Nature’s Candy – Maple Syrup and Raw Honey Review + #Giveaway

I have a sweet tooth and love all natural maple syrup and honey. When the nice folks at Mohawk Valley Trading Company in Utica, NY asked if I wanted to do a review and giveaway of their Maple Syrup and Raw Honey, I said “YES!” They sent me bottles of their Dark, Robust Pure Maple Syrup, Raw Buckwheat Honey and Raw Orange Blossom Honey.

I love the old fashioned look and feel of the glass bottles.
I love the old fashioned look and feel of the glass bottles.

I love “real” maple syrup. This syrup is rich and delicious. I tried it in my oatmeal, on my sweet potato and then on roasted butter nut squash. It is terrific. You only need a little to add a big splash of taste. This syrup has no additives and is pure, Grade A maple syrup.

The butternut squash was as delicious as it looks!
The butternut squash was as delicious as it looks!

The Mohawk Valley Trading Co website has a ton of information on maple syrup including it’s history and the process that is used to make it. You can read it HERE. I found the health benefits from this page to be very interesting:

“The caloric content of maple syrup is similar to sugar. However 13 grams of maple syrup (a little less than a tablespoon) contains 22% of the FDA daily value of manganese. The same amount of syrup contains 3.7% of the daily value of zinc. Maple syrup has 15 times as much calcium as honey and 1/10 of the sodium.

Scientists are studying the natural phenols found in maple syrup for potentially beneficial antioxidant compounds relevant to type 2 diabetes. Thirty four new compounds have been discovered, 5 of which have never been seen in nature. One of those new compounds is quebecol, a phenolic compound created when maple sap is heated and reduced to make syrup.”

They also sent me two types of honey: Raw Buckwheat Honey and Raw Orange Blossom Honey. Raw honey from the Mohawk Valley Trading Company has not been heated, filtered, blended or processed. All of the pollen, enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals and aromatics are in the same condition as they were in the hive. Raw Buckwheat Honey comes from hives placed in buckwheat fields in the Central Mohawk Valley and Finger Lakes region of New York. Raw Orange Blossom Honey is the result of moving some hives to Florida (the orange blossom is the state flower) where they set up apiaries in orange groves. The wide variety of orange blossoms that gives the Orange Blossom Honey its unique flavor.

honey Collage

We brought the Raw Orange Blossom Honey to visit the husband’s aunt and uncle in Cincinnati. We tried it plain, in tea, on toast and on grapefruit. We all agreed that it is delicious and we could taste the orange blossoms. But don’t worry, it was not too flowery! It smells amazing, too. Then Aunt Charlotte shared this terrific salad dressing recipe:

dressing 3There is a ton of great information on the process and health benefits of honey on the Mohawk Trading Company site, too. Check it out here. 

“If you are planning to use honey for its health-benefits, it must be raw honey. Heating honey (pasteurization) destroys the all of the pollen, enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, and aromatics. The rawest honey available is comb honey  (sections of the hexagonal-shaped beeswax cells of the honeycomb that contain raw honey that have been cut from the wooden frames of a beehive), however most people prefer bottled raw honey.”

The nice folks at The Mohawk Valley Trading Company have offered to send one lucky winner a bottle of maple syrup and two jars of honey, too! (A $50 value) You must be 18 years or older to enter. The Mohawk Valley Trading Company will ship the prize to the winner within 30 days of contest end – June 9th. If address is undeliverable or prize is unclaimed and sent back, winner is responsible for re-shipping charges. Physical address required for shipping; no PO boxes, US recipients only residing in one of the 48 contiguous states. Offer is void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cant to wait to see if you won? Receive a 10% discount on all The Mohawk Valley Trading Company Raw Honey, Maple Syrup 100% Pure Beeswax Candles , Handmade Soap and Natural Skin Care Products from 5/26/14 to 6/9/14 with the coupon code Erica Finds Raw Honey and Maple Syrup Giveaway.

Please note: I was not compensated for this post. I was provided products at no cost in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

PS. Don’t forget to enter my other active giveaways!