Stirring the Cauldron

New Moon Newsletters from Jessica Prentice

New Mead Moon

July moondark kitchen notes
from Jessica Prentice

Happy New Mead Moon! The moon is new at 3:27 this morning on the West Coast, 6:27am on the East, and so we are moving into the month called the Mead Moon in the 16th Century English calendar. The word "mead" may conjure images of ancient beer halls filled with drunken men sloshing their overflowing goblets around -- at least it did for me for many years, until I started to read more about mead. The images it conjures now are a bit more timeless and mystical: a solitary beekeeper under a tree in a wildflower meadow or perched on a craggy rock, collecting honey.

Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from honey, a kind of honey-wine or honey-beer. One scholar who studied the subject writes of mead: "It is so ancient a beverage that the linguistic root for mead, "medhu", is the same in all Indo-European languages where it encompasses an entire range of meanings, which include "honey," "sweet," "intoxicating," "drunk," and "drunkenness." For this reason it has been suggested that fermented honey may be the oldest form of alcohol known to man."

Certainly gathering honey is an ancient practice, predating agriculture and thus predating our growing of grapes -- used to make wine -- and also predating the growing of grains such as barley -- used to make beers. Scientists estimate that bees became bees on this planet just shortly before our earliest human ancestors evolved, and thus humans and bees have been co-travelers and companions on earth across many millennia.

Over the years I have gained a very deep respect for and appreciation of honey. I began to be intrigued when I read about how important honey is in Ayurveda. Many Ayurvedic remedies are crushed into a powder and then administered in a spoonful of honey. I was in the north of India years ago and went to a traditional Ayurvedic practitioner for treatment of a minor but irritating eczema outbreak. He broke up what looked like thin metal balls into a mortar and pestle, crushed them to a powder, and fed me a bit of it worked into honey, telling me to take some this way each day. At the time, I was under the misguided impression that honey was a bad thing, not a health food, and inquired about alternatives. He looked at me strangely, then assured me I could use something else as a medium for the medicine, but that honey was best. I later learned that it was more than just a matter of "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

In Ayurveda, raw honey is itself medicine, whereas cooked honey is considered poison. There are some scientific bases for this belief: raw honey is teeming with active enzymes, which are de-activated at 117 degrees, fahrenheit. Sally Fallon, in her wonderful book Nourishing Traditions writes: "A Russian study of the inhabitants of the province of Georgia, where many live to 100 years and a few to age 150, revealed that many of these centenarians were beekeepers who often ate raw, unprocessed honey with all its 'impurities,' that is, with the pollen. Bee pollen contains 22 amino acids including the eight essential ones, 27 minerals and the full gamut of vitamins, hormones and fatty acids. Most importantly, bee pollen contains more than 5,000 enzymes and coenzymes... many of which have immediate detoxifying effects..." It is said that our own term "honeymoon" comes from an ancient European practice: newly-weds would eat nothing but honey for the first 30 days (one moon cycle) after marriage in order to increase their fertility and the possibility of an immediate pregnancy.

Honey itself has been found to possess antibiotic, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, expectorant, anti-allergenic, laxative, anti-anemic, anti-fungal, immune-stimulating, nutritive and tonic properties. Bee pollen has been found to be effective in treating allergies, bacterial infections, asthma, capillary weakness, chronic fatigue, immune depression, menopausal symptoms, nutritional disorders, prostate problems, chronic cystitis, and urinary tract infections. As if we needed a reason to eat honey other than its wonderful flavor.

I am now an enthusiastic honey-eater. I buy local, raw, unfiltered honey at the farmer's market. Local honey is made by bees who collect the pollen of local plants, and eating it daily often greatly alleviates the suffering of those with pollen allergies. It only works if the honey is local and the bees are collecting the pollen of the irritating plants. And it only works if you don't cook the honey. I also buy some of the bee pollen from these beekeepers, and keep the pollen in a jar in my freezer. One of my favorite snacks is a bowl of yogurt (whole-milk, cream-top, organic), with honey and bee pollen stirred in. The bee pollen begins to dissolve into the yogurt and turns it a pale golden color. Sometimes I add a splash of vanilla extract, too. My five-year old nephew was recently in town, and enthusiastically ate many bowls of "vanilla yogurt" -- this same mixture minus the extra pollen.

I also put raw honey on my morning porridge, which I am still making almost daily in my little white crock pot, and spread it on whole wheat sourdough bread along with butter or peanut butter. Another winner with my nephew. (By the way, infants under 1 year old shouldn't eat honey) I stir it into hot tea when I have a cold, along with lemon, but try to wait until the tea is cooled down some -- enough so that I can hold my finger tip in it without burning -- so as not to kill the enzymes or turn it to 'poison'! Sometimes in the evenings we have a little warm milk with honey, or warm milk with honey and vanilla, or warm milk with saffron and cardamom, as a soothing treat. On hot days (and we've had plenty lately) I make honey lemonade by shaking fresh squeezed lemon juice, honey, bee pollen and a little warm water up in a jar, and then pouring it over ice. Very refreshing.

Don't worry about looking for "organic" honey. Bees are wild beings, and forage for pollen from whatever suitable flowers and trees they find. They probably aren't interested in plants that have been sprayed with pesticides, for the obvious reason. But they probably won't eschew plants that have been fertilized either. There are a few honeys that are collected from bees in hives in the midst of a huge organic orange orchard or lavender field, which may be called organic. But the most important thing when it comes to honey is to buy raw and local. Local honeys protect you from local pollens. There are more and more beekeepers who are keeping hives in suburban and even urban areas. One such beekeeper in San Francisco is able to offer neighborhood-specific honeys, such as "Nob Hill Honey," and "Haight-Ashbury Honey." Remember that bees are not just great honey-makers, they are vital pollinators, and a crucial part of any healthy ecosystem, including a backyard garden. Buying local honey supports the vitality and self-sufficiency of the natural world where you live, be it big city or countryside.

Honey, I've been told, is the only natural food that doesn't spoil. It has been found perfectly preserved in caves dating from ancient times. Someday, maybe during a future Mead Moon, I'll try making my own mead, as a way of connecting with my ancestors. In the meantime, I'll eat as much raw local honey as I want to -- I just won't put it in my cauldron.

On another note: I was very happy to see the New York Times Magazine publish a front page article this past Sunday that questions the validity of the "low-fat" propaganda we've been hearing for so many years. I wish the article went a step further and discussed the importance of pasture-feeding our cattle and creating humane, sustainable environments for all our food-source animals, but it is still a very important step in furthering the discussion about diet. I encourage everyone to read it. I have an electronic copy I can forward to you, just email me if you're interested. And I would love to add anyone to the list who might be interested -- let me know your address and I'll add you to the list.

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer and a happy honey moon!