Honey.

It’s my sweetener of choice and it shows up in a lot of recipes on this blog. There are so many varieties, how do you choose what to buy? We all know about the cute little squeezy-bear in the grocery store. Then there’s the opaque, light gold kind that almost look like butter. Dark, light; runny, solid; wildflower, fruit…

Here’s how we choose: we go to a local market and buy something that has the name of a farm from Michigan, Ohio, or Indiana on it. We want it raw and unfiltered — as pure as we can get it. Right now we have a five-pound jar from T.M. Klein and Sons in St. Charles, MI, and we found it at Westborn Market on Woodward in Royal Oak. Although research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of honey combating allergy symptoms, it does seem to work for some people with certain allergies, and it certainly doesn’t hurt.

And we want to know where it came from. This article sheds light on the numerous reasons why you should be picky about your sticky. The best bad scenario? All the stuff that makes honey honey has been filtered out. The worst case scenario? You could have toxins and heavy metals in there. Just like with any food you eat, the more you know, the better off you are.

Grab a jar from a table at your local farmer’s market. Increasingly, traditional grocery stores are stocking local brands. A little goes a long way and it’s the one natural food that never goes bad, so get a big jar and you’ll be able to dip into it for a long time.