Raw Local Honey For Sale at the Topsfield Fair Bee House
Every year the Essex County Beekeepers Association puts on a magnificent honey and beekeeping show at the Topsfield Fair. It is the largest honey show in North America and the first honey exhibits were held in 1844. During the fair the club also sells honey and beeswax products from club members, has educational exhibits and programs about bees, multiple observation hives and even a beeswax candle rolling station. All these exhibits are held at the beekeeping building on the fairgrounds. If you are local and have not been to the fair yet it is definitely worth a trip out there, especially for bee lovers. The fair runs from September 28th – October 8th, 2012 and it is the best place to get delicious raw local honey for a great price.
The honey is provided by local beekeepers and every jar will taste different since the honey comes from so many different apiaries in the area. Half the fun of buying the honey is to see how different each jar tastes. The honey always sells out so if you want to buy honey there go early. There may not be any left the last few days of the fair. Here are some of the different products available for sale at the fair.
Check out all the different colors of honey from all the different apiaries! The color of the honey depends on what flowers the bees are foraging on. Honey also gets darker through the season as the flowers change. So the light color honey is from spring flowers, medium color from summer flowers and the darkest color is from the fall flowers. If you are taking honey to help with allergies you want to get honey that is closest in location to you and as raw and unprocessed as possible. If you have spring allergies you want light honey and if you have fall allergies you want darker colored honey. Most people use a tablespoon of raw honey a day to help with allergies.
The honey is only available for sale during the fair and comes in many containers and sizes. There are glass jars, plastic squeezable containers, honey bears, cut comb, ross rounds and more. While all the honey is raw, unheated and unprocessed to keep intact all the amazing health benefits of honey, the cut comb honey and ross rounds are as close to unproccessed as you can get. The cut comb honey is sold in jars and plastic containers. Cut comb is merely beewax with honey in it that has been cut out of the hive intact as the bees built it. The beeswax is edible and you are getting a product that is completely as the bees intended. The ross rounds are unique in that the bees actually put the comb and honey in each container themselves whereas the cut comb honey is cut from a frame by the beekeeper. If you elect to get the jar of honey with cut comb inside you are getting the best of both worlds – cut comb and honey in a jar!
Honey sticks are a favorite item for kids. Creamed honey is also for sale at the fair. This honey is a finely crystallized honey that is easily spreadable on toast or other food item of your choice. Raw local honey may crystallize but that does not mean it is bad. You can continue to use it that way or if you want liquid honey just place the container in warm water and the honey will turn liquid again. Do not heat it too much however or you will kill all the beneficial enzymes and nutrients essential to maintain the great health benefits of honey.
Raw local honey contains all the healthy honey enzymes and incredible health benefits of honey as it is unprocessed. It must be purchased from a beekeeper. Honey sold in the grocery store is heated to prevent it from crystallizing which kills off the very things that make honey so healthy!
Honey never goes bad. In fact, 2000 year old honey was found in an Egyptian tomb and it was still good as new. Honey does not need to be refrigerated and will last forever!
Also for sale during the fair at the beekeeping building are all natural beeswax and honey soaps handcrafted by local beekeepers. The soaps come in all different shapes and designs and are better than just about any soap you can buy at the store. They are made from distilled water, lye, coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, beeswax and honey.
Beeswax candles and blocks are also available for sale during the fair. The molded candles are available in many different designs and are handcrafted by local beekeepers. Beeswax is all natural, burns without smoke and smells slightly like honey. Beeswax blocks are great for craft projects and as lubricators for wood, tools and other things.
Taper candles both molded and rolled are available in several different sizes.
Here are a few more pictures of all the lovely honey for sale at the fair.
I will be working there for much of the week along with many of my fellow club members. We are all volunteers going there to share our love and knowledge about bees. If you are interested in beekeeping this is a great way to learn about bees and you can even put your name on the list for bee school in the winter.
I hope you will stop by the fair, say hello to the beekeepers there and get the best deal on raw local honey in the area. If you miss it, you won’t get this chance again until next year!
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