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Our TRULY LOCAL, RAW, PURE, NATURAL New Jersey HONEY

Our local, natural, pure and raw NJ honey comes directly from the hive, bottled in jars labeled to show the location of origin - typically a town in central NJ's Somerset, Mercer and Hunterdon counties. Much of our honey is produced on locations owned by friends and benefactors who allow us to place beehives on their property. And, many of the bottles we produce have labels that are unique to them.

Our Current Offerings

Princeton Honey is natural, pure, local and raw honey produced by bees living in multiple bee yards all within 4 miles of downtown Princeton, N.J. Limited 2011 production.

Hillsborough Honey is natural, pure, local and raw honey produced by bees living in multiple bee yards in Hillsborough Township, NJ. Limited 2011 production.

Hopewell Honey is natural, pure, local and raw honey produced by bees living in multiple bee yards in Hopewell borough and the surrounding Hopewell Valley of NJ. Limited 2011 production.

Natural, pure and unprocessed (i.e., raw) NJ Honey is a mixture of natural, pure, raw honeys from bee yards in Somerset, Mercer and Hunterdon counties of Central New Jersey. All the benefits of local honey since flora is essentially identical in these 3 central NJ counties.

What Actually is in the Jar? A Word to the Wise Consumer...
Honey that is sold locally (e.g. at farm stands, local shops) often has the name and address of the supplier as required by law - usually a beekeeper. The address is to be interpreted as a business address - and ALMOST NEVER the location where bees made the honey. Many beekeepers simply repack or purchase bottled honey from wholesale suppliers without the jar label indicating the actual source. If not specifically indicated on the label, the source of the honey must be ascertained separately by the consumer - unfortunately not always easy or even possible to do. A honey jar with a central NJ address may contain honey from New York state, North Carolina, Florida, and even China or India. Furthermore, honey jars simply labeled as "New Jersey Honey" can and have been known to contain whatever type (one or more) of honey was available at the time of bottling... wildflower, clover, blueberry and cranberry blossom, or combinations thereof. And honey sold under the often seen "local honey" signs may actually be "local" a hundred miles away. Unfortunately, more often than not, its "buyer beware!". Honey labeling laws are almost non-existent in NJ, but rest assured that our Bamboo Hollow Apiaries & Honey Farms jar labels always indicate the origin of our natural, local, pure, raw honey.

Our labels always indicate the origin of our natural, local, pure, raw honey. Like any packaged foods, business addresses should never be interpreted as the source.

Natural vs. Commercial Honey

Our "Local, natural, pure, raw honey" means that the honey you buy is as it existed in the beehive located as indicated on our label. No destructive heat above 105 F. or so is applied during extraction and bottling. This is the same temperature that a hive may sustain in the NJ summer months. Even at room temperature, honey will not flow well - so a little warmth helps when we manually bottle it. Some filtering is done (with a stainless steel strainer) to remove the larger bits of wax and such which comes off the honeycomb when the honey is extracted.

Natural pure raw honey contains minerals, valuable enzymes, pollen and possibly small particles of wax and other debris. Natural raw honey may have a cloudy appearance because of the included pollen - and may also tend to crystallize more quickly than commercially produced honey. Most commercially available honey is a blend - a mixture of honeys differing in floral source, color, flavor, density or geographic origin. It is also heat-treated - up to 180F, after extraction from the bee hive. This reduces the moisture level, destroys yeast cells and enzymes, and liquefies crystals in the honey but providing the manufacturer with the knowledege that it will look crystal clear on the shelf for a long time. Heat-exposure may also results in product deterioration, effects sensory qualities, reduces freshness and can darken the natural honey color. Finally, commercial honey is also micro-filtered to remove pollen, considered one of the values of raw honey.

Honey Flavor & Color

Based on the nectar sources (i.e. types of flowering plants) that are found within a few miles of each beehive's location, the flavor and color of the honey will vary. Color and taste will also vary with the seasons - as flowering plants come and go with the advance of summer and fall. We typically extract and bottle most of our honey in the late summer and fall - and leave substantial amounts for the bees to feed on for the ensuing winter months. We usually also leave the bees' mid-fall nectar collection. This usually ensures sufficient winter food stores - and avoids the need to supplement the bees' food stores with psugar syrup supplements. A typical hive in New Jersey needs about 60 lbs. of honey to survive the winter!

In general, wildflower honeys from south-central to northern NJ will tend to have a similar taste since there is little variability in the flowers and flowering trees that grow in this region. And neither will the makeup of the honey (e.g. pollen) vary very much - unless of course the bees are located in areas that have a predominance of one plant over another (e.g. pollinating blueberry and cranberry fields in southern New Jersey).

Allergy Relief ?

Local natural raw wildflower honey is sought by allergy sufferers as the pollen in the honey is thought to lessen the sensitivity to hay fever and allergies. The location of honey production helps in selecting the honey that will best meet the needs of customers who are treating their allergies with local honey. That is, honey produced close to where the customer lives is thought to have more of the pollen types that the customer breathes normally. See our Allergy Relief web page for a more on this topic.

Where Can You Buy Our Honey Products?

We generally sell our honey and other bee products primarily through natural food stores, specialty shops, and local farm stands. See our Sales Locations web page.

Our Extraordinary Honey Jar Labels

Our benefactors allow us to keep hives on their property. In turn, our bees pollinate their gardens and crops, and we get local honey. We also at times create special jar labels for the honey we produce. Below are some samples of labels we have designed over the years for very localized honey productions.

2011	2010, 2011	2010, 2011	2010 *also Kingston, Hillsborough, etc.
2009, 2010	2009, 2010	2010	2009
2009	2009 also Princeton, Hopewell, Ringoes, etc.	2009	2009
2010, 2011