I met Helene Marshall at a local farmers market, her booth was swamped! It always is, I found out. But she took the time to explain to me about the origins of Marshall's Farm Honey and about their W I D E variety of honeys.
Her husband, Spencer, is the beekeeper. As a boy, he was fascinated by his grandmothers hives and the way she worked them. Later, he came back to his family's farm and started raising bees and got into the pollination business. Honey bees are used to pollinate crops like almonds and cherries and others. He soon had hives all over the central valley of California, and was branching out to the San Francisco area as well. Helene and Spencer found each other through a mutual friend, and a sweet friendship developed. And a marriage, and a business too!
Today, Marshall's Farm Honey offers hand-crafted honeys made in small batches, harvested from the many micro-climates of the San Francisco bay area. The diversity of crops and flowers makes for a wonderful array of honey. From their light Star Thistle Honey to the "squashy" richness of their Pumpkin Blossom Honey and so many flavors in-between. Like Blackberry and Manzanita. Way too many to mention. Their website is great and can take you on a tour of the honeys from around northern California!
A few things to remember about honey. It lasts practically forever and needs no refrigeration. It might crystallize, but by dipping the bottle in warm water, you can smooth out the crystals easily. Honey is fat-free, full of minerals and has healing properties. The only caution is feeding honey to babies under 1 year of age, as honey contains spores that their young bodies can't accept.
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