Honey costs

September 21, 2011 - 9:28 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Business, Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness 

Squeezable silan on the left, and honey on the right

It’s honey time, and looks like Israeli honey costs 3.5 times more than American honey, according to the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies. Surprised?

Yes, the price of honey is up 26% in five years. Given the price of cottage cheese, it’s not all that astounding to hear that honey is also pricey.

According to the JIMS, the average price of honey in the United States is 28% of the average price in Israel. JIMS also notes that honey is twice as expensive as it is in England, while Canada, Mexico, Argentina and China offer honey for export at 15% less than the price of Israeli honey.

That’s a lot, considering that 40% of Israel’s annual honey consumption takes place during the upcoming chagim period, particularly on Rosh Hashanah. According to JIMS economist Keren Harel-Harari, “Israelis will consume 1,500 tons of honey in one month, valued at NIS 60 million. An average Israeli will eat 300 grams of honey.”

Harel-Harari says the reasons for the high cost of honey are the same as the reasons dairy products and cheeses are expensive – government policy and over-centralization of the industry.

According to the Honey Council, two-thirds of the price goes to retailers; honey imports are discouraged, so Israel imports from only 7 of 56 approved countries. Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, the largest honeymaker, has a market share of over 50%. Not surprising to hear in this country of monopolies. But, still, honey is honey and Rosh Hashanah is Rosh Hashanah. I guess we can all save a little and buy the regular jars instead of the cool, squeezable ones. Yet, still, the old-fashioned jars don’t do honey like the new ones.

Here’s to a sweet new year.

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Foto Friday – Apples & Honey

September 17, 2009 - 11:35 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Holidays 

One of the more lovely traditions of Rosh Hashana is eating apples dipped honey to symbolize our hopes for a sweet new year. At this season, you start seeing apples and honey everywhere. Body artist Flora certainly does…
flora_apple_bodyart

Dorit “Dot” Malin, a talented architectural and stage lighting designer, created this lovely image incorporating dance and light.
dorit_dot_malin_shana_tova

Israel’s Fruit Production and Marketing Board has chosen to market apples the old-fashioned way…
apple_campaign

And there are a slew of apple-themed New Year’s animations on YouTube! A small selection follows. Enjoy! And a healthy, happy and prosperous Shana Tova to all.

Picking apples for New Year at Kibbutz Malkiya

Apples and Honey

Shana Tova – the Apple’s Perspective

Shana Tova – Another Apple

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Rosh Hashana means honey

September 28, 2008 - 12:42 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Food, Holidays 

I’m quite looking forward to tomorrow. I’m hitting the supermarket this evening with a gargantuan shopping list and will spend most of the night prepping all my dishes I’ll be cooking for Rosh Hashana. Dishes for the new year should always be sweet, so nearly everything I make needs to have a healthy dose of honey in it. Luckily, in nearby Kfar Ruth, a small agricultural village established in the late seventies lies a boutique honeymaker who sells the best honey I’ve had in Israel. Shai Spector opened his honey business a few years ago. It is housed in a beautiful building and is open only on Fridays, because Spector spends the rest of the week tending to his bee colonies. His honey come in many different varieties and he even some that are infused with herbs such as zatar (hyssop) and sage.

I’m no fan of honey cake but found a recipe via Baroness Tapuzina and simply cannot resist making it. It’s called Ka’ikeh b’Ah’sal which is a Honey Cake With Sesame Glaze. The recipe is from the Syrian Jewish cookbook “A Fistful of Lentils” by Jennifer Abadi. You can find the recipe here. The Baroness also links to other interesting Rosh Hashana recipes and I’d like to personally thank her for saving me a few hours of research. As a main course I’ll be making Georgian Chicken in Pomegranate and Tamarind Sauce which I also found via her blog.

Shana Tova to all. May this year bring you prosperity, health and much goodness.

HaBayit Shel Shai Spektor

HaBayit Shel Shai Spektor - inside

Honey is delicious

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