Suffering from seasonal allergies? Honey might be the answer. Honey contains small amounts of the plant pollen that bees collect which, when eaten on a regular basis, can reduce sensitivity in people who are allergic to that pollen. Problem is, the honey has to be local to have the right pollens. A little hair of the dog that bit ya, I guess.
Better yet, local honey puts more money in the hands of the beekeepers, isn't schlepped from China by container ship and helps out an industry that is instrumental in the pollination of Florida blueberry, citrus, watermelon and strawberry crops. And it tastes good on toast.
You can find mass-produced local honey at a few supermarkets, but local bottler Eden's Nectar can do one better. They source all of their honey from the West Central Florida Beekeeper's Co-op and mark the bottles with the season during which it was produced. That allows allergy sufferers to target the seasons that give them the most sniffles or connoisseurs to sample a wider variety of flavors.
You can find Eden's Nectar honey vendors at the Dunedin Green Market and the Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg, as well at a few local stores listed on its website (edensnectar.com).
This article appears in Jan 23-29, 2008.