<strong>View</strong> vthe waitrose page 8 A taste of honey One of nature’s treats Honey is one of nature’s treats. Pure, sweet and full of flavour, it is often attributed with healing qualities. From the humid heat of the tropics to the crisp cold of Canada, honey is produced all over the world. More than 4,000 tonnes is produced in Britain, but we consume more than 25,000 tonnes per year. The demand is met from other parts of the world, where longer production seasons ensure a surplus. Waitrose sources its honey from as far afield as New Zealand and Chile, offering some 25 varieties, including Scottish heather honey, Italian chestnut and French sunflower. A popular introduction to the Waitrose own label range was squeezy versions of honey favourites. Currently available in five flavours – English Blossom, Organic Mexican, Organic Acacia, Leckford Estate and New Zealand thyme – they make drizzling honey over pancakes, yogurt or hot buttered crumpets a breeze, with no sticky fingers. Waitrose honey buyer Richard James says one of the most successful lines has been Manuka honey. ‘Sales have soared in the past two years,’ he says. ‘Produced by honeybees gathering nectar from wild Manuka bushes in New Zealand, it is said to contain properties which aid the body’s natural healing process, helping fight throat infections, improve memory and fight gum disease.’ In Britain, honey is produced primarily for the local market, with some 35,000 beekeepers all over the country harvesting honey from apple and lime blossom to dandelion, hawthorn and heather. These small-scale beekeepers are vital for British farmers because their bees pollinate crops. As part of the Waitrose Locally Produced Initiative, its Petersfield and Farnham shops sell honey produced by John and Dinny Reed, of Kingsley Honey Farm, near Kingsley, Hampshire. by Sally Place The couple took up bee-keeping when they retired and 26 years on, they are producing five tonnes of honey a year - that is 12,000 jars, providing local shops and Waitrose. John has now progressed to bee farmer status and now has 150 hives, each home to 50,000 to 60,000 bees, over a 90-mile area. Their business is virtually self-sufficient with John tending the bees, making the frames and delivering the honey himself. Dinny looks after marketing and administration. Neighbour Henry Sawkins helps out at busy times. The couple produce three monofloral honeys - borage, heather and rape flower, as well as cut comb honey, set and runny blended honey. Waitrose stocks the latter two. John moves his hives according to the flowering season. The first crop of the year is rape in spring, while the last of the year is heather. He has arrangements with local farmers, so is able to place his hives in the middle of fields. His hives can be found as far afield as New Forest, Andover and Frensham Common. When they first started, John and Dinny travelled to fairs and charity events, but they are so well known for their prizewinning honey, they even have a fan base in Japan, and could sell their honey many times over. ‘We don’t want to expand because we want to keep the business manageable,’ explains John. ‘My grandfather was a beekeeper, so it must be in my blood. I find the process endlessly fascinating. Little has changed in the complex social organisation of bees for centuries. You can’t tame them, you can only manoeuvre them into doing what you want; it still gives me a thrill to open up the hive and see thousands of bees going about their different tasks.’ Does he get stung? ‘You can’t expect to keep bees and not get stung,’ he laughs. ‘I have a protective suit, but sometimes you have to use your bare hands in the hive. I am completely immune now, and have even benefited as bee stings are said to cure arthritis, and I no longer suffer from arthritis.’ V
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