Bee buzz: From the honeycomb to the table
Regarded by many as a delicacy for centuries, honey is an animal byproduct and the results of the labors of tens of thousands of the oldest bees in a colony.
A honeybee’s life begins with cleaning cells, on through building comb to store honey, guarding the hive entrance, and the most dangerous job, foraging. Only the oldest bees assume this task since they are the closest to perishing from old age: about 45 days in Summer months. Imagine if every time you went outside it was a daring adventure wrought with perils such as giant birds, lizards, frogs and spiders!
To make a single teaspoon requires 12 workers to fly thousands of miles, visit tens of thousands of flowers to collect watery nectar, and return home safely. There, a house bee unloads the forager through prophylaxis (mouth to mouth) and she moves through the hive to the “honey house” where she begins masticating the nectar by balancing the droplet on her mandibles. She will constantly move the droplet in and out of her honey stomach while fanning her wings to dry the nectar down to about 17% moisture. That is removing over 80% of the moisture AND volume of the tiny droplet the forager returned with! She deposits it into a cell in the comb and returns to the “loading dock” to unload another forager. All this is done in the nearly complete darkness inside the hive!
All floral nectar sources are not equal! Depending on what flowers the bees visit, raw honey is comprised of several different kinds of sugars. All honey contains varying amounts of sucrose and fructose, but also has a fair amount of other sugars as well as a few enzymes to help it ripen. Those more rich in sucrose tend to crystallize quickly while those which are mostly fructose might not crystallize at all. Glucose and dextrose are also present in fair amounts. During the ripening phase, the bees add the enzyme invertase which partially inverts the sugars, much like insulin works in humans. One dangerous ingredient is the possibility of botulinium toxin which is present in the environment naturally. Therefore honey should not be given to infants under two years of age, as they could contract botulism without a sufficient immune system.
Considering that honey is mostly sugars in a slightly moist state, it is important to note that raw natural honey will crystallize. I have seen it crystallize in the comb before I’ve had a chance to even harvest it! This is totally natural and can be remedied by simply placing the container in a pan of warm water on the stove and gently warming it for a while; it will turn back into a liquid! Of course, many people don’t mind the crystallized honey as it makes a nice spread on fresh hot biscuits or toast, and it makes it a bit easier to measure for coffee!
Honey can be used as an alternative natural sweetener in any recipe. It also acts as a preservative the same way table sugar does in jams and jellies. Mankind has known for many millennia about the healing properties of honey and in the past it was used on many different kinds of wounds. Recent studies conducted at UGA by Dr. Joerg Mayer have confirmed the healing properties of honey in zoo animals! These tiny little creatures amaze us at every turn!
If you would like to learn more about bees, honey, wax, or anything honey bee related, attend the next Seminole Area Beekeepers Association meeting set for May 16th at 6 p.m. at the UGA Cooperative Extension office located at 426 N. Friendship Ave. in Donalsonville. Meetings are free and open to the public.
Article written by Eric Varnum on behalf of SABA
