Making Huckleberry Honey-

__________________________________________________________________________________

Huck honey is a fermented honey infusion made with simply honey and huckleberries. You can do this process with most berries, herbs, fruits, flowers, and many other ingredients like garlic or pine needles. Huck honey is a great specialty treat that has a very high amount of anti-oxidants, but other fermented honeys are used for a rage of uses, often including medicinal use. To get started, you'll want to harvest some huckleberries! Huckleberries are most commonly found in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. They thrive in higher elevations on exposed mountain sides, peaks, and gullies. Harvesting huckleberries is slow and time consuming process, but VERY well worth your time. Next you'll want to acquire some honey, preferably raw local honey. I usually find a great selection of raw and local honey at any farmers market, flea markets, and even local health foods or grocery stores. Its important to use the most high quality honey in this process to make the process worth your time. Local honey helps negate allergens that arise from your local fauna. Once you harvest your huckleberries it might be temping to rinse them but it is best to keep them unrinsed for this process, Huckleberries (and most fruits, berries, herbs, etc.) contain natural yeasts that will cultivate the fermenting propionates we are looking for in this process. From my experience, the huckleberry honey starts molding before you can complete the fermentation phase if you rinse the huckleberries. Simply pick out any stems, leaves and debris you might have collected while harvesting. It is also important to use fresh huckleberries that have not been refrigerated for the same reason. Cold temperatures can kill some of those natural yeasts we are looking for.

- First, you'll want to start with a clean, dry glass jar to avoid any contamination. - Next, you'll want to add your unrinsed huckleberries, the jar you are filling should be about 1/3 of the way filled of huckleberries. - After that you'll fill the rest of the space in your jar with your honey until its just below the lip of the jar. You'll also want to get all the air bubbles out using a chopstick, skewer, knife, or something similar in shape. - Using a breathable piece of cotton or cheese cloth, cover the jar and use a rubber band to secure the cheese cloth (or cotton) and let set at room temperature for 2 days. - After 2 days, mix the huck honey once every day for 10 days. The mixture should slowly start turning purple and become less viscous, thinning out. - After the mixture has started thinning out you'll want to store it the the refrigerator, still covered with the cheese cloth or cotton fabric and continue stirring it once a day until the mixture is fully purple and just about the same consistency as maple syrup. - Once the mixture is completely thinned out, you'll want to strain it with either cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer. - Once strained, store in air tight containers in the fridge or store in glass jars with the same breathable cotton or cheese cloth fabric secured with a rubber band if storing at room temperature. This recipe is tedious and can get ruined if you don't pay attention to it everyday, keep an eye out for mold growing on the top layer of hucks every time you are stirring the mixture, especially if you are making this recipe in the heat of the summer and don't have a controlled climate in your home. Hope you enjoy and good luck!