What’s In A Name?

I am a sucker for a catchy name, I will admit to, sometimes, going into a shop just because of the name or even trying a product or menu item because I like the way the name sounds. So last week when we drove through the little town of Wewahitchka I was smitten. Heretofore I had considered Waxahachie the most memorable town name; we first drove through there over 40 years ago and I’ve never forgotten it. Now I must confess that I know nothing about Waxahachie (I am a bit lazy there was no internet back then to make research easy), but I have the scoop on Wewahitchka. It is pronounced phonetically (We- wah- hitch’- ka) however it did take two tries on road signs to figure that out; my excuse for this is that I’m getting old and have bad eyes. Feeling sure it was an Indian word I went to the internet to find out the meaning of the name, which, by the way, is “water eyes”.  http://www.floridavisiting.com/towns/Wewahitchka.html

It was there that I discovered the most interesting bit of information about Wewahitchka; it is the site of Florida’s largest beekeeping operations. I read that it was the setting for the 1996 movie Ulee’s Gold but, not being much of a movie buff, the significance was lost on me. Turns out that the “Gold” in the title refers to the wonderful Tupelo Honey that is produced in Wewahitchka, in fact it is the only area of the country where Tupelo honey is commercially produced. Larry really enjoys honey; I didn’t think I cared for it much until we started sampling locally produced honey as we traveled; now I love it too. Like many products the difference between the commercially packaged nondescript honey available at the grocery and the product that is produced by local apiaries is incredible. When you buy honey from the beekeeper who has a booth at a local farmer’s market or fair it is generally labeled as to what kind of blooms the bees fed on to produce that particular honey. The flavor and color of the honey varies considerably with the nectar source.

Three years ago when we were in the town of Apalachicola for a few days we bought a jar of Tupelo honey and oh my goodness was it wonderful, we have asked for it often in the past few years but never been able to find it and now I know why. The best Tupelo Honey comes from the nectar of the white tupelo, Nyssa Ogeche, which grows in abundance on the shores of the Chipola and Apalachicola rivers here. The flavor is unique, sweet and mild but not cloying. Some people put jelly on their toast but we prefer a bit of honey, and honey on pancakes makes the pancake almost worth eating; on buckwheat pancakes it is sublime. Perhaps the best thing about pure Tupelo Honey is that it will not granulate, even if you have it in the cabinet for some time. This is because of a high fructose to glucose ratio (more fructose than glucose). You can follow these links to find out more about Florida Tupelo Honey
http://www.lltupelohoney.com/ourproduct.htm
http://www.floridatupelohoney.com/tupelofacts.cfm

Next week we are going to drive back up to Wewa (as the locals call it) to stock up on some Tupelo Honey. On the way I plan to pause and check out the details of another sign I saw, it read “Certified Beach Sand”. I just have to find out who “certifies” it and, more curiously, why?