BENTLEY FARMERS’ MARKET FEATURED VENDOR #3 GULL LAKE HONEY CO.

BENTLEY FARMERS’ MARKET

FEATURED VENDOR #3

GULL LAKE HONEY CO.

 

The Gull Lake Honey Company is a family-run honey farm owned & Operated by Lorne & Alida Prins. They are committed to keeping strong and healthy bee colonies, and providing pure, natural Raw & Creamed honey and beeswax products across Alberta.

Honey is produced by Honey Bees by collecting nectar from flowers. It has been used for centuries in both cooking and medicine. It remains a popular ingredient in many foods today, with many different health benefits, as well as being simply delicious! Honey provides excellent natural sweetness to those who are trying to reduce sugar intake or avoid artificial sugars. Fresh raw honey also contains pollen, which supports your immune system, is an antioxidant, improves liver health, as well as helps reduce seasonal allergies. Whether you use it for sweetening tea, coffee, desserts or salad dressings – there’s no denying that this golden liquid will become one of your favorite ingredients!

 

Gull Lake Honey only sells Raw & Creamed honey – they do not pasteurize honey. Gull Lake Honey Co’s Creamed and cinnamon creamed honey is delicious, nutritious and goes great with a warm piece of toast in the morning! They also sell a variety of different raw honeys from different floral sources such as Blueberry Blossom, Dandelion/Spring Floral and Clover. You should try them all to see which is your favourite!

Whats the difference between Raw & Creamed Honey, and Pasteurized honey?

Raw Honey is honey that is completely unprocessed. It is extracted from the Beehive, slightly filtered and is put straight into containers. Did you know that ALL raw honey will crystallize? Depending on the floral sources that the nectar comes from, it will crystallize at different speeds and with different sizes crystals, but it will always eventually go from liquid to solid. If you want to make it liquid again, just warm the container up in some hot water or on a sunny warm window sill.

Creamed Honey is raw honey that has been allowed to crystalize, and then is warmed up back to a liquid again. It is then “seeded” with some previously creamed honey, which infuses the liquid honey with ultra fine crystalized honey particles, and is then stirred continuously while the honey cools down and begins to form a smooth creamy consistency. You can also add dry ingredients, such as fresh ground cinnamon to the honey during the creaming process to make an extra special treat!

Pasteurized Honey is honey that has been heated up to 70 degrees under pressure, and is then filtered to remove any tiny particulates (including pollen) that the honey would normally crystalize on. This process allows the honey to remain a liquid for much longer, and removes any potential bacteria that might be present. But it also strips away a lot of the natural medicinal properties that Raw honey contains.

Here are some fun facts regarding the amazing benefits of eating local raw honey instead of store-bought: 

  •  It is a natural sweetener with fewer calories than sugar and other artificial flavors (it’s more effective at suppressing appetite too!).
  • The bees pollinate plants in your area, and that pollen ends up in the honey. Consuming local honey can reduce the effects of your seasonal allergies!
  • Raw honey as been used as a decongestant and cough remedy for centuries, and can help suppress coughs even better than some medications on the market today
  • Honey is a natural antibiotic and it can help with constipation, diarrhea, intestinal gas.
  • Honey also has antioxidants which fight free radicals that cause aging or diseases in the body.
  • Using Raw honey as a facial mask can help balance the bacteria on your skin, which makes it a great product to use for acne. Honey also speeds up your skin cells’ healing processes. If you have blemishes or an eczema outbreak, honey that’s unpasteurized could speed healing and reduce inflammation.

Beeswax is a natural by-product of the honey extraction process. It can be used to make Candles, Balms/salves, beeswax food wraps and more! Did you know that burning beeswax candles is good for you? Burning Beeswax candles can provide the following benefits:

  1. Relaxation – the simple act of burning a candle can aid in stress relief, and the sweet natural honey scent aids in relaxation. Plus the light from beeswax candles is very close to natural sunlight, which can minimize eye strain and reduce headaches.
  2. Neutralize pollutants – when burning, the negative ions produced help eliminate odors, dust and molds in the air
  3. Burn cleaner than synthetic candles – no soot or toxins released when burning. Beeswax candles are naturally dripless when used properly and are thus safer to burn.

Check out Gull Lake Honey’s collection of beautiful beeswax candles! They also have DIY candle making kits available if you want to make your own!