evidence of this relationship comes from the Neolithic era, when humans began to farm.

This is based on cave paintings found in the Arana Cave in Spain. These paintings, believed to be from the Mesolithic period, show figures using ladders or tools to reach bee nests high in trees or caves. The imagery is one of the earliest known depictions of humans harvesting honey, indicating a long relationship between humans and bees.

Additionally, the ancient Egyptians were among the first known to have domesticated bees around 4,500 years ago. They kept bees for honey, beeswax, and medicinal purposes, and this relationship between humans and bees evolved, moving from wild honey gathering to a symbiotic beekeeping life.

Honey truly is one of nature's miracles! Honey can transform, bind, heal (inside and out), preserve and pickle, and even sweeten one’s life.

And as many of you know, we often sting the praises of honey, honey is one of our jams!

Honey is one of those ingredients, similar to Olive Oil, where one honey is not enough. And more is better! We spend a lot of time tasting and deciphering and deciding which honeys we want to live with.

This year some of the honeys we carry will go away, you won't even notice and new ones will arrive, like the ones here today.

The best thing about too many honeys is that there is no such thing!

Remember, they found honey in King Tutankhamun's tomb, still edible they say...maybe honey doesn't need an expiration date! This of course is like all the honeys we have, unadulterated. No heat above hive temperature and no added chemicals or corn syrup. So go out and support your local beekeepers' honeys and find some of the truly unique honeys from around the world here!

And for those of you who might be like Tigger, for that I can't help you.

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Adapted from the James Beard Award winning cookbook, "Mooncakes & Milk Bread" by Kristina Cho. This is a wonderful cookbook! Every recipe looks like a joy to make and the photos are enticing and makes everything look easy. This is a cookbook I am happy to have in my library!

See the Honey Pistachio Mooncakes Recipe here!

This recipe is from the amazing cookbook, "THE WOK", that is filled to the brim with recipes! Author, Cook, Chef, Scientist and TV personality Kenji Lopez-Alt makes complex food concepts easy, understandable, and most importantly taste good! A cookbook that is worth having.

See the easy Honey Mustard Miso Dip Recipe here!

There are a lot of wildflowers and wildflower honeys in the world. And I can say that there isn't one I haven't liked.

How many have I wanted to take home with me after I have tasted their sweetness? Less than two handfuls.

Tasmania is a unique place. And when it comes to flora it is quite remarkable. It is said that there are over 100 plants that are only found there.

"The Tasmanian flora contains 2,739 vascular plants, of which 1,924 (70%) are considered native and 815 (30%) have naturalised from elsewhere. Among the native taxa, 537 (28%) are endemic to the State. Fifty-two of the State's exotic taxa are considered sparingly naturalised, and are known only from a small number of populations. Twenty-one native taxa are recognised as extinct, whereas seven naturalised taxa are considered to have either not persisted in Tasmania or have been eradicated. The sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, considered part of Tasmania, supports 50 species of vascular plants, of which 42 are considered native and eight naturalised (two of these have since been eradicated)."

To the nose, this smells like honey. It's firm in consistency, and when the light shines through you can see the shape of the honey, with its texture showing.

To the taste, it initially has a touch of honey and then it transforms into a cross of flower flavors melding together, and finishes with a flourish of lightness of being, before disappearing in a wonderful way.

This honey is creamy which makes it quite dreamy.
To the mouth and the senses,
it lends itself to blend with either of the sexes. (It was the only word that rhymed....)

One spoonful is delightful and satisfying.

It is just wildflower honey, which makes it so magical, from a place with so many interesting flowers. Definitely a honey I will have, always by my side.

Shop now for Tasmanian Wildflower Honey!

If you don't know miso, you should! It is a miracle paste that can enhance so many foods to taste better, different, more unique. From sweet to sour to baking, it can give a dish that extra push to magic.

What is miso? Simply, miso is a fermented paste of koji (Aspergillus oryzae) which breaks down the structure of rice, soybeans or barley, or a combination of them. This creates amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars.

This potion is a way to add punch to a meatless broth or make a creamy salad dressing swoon!

Here are some really easy ways to try miso.

1) Combine miso and toasted sesame oil and spread it on the next fish you broil or grill.

2) Combine jam, vinegar and miso with sage, rosemary, and thyme and brush over a roast before cooking.

3) Mix then melt miso and butter, 1 to 1, and drizzle over cooked broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or green beans.

See more ideas in the link.

Shop now for White Kyoto Shiro Miso!

In 1634, out of concern for the quality of its mustard, the city of Dijon imposed the first statutes on the mustard-making trade. Even before this date the region was well-known for the quality of its mustard.

The 18th century discovery of verjuice—juice from grapes harvested in Burgundy—put the finishing touch of quality to this fine product. Adding verjuice to the brown mustard seed and grinding the mixture using traditional grindstones—so as not to damage the heat-sensitive paste—helped to earn French stone ground dijon mustard a worldwide reputation for quality.

Shop now for Fallot Dijon Mustard!

One of the great things about ingredients we carry is that we always have to taste-test before we share them with you. And often, we have to test them more than once to ensure that they are as good as the first impression.

First impressions are so important and are often why one falls in love. In this tube the love continues, even though it makes my inner being pucker up and sometimes even tear up in pain. It's a good pain, and that's why I keep going back for more....

This wasabi has the characteristics that you look for, invigorating, enhancing, a good bite without burning heat, flavor that allows your senses to open up and savor the food that it is paired with!

Our friend Marc goes out of his way to find fresh wasabi and was totally, like, "This can't be any good.", and compared it with his wasabi, and it was shock and awe and he has been bugging us to get it for him again and again. Marc, it's back-in-stock and your tube is on its way when by the time you read this....

FYI, he told me he doesn't like hot foods, but says wasabi makes his mouth come alive, and he likes that.

Shop now for Wasabi!

This is one of the very best ingredients we found last year! At the very top of my list of remarkable tastes! It is fun and enjoyable and surprising and delicious!

Pull the tab, and the smokiness dissipates with the sweet smell of vinegar arriving. To the nose, it is vinegar and then finishes with a gentle smokiness. It is pretty rare for a nostril to be filled with two notes at the same time, with one essence first over the other, then the other essence over the first, and then they come together in a sweet and smoky marriage!

It is WOW just by the nose alone! I can't wait to taste it! Pour into a white spoon, and the color is a light, transparent brown and golden, like nice iced tea.

AND WOW! Just a little upper lip dip in, and then a taste with lips and tongue, you get a myriad of deliciousness! The flavors arrive together, with each element being distinct for a nanosecond and then blending while still being separate.

It is wild! It is exciting!

It is like the sweet lingers on the lips, the cavity of your mouth gets the smokiness, and the tongue blends it all back together. In small tastes, you get the vinegar; in larger bits, you get the acid of the vinegar in the back of your throat. And when it all seems to be done, you get this feeling of vinegar joy!

This is crazy good!

How to use it? First, dipping Sushi is perfect! As a topping on rice works great. Add it to miso soup. To get a smoky sweet twist, add this vinegar to a 4th of July salad dressing. Add it to a marinade or a sauce. And baked beans!

Did I mention, WOW!

The sweet vinegar is smoked with cherry wood chips.

Shop now for Tajima Smoked Sweet Vinegar here!

This red-in-color wine vinegar is delicious. Thin in viscosity, when it first reaches your lips, it feels luscious, rich, and thick.

The tip of the tongue experiences the vinegar, but the flavor comes to the senses via the lips, along with a bit of a sting (acid of the vinegar) at the back of the throat.

Unlike some vinegars, this gentle twinge at the back of the throat dissipates quickly and is more akin to a nicely-aged Balsamic.

The round flavor of its red wine origins lives in the "nose" and in the "taste". There is a complete roundness to the flavor of this red wine vinegar, which draws you in, and one spoonful is not enough!

Perhaps, even though it is an artisan wine vinegar, it makes you feel like it is a sweet wine or an aged balsamic, and yet its notes are different than you expect.

After much tasting, I still cannot find the right words to describe the flavor as I would like.

Like many, if not all, red wines, if you suck in a sip, your nose will pucker at the tip, and hints of red wine vinegar will be present.

If you are willing to savor the flavors and the gourmet wine vinegar slowly, you will feel the hints of red strawberry (creaminess) laced with vanilla and hints of little tiny violets!

I can tell you that it is a wonderful, joyous surprise, and one can imagine that it makes everything taste better. What a wonderful treat this is. Agrodolce!

Shop now for Espelt de Garnatxa Wine Vinegar!

This is a beautiful way to fix asparagus. The contrasting colors will liven up your table and your plate. Last time we made this dish, we added some regular oranges as well, just to add some vibrant orange color to the mix.

The leek dressing is very tasty and can be used with other dishes, too. I love it over brown rice, white rice or quinoa.

See the Asparagus with Blood Oranges Recipe!

This Balsamela oozes the same precision of flavor that Andrea puts into his Gold Seal Balsamic vinegar.

This Balsamela apple balsamic vinegar is made from fresh apples and treated in the same way as his traditional Balsamics, then reduced and allowed to acidify.

To the nose, there is a sweetness and for sure a pure apple scent. The nice sweetness has a finish of a vinegar bite, mostly in the back of the throat. You can sip, dip (with your tongue), or drizzle.

Add to cold water and have a wonderful, easy-sipping and refreshing thirst quencher.

Besides dipping your tongue in a spoon filled with Balsamela, pour a little out and dip your veggies in.

And then there is the drizzle. Drizzle your plate in a wonderful pattern over your protein or your vegetables. Use it as you would a balsamic vinegar, with a twist of apples.

This Balsamela apple balsamic vinegar is one of those amazing foods that when you first try it you can't believe how absolutely special it is!

Shop now for San Giacomo Balsamela - Apple Balsamic!

This pudding does not have any added fruit, such as raisins. It is stirred, not baked, so it becomes very, very creamy. Adding Apple Balsamic gives it that slightly sweet, slightly acidic, something different kind of taste.

See the Stirred Rice Pudding with Apple Balsamic Recipe here!

Sometimes the old recipes, this one is from the 50s, that seem so simple are just what we need. At least they are fun and who doesn't need some fun in their life! No flour, or at least not exactly....

See the Wonderful Tasting Chocolate Cookies Recipe here!

No chemicals or nasty synthetic imitations here. Only the best organic vanilla beans are used for cold extraction and the unique aging process. The result? A true vanilla aroma and the purest taste imaginable.

This versatile Bourbon vanilla extract is perfect for all your baking needs. Whenever a recipe calls for vanilla extract or essence, turn to this amazing double-strength vanilla. Freshly harvested each year, this bourbon vanilla extract tastes like vanilla and smells more like a bean than alcohol.

This is double-strength vanilla (two-times the vanilla flavor or less diluted than 1X), it contains no sugar, and is wheat-free.

Double fold extract has 37% alcohol. Using a whey alcohol, this ethanol has no allergens. It is free from dairy and wheat, and has a less offensive alcohol odor.

Shop now for Tonga Bourbon Vanilla Extract 2X!

These little discs of rare Cru Sauvage bittersweet baking chocolate are excellent for eating out of hand or for incorporating into a host of chocolate desserts.

If I could only have one chocolate for the rest of my life, on a desert island, on a trip anywhere, or just camping, this is the chocolate I would choose.

The substantial and harmonious cocoa flavors of the Cru Sauvage bittersweet baking chocolate discs are complemented by the freshness of lemon and the fruitiness of grapefruit.

The traditional gentle processing method (60 hours conching) unfolds the intense dried prune bouquet and vanilla in a most exquisite way. The exceptionally pleasant fruit acidity and the long-lasting ending make the Cru Sauvage very, very special!

Shop now for Cru Sauvage - Wild Cocoa Baking Chocolate 68%