Brandon Twp.- Ed and Mary Dolzynski are as busy as the bees they keep with their five-year-old business, Twins Honeybee Farm.
Ed Dolzynski, a city boy who had a dream of being a farmer, bought 10 acres of land in Brandon eight years ago with wife Mary. Just three years later, the full-time UPS driver met a master beekeeper on his route with whom he struck up a friendship. Ed Dolzynski, who had always had a fear of bees, decided to be a beekeeper to overcome his phobia, and the business was begun.
In their first year, the Dolzynskis made and sold five gallons of honey. This year, in August, they harvested 3,000 pounds of the sweet treat made by 1.5 million bees (60,000 bees for each of the 25 hives they keep).
‘We wanted to make the beautiful product of honey,? says Mary Dolzynski. ‘We built our business by word of mouth… We have yet to meet demand.?
While Ed Dolzynski does the physical labor of beekeeping, Mary bottles and labels the pure honey, which is filtered to take out organic matter, but is otherwise unprocessed.
Twins Honeybee Farm, named after the Dolzynskis? twin sons, James and Julian, sells honey in 2-pound and 1-pound jars, as well as a 2-pound bear. Chunk honeycomb is also sold in a pint jar with liquid honey or a chunk comb tray can be purchased.
‘Honeycomb is a specialty product,? says Dolzynski. ‘Old-timers love it and will often say, ‘This is what my mother gave me for candy.? Elderly clients use it as a fountain of youth, or to treat rheumatoid arthritis, since it isn’t a processed sugar.?
Honey is considered a complex carbohydrate and although it has calories, notes Dolzynski, consuming it will not give you a sugar buzz where you crash afterward like white sugar does.
Twins Honeybee Farm also sells lotions, lip balms, soaps and massage bars made from honey and/or beeswax and combined with other ingredients such as olive oil and rosemary, lavender, peppermint, coconut, almond and sunflower oils.
‘I spent a year messing around with ingredients and said, ‘hey, this feels good,?? says Dolzynski. ‘I did surveys and had a lot of testers. It was fun. I wanted the most optimum ways to use beeswax.?
Dolzynski has found many optimum ways to eat the honey they make, including honeycrisps, in which she combines a cup of honey with a cup of peanuts butter and a cup of Rice Krispies cereal, rolls the mixture into a ball and refrigerates. She also likes to have honey on toast, and, of course, uses it in tea.
Honey lasts forever, Dolzynski notes. All natural honey will granulate on average in about three months, but to reliquify, just place the jar in warm water.
‘Honey in the supermarket is blended from all over the world,? says Dolzynski. ‘It’s heated before being put on the shelves and that destroys the taste and medicinal qualities.?
Details: (248) 459-9511.