Where to buy raw honey, etc.

I am looking to buy several jars of raw honey. I did some research and hit on a few sources but I would like to get some opinions on what is best.

I found there is a Chicago honey coop that exists and their products can be purchased at a variety of places.

http://www.chicagohoneycoop.com/

I also found that there is something called Bron's Bee Farms and their honey can also be purchased in a variety of places.

http://www.heritageprairiefarm.com/bronsbees.htm

In looking for these sources I also came across and interesting place called Moo Grass Farms offering a variety of local foods mainly dairy products.

http://www.moograssfarms.com/

Unfortunately the food is very expensive!!! Over ten dollars in some cases for a pound of butter!!!

Anyway, if anyone else has any suggestions on where to buy local raw honey please post to this thread.

We buy raw honey (Bron's) from Heritage Prairie Farm all of the time. We mostly buy the plain but they also have flavors that include lavender and my partner's favorite.... chocolate! They still have their farmer's market Saturday morning but their store is open during the week as well, hours are on their website. They are just a little west of Randall Road on Rte. 38 (Roosevelt Road)

I'm 97.3% certain that the last few jars of raw honey I purchased were from Whole Foods.

FWIW, I suffer from some seasonal allergies and a doctor suggested that I regularly consumer local, raw honey in an effort to build up some resistance to local pollens. (I'm going for it in as close to its pure state as possible.) I can't swear that it works, but what's not to like about a spoonful of honey a day?

While I am not 100% certain you can qualify this as raw honey, Sunny Hill Honey is my honey of choice. You can find more information here http://www.sunnyhillhoney.com/Home_Page.html. Based on the web page, the honey is heated, but apparently not to pasteurization levels. They describe it pretty well at the web site.

First found this at the Woodstock farmer's market. The first time I bought it, there was a dead bee floating at the top of the honey bottle when I opened it. That pretty much made me a customer for life.

I buy it during the non-farmer's market season at Joe Caputo's in Algonquin. According to the web site, you will find it all over Chicagoland.

Hope this helps.

chgoeditor wrote:I'm 97.3% certain that the last few jars of raw honey I purchased were from Whole Foods.

FWIW, I suffer from some seasonal allergies and a doctor suggested that I regularly consumer local, raw honey in an effort to build up some resistance to local pollens. (I'm going for it in as close to its pure state as possible.) I can't swear that it works, but what's not to like about a spoonful of honey a day?

I spent some time many years ago at a farm outside of Geneva (and yes, after 40 some years, it is still a working farm) The dad of the family had allergies and every day he would have a half glass of local raw honey and cider vinegar. It helped him a lot. I have done this myself recently when the pollen was quite high, I had minimum problems over previous years.

Just looked and the brand I bought was "Some Honey Co." from New Lisbon, WI. (It was the raw honey sourced closest to Chicago at Whole Foods.) It's advertised as Raw - Natural - Unfiltered.

I just wanted to note, for benefit of others looking for where to buy raw honey in Chicago, that we are keeping bees in the Irving Park neighborhood. We have two hives in our backyard that we keep purely for the enjoyment and the good of the local flora but it does mean we have more honey than we can consume ourselves.

If you are interested in truly local and raw unfiltered honey from a known single source (as opposed to a regional blend), I would encourage you to check out http://sloanstead.com We are not a commercial operation with thousands of hives so you won't find us in the shelves of your favorite store however since our honey comes from a single source that is extracted by hand with great care, it will be distinctly different from what you buy in the store. Light, delicate, slightly floral with hints of mint.