Address: 4150 Blenkinsop Rd. (Galey Farms)
Website: http://www.babes-honey-farm.com/
Price: $10-15 jar
Notes: Babe's Honey is back, baby!
Like many Victoria residents, Babe's Honey was a staple of our cupboard and grocery store shelf for many years. My partner-in-food-and-life remembers when 'Babe' used to make deliveries to the corner store we both worked at when we met. We were devastated when we heard that there had been misconduct in the finances of the business since her death, and they were closing their doors, and then excited again when news broke that some of the staff had purchased the necessary pieces to keep the honey going...
Fast forward to this year, when I saw this fantastic video cross my twitter feed (and if you haven't watched it, take a few minutes and do it's worth the lolz!)
I was listening to Don Genova & Joanne Roberts chat about the return of Babe's Honey on the CBC recently, so when we were driving back 'the slow way' from Sidney and my p.i.f.a.l. said "do you want to stop for some babes honey?"my response was more emphatic and immediate than when I responded to the marriage proposal.
They have taken over the barn area of Galey Farms, and set up a gorgeous display of their products, which also include wax candles and soap. I was excited by their sampler station, where you can squirt a dollop of the different honeys on to a tongue depressor to taste a wee sample before making your purchasing choice.
Honey:
May 26, 2012
Right now, because they are in a rebuilding year, the honey for sale is actually not from Babe's bees, but from a selection of the best honey from around the province.
The honeys on sample that day were:
- Clover leaf - this tastes like 'honey' to me.
- Wildflower - similar to the clover leaf, but less intense. This is the flavour I had always bought in the past, so it also had that essence of 'honey'!
- Baking honey - apparently this was from a big batch of honey that got baked for too long, and caramelized. It had an interesting quality to it - apparently it's great for making sauces or putting in into baking
- Raspberry Blossom - this was our favourite, sweet but not overpowering!
- Blueberry - this was sold out (sadface!) but also interestingly flavoured. You could totally taste essence of blueberry in there, and it was quite a lot sweeter than any of the others!
Raspberry & baking honey
We left with both Raspberry & Baking honey. I had a loving spoonful of the raspberry given to me this morning and it was so delicious! I am so happy to have a restocking of our cupboard with that familiar jar!Service:
May 26, 2012
I couldn't place where I knew the staff person from while I was in the store, but as I started to write this this morning I realized he was my high school math teacher (oh, Victoria!). A quick google informs me that it is his son who is one of the staff members who got the honey flowing again. He was super friendly and helpful, horsing around with the kids in the store and answering all our questions about the honey. Thanks, Mr. Schwartz!
