There is a lot of Ohio honey out there, and, in spite of the legitimate bee population problem, buckeye state honey is pretty easy to find.
But German Village Honey? That’s a new breed of bird, or bug, rather. That’s honey from the very center of the Columbus urban core, from a place where you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find an arsenal of hives that are sufficiently productive to support a retail honey operation.
But Nina’s is just that. According to the Internet, the proprietor, Nina Bagly, has been in the bee business for about a decade, sporting multiple hives at multiple properties in Columbus — hives that produce a tidy annual bounty of hundreds of pounds of honey.
Nina’s German Village Honey is sold in jars that are labeled as 100 percent pure raw honey. Regular big-box honey typically goes through a pasteurization process wherein it’s heated to a super-high temperature. Some people argue that raw honey has unique health benefits, although it’s not recommended for the immunocompromised or infants. Research also suggests that local honey is well-suited to address allergy issues related to pollen.
Nina’s honey labels indicate the sort of diet upon which the production team sustains itself: the variant tested was back yard summer wild flower. Unscrew the lid on a one-pound jar, and the unmistakable luxe aroma of honey wafts up. The contents are smooth and taste like (spoiler alert) honey.
So, it’s probably better to appreciate the fancy local honey side-by-side with a conventional, big-box Honey Bear sort of honey. What the tasting team found was that the Bear delivers an aggressive sort of honey flavor. It hits hard at first taste. In contrast, Nina’s raw version is smooth and subtle. It’s a richer, full-bodied flavor and mouthfeel.
You can find Nina’s German Village Honey at local grocers such as The Hills downtown.
For more information, visit ohioqueenbee.com.