SSFC | Dunc's Raw Honey
Regular price $10.00 $10.00Got Hives?
As a 9 year old boy, Duncan saw his first open beehive and resulting honeycomb. This spurned his love for beekeeping and honey ever since. After a detour career in the army, Duncan is now a certified apiarist and manages several hives on orchards and properties all over the Sutherland Shire and surrounds.
Dunc and his hives were even featured on The Living Room in October 2021
We are proud to stock Dunc's honey in store. Available in 500g, 1Kg and, if you're asking, even 3Kg!
Get ready for Christmas sweets baking and ham basting. You'll make a big difference by using Dunc's honey.
See below for Manual Maestre's yummy honey swiss roll (or Buche de Noel) for an amazing Christmas treat.
What is Raw Honey?
Simply put, Raw Honey is honey that is extracted from a bee hive and put straight in a jar for eating.
It's unheated, unpasteurised, unprocessed, and totally natural, so it's much better for you!
Most home apiarists (that’s beekeeper’s to the rest of us!) pull the frames out, take the caps off the wax, then spin the honey in a centrifugal contraption forcing the honey out of the honeycomb. So, what’s left is not only honey, but other naturally occurring ingredients like pollen and other enzymes which have proven nutritional benefits.
Coming Soon in 2022: Dunc's Honey demonstation at Fora Studios store in Jannali. Stay tuned for more information.
What is the difference between Raw Honey and honey you’d buy from a supermarket?
Much like raw fruit and vegetables (straight from the farm, uncooked, unprocessed), Raw Honey is unprocessed as well. Commercial honey is usually pasteurised (heated above 70C then cooled rapidly), blended with honey from various locations and suppliers, and is heavily filtered to remove anything that isn’t clear liquid. The heating also assists them in the bottling process. Any beekeeper knows great honey is usually beautifully thick and golden. Might take longer to get in the jar, but it’s certainly worth the wait!
Unfortunately by pasteurising and filtering the honey, it destroys the delicate aromas of the honey, as well as beneficial yeast and enzymes. The health benefits of yeast and enzymes are that they activate vitamins and minerals in the body.
Store bought honey is also heavily blended. One of the beauties of Raw Honey is that the colour, texture and flavour is different depending on where the bees have been located and the time of year the honey has been extracted. But one thing is for certain, it’s always an amazing flavour that is far different to what you’d get from commercial honey found in the supermarket.
How you can support your local beekeepers?
Home Beekeepers sometimes sell their honey outside their houses using an honesty box. Support your local beekeepers and pick up a jar or two. Not only will you get the most delicious honey you’ve ever tasted, the bees that made that honey have also pollinated countless numbers of plants in that neighbourhood, helping gardens grow and plants flourish. Maybe even yours!
Fora Studios in Jannali, New South Wales sells Dunc's Raw Honey so we list them here too. They’re also supplied by local beekeepers who’d just prefer to sell all their honey to a store. Fora Studios helps look after the local beekeepers, so please help by supporting them with your purchase of some delicious Raw Honey! And if you are local Sutherland Shire beekeeper interested in stocking your honey in our store and on our website, please email Laura at southensydneyfoodcollective@gmail.com
What can I make with Honey?
The options are almost endless but why not try Miguel Maestre's Honey Swiss Roll that was featured on The Living Room, using Dunc's Honey. Recipe courtesty of Channel 10 and Miguel Maestre.
Ingredients
Cake Base
Honey Cream
Chocolate Honey Ganache
Steps
- For the cake base, crumble the iced cakes into a large bowl. Using your hands, mix until well combined and sticky.
- Transfer the cake mixture to a 40cm sheet of cling film and roughly shape it into a rectangle. Top with another sheet of cling film and roll out to a 25cmx 35cm rectangle. Using a sharp knife, trim the edges to neaten.
- For the honey cream, combine the cream, vanilla seeds and honey in a large bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Spread the honey cream evenly over the cake base. Starting from the short edge, roll the cake away from you, using the cling wrap to lift and roll over to form a log shape. Carefully place on a cooling rack set over a tray.
- For the chocolate honey ganache put the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Heat the cream and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- As the cream mixture comes to a simmer, remove from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate, whisking until melted and glossy.
- Pour the ganache over the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.
- To serve, scatter the cake with the honeycomb pieces.
