Polish Bee Mythology

To be stung by a bee is more than good luck.  It’s a heavenly blessing.  Why? Ancient Slavs believed the bee carries heavenly energy to the earth in the form of fire, hence the sting. Poles never considered bees a menace.  The celestial aviators pollinated the fruit trees and flowers, majestically buzzed songs in the garden, produced wax for holy candles, and most of all were the stewards of sweetness, honey.

Honey was the primary sweetener before refined cane sugar arrived from the West.  It flavored drinks and love. How many a sweetheart refers to their beloved by this bee’s concentrated nectar?

Ancient hives were found and cared for in the hollows of old tree trunks. Tree climbing was a beekeeper’s second occupation. Symbiosis with nature: trees and the bee population was characteristic of the Polish practice of honey harvesting.  Therefore hives were revered and repopulated for years.

Polish honey is famous for it's natural, unprocessed quality, aromatic oils and abundant health enzymes. Festivals are held throughout the country and bee products are used for food, drink, candles, homeopathy, and natural cleaners.

To this day Poland still produces the most exquisite, world-class, mead, an ancient medieval drink, produced in northern countries where the fruit of the vine was scarce.   Polish mead has many grades (above) depending on the vintage and number of fruits employed in the fermentation.

Soup or Cordial?

More available and potent is the honey liquor, Krupnik. Listen to this linguistic fumble. A religious superior of a WNY women’s order, asked one of hers sisters traveling to Poland for some Krupnik. The sister took it as an order.  Upon returning the superior asked the traveler if she remembered. “Yes,” she answered obediently, “I’ll leave it by your door.” Returning to her room for bedtime, the superior found a rather large sack of barley. The next morning the young sister was a bit embarrassed that the superior wanted the liquid variety.

Regional variation of this word has confused some with its secondary meaning, barley or barley soup. Well, in Western New York, not only among religious women and priests, but for vintage believers, Krupnik is a digestive delicacy liquor.  Pictured here is the best quality available in stores: "Bak's" Of course, you'll find it next to the lighter brand at Key Liquors (plaza) on Clinton St, near Harlem.