Becketts Farm Honey

Our stock of Becketts Farm honey is back in store, and it flies off the shelves so quickly each year. Produced under two miles away from our store on our farmland in Earlswood, this really is local honey in every sense of the word.

Bee keeper, Andrew draws the honey from a small colony of bees just down the road from here. On average a bee travels less than a mile from its hive for food, so the honey is produced from the nectar of local plants and flowers.

This sweet treat should be enjoyed in moderation. However, throughout the ages the health benefits of honey have been researched, debated and contested. From antibacterial properties in wound healing (it was used to treat wounds in WW2), to skincare; claims of alleviating hayfever symptoms, to antioxidants for improved heart health this golden nectar has its fair share of good press.

For me, I love using honey in sweet and savoury cooking. One of my signature bakes is a spiced honey and nut bundt cake. During the summer months, honey adds its distinctly sweet dimension to marinades for BBQ meats. Check out this recipe for BBQ Pork Belly. The sugar from the honey causes the meat to char slightly giving an irresistible, crisp bite.

On the Farm

Last year, we sowed wild flowers and vetches (clovers) across many parts of our headlands (the areas around our fields where we plant our main crops). In total last year we planted 8 miles of headland. That’s the equivalent distance of a dual carriageway from the Farm Shop to the centre of Birmingham! The flowers included borage, poppies, oxidaisies and sunflowers.

The wild flowers that we have invested in support bees that play a vital role in our environment, pollinating not only the crops to ensure yields are healthy for food production but also encouraging other important vegetation in our countryside for us to enjoy.

Next time you travel down the A435 from Redditch direction to visit, take a look in the fields to your left. The very final field before Becketts has sunflowers planted, which we hope will begin to bloom very soon.

Bee-spiration from our Farm Shop

Do you love our nation’s bees like me? We’ve got plenty of bee themed products in our Farm Shop. The Eco-Chic range aims to reduce plastic use and we stock their patterned lunchboxes, coffee cups and re-usable shopping bags. The bee print is just so bright and colourful! Everyone loves a bee-pun and the cute ‘Bee Happy’ mug is sure to make a friend smile as a ‘just because’ gift.

Love honey? You’ll love Mead too. It’s a medieval drink made by fermenting honey with water and some spices. The Lyme Bay version in our Farm Shop is made in the traditional way in Devon. It can be enjoyed hot or cold. You probably can’t imagine anything worse than enjoying it hot whilst we are in the midst of a heatwave, but it’s really cosy and comforting on a cold winter’s evening. Trust me!

New product alert!

Tigg’s Sauces are super versatile and can be used as marinades, dressings or a simple sauce. One flavour pairs honey with beetroot, a match made in heaven. The honey draws out the natural sweetness of the beetroot and this dressing is simply superb. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it than drizzled over a fresh goats cheese salad with toasted croutons.