Thank you, Chicago Park District; you make delicious honey. With the help of the Chicago Honey Co-op's bees, that is.
From their hives in West Lawndale, the bees scour the city for nectar, turning summer blooms into intensely floral honey. As the flowers change, so does the flavor: The spring/summer harvest that's hitting markets this weekend will give way to darker, more buttery honey come fall.
But the texture of the unheated, unprocessed honey stays constant. Lightly crystallized and grainy with bits of bee pollen (said to be a remedy for seasonal allergies), it's far from a nondescript sweetener.
Try it drizzled on toast, on roasted fruit, or in cocktails (dissolve in alcohol before adding ice). Or go to Bluebird wine bar for a salad of roasted beets with sherry vinegar, Co-op honey, and goat cheese ($8), or Lula Café for a cheese plate with Co-op honey and panforte ($10).
The new harvest will be sold online and at the Green City Market, Logan Square, and Oak Park farmers' markets the weekend of July 11, and at the Goddess and Grocer, Green Grocer and Marguerite Gardens soon thereafter.
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