Garden to Table: Herbal Infused Honey

The possibilities of herbal infusions for both health and flavor really are endless from basic tea to your favorite herbal/flower vinegar. You can use your fresh picked from the garden herbs in tea, honey, vinegar, aromatic pastes, cooking salts, mix up fragrant cocktails, etc. I love these herbal concoctions because they are simple, straightforward and a great way to concentrate and preserve herbs.

Below is a recipe for a herbal infused honey that can be used in tea, baking, marinades, salad dressing, drizzled over ice cream, fresh fruit or as a sweetener for your favorite summer tea or lemonade. Learn more ways to infuse herbs along with recipes, proper techniques, materials and storing methods at Elizabeth's Herbal Infusion Workshop. See our workshop calendar for upcoming classes. 

Lavender Infused honey

Ingredients:

Fresh or dried lavender leaves - if using fresh, make sure the herbs dry out from any excess water completely (see safety note below)
Honey (preferably raw honey from a local bee keeper)

Other herbs that lend well with honey include Lemon Balm, Chamomile, Basil, Sage, Peppermint, Texas Tarragon, Rosemary, and Thyme are just a few of the many options.

Equipment

Clean, dry jars and lids
Chopstick, wooden spoon handle, or other stirrer (avoid metal, which can scratch jars)
Clean cloth for wiping jar rims
Strainer

Method:

Fill a clean mason jar halfway with fresh herbs or a quarter full with dried herbs.

Top with honey, stir, and cap with a tight-fitting lid. Important that the herbs are completely submerged in honey. Wipe the jar rim with a clean cloth and cover tightly. Place in a sunny windowsill, and turn the jar over once per day. 

Tip: Label the jar with the contents and date so you don't forget!

Allow to infuse for a week or longer, then strain once the desired flavor has been achieved. The longer the honey sits the more fragrant and flavorful it becomes.

Strain the honey into a clean jar. Seal tightly and use within one year. 

American Beautyberry

The pale pink blooms of American Beautyberry, Callicarpa Americana, appear in early summer, clustered along the arching branches of this deciduous native shrub. The flowers are highly attractive to pollinators and are followed by showy clusters of bright purple fruit. The purple fruit are edible and favored by birds, like catbirds and mockingbirds, for fall and winter forage.

Beautyberry is tough and easy to grow. It’s not picky about soil conditions and is often found growing naturally in the woods and more wild yards (planted by birds that have feasted on its fruit). It grows in sun and shade, but flowers and fruits best when it gets full, direct sun for at least part of the day. The berries are edible, but mostly flavorless and not sweet. Some industrious folks make a jelly with them – lots of sugar added! They are however, very ornamental and may be used to add a pop of color to cakes, salads, etc. The crushed leaves have been used traditionally stuffed into horse harnesses or rubbed on skin to repel mosquitos. Recently scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's research division isolated three beautyberry compounds effective in repelling biting insects: callicarpenal, intermedeol and spathulenol. In particular, the callicarpenal proved to be as effective as DEET in fighting mosquitoes. Other tests found beautyberry compounds also repelled ticks and fire ants.

Beautyberry blooms in the morning light here at Native Nurseries.

Clusters of attractive beautyberries. Great food for wildlife. 

Meet Our Resident Banded Water Snake!

Every snake plays a necessary role in the functioning of our varied and delicate Florida ecosystems. Although much maligned and feared, most snakes you come across are non-venomous and none of them are threatening or aggressive unless they feel threatened by you.

Yesterday, Brian picked up one of our resident Banded Water snakes to give customers an up close look at this NON-VENOMOUS, beneficial snake. We like having these fellows around, they are never aggressive and always flee if you get too close. They also play a vital role in our ecosystem and they definitely help keep the rodents in check! 

Sadly, they are often killed by folks who mistake them for the VENOMOUS Water Moccasin (also known as Cottonmouth). The non-venomous Banded Water snake has very similar coloration, as it is in fact mimicking the Moccasin's appearance to scare off potential predators.

You can differentiate between the two snakes by looking at the shape of their head and eye structure. The venomous Water Moccasin / Cottonmouth has a sharply angular, triangle shaped head and eyes with slit pupils - like a cat's eye. I have included two photos of the venomous Water Moccasin/Cottonmouth for comparison. And to reiterate, though the Water Moccasins are venomous they, and other venomous snakes play an important role in our Florida ecology and are not aggressive unless they feel threatened. Leave them in peace and give them space and they will do the same.

ABOVE: Non-Venomous Banded Water Snake - notice the eyes and rounded head along with the black bands around the mouth.

BELOW: The venomous Water Moccasin/Cottonmouth has a sharply angular, triangle shaped head and eyes with slit pupils - like a cat's eye.