Honey Bees rock at Appalachian Bee! Our passion is creating the best quality honey along with skin care products that contain beneficial elements from the beehive.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
What does local honey mean to you?
Most people believe that they should buy local honey to help their allergies. For some, if they can't get honey from their town/city, they don't want it. They believe there will be no benefit.
When it comes to purchasing honey for its allergy benefits, local can mean more than just the vicinity of where you live. Take, for example my location. I reside in Ocoee, Tennessee, and people from Chattanooga (35 miles away) think that I am just too far to purchase honey for its health benefits. Does Chattanooga have some mysterious floral sources (plants and trees) that we do not have here in Ocoee? No. In fact, the entire state has the same floral sources, and so do surrounding states.
Many of my customers purchase honey for its nutritional value. Honey loses its nutritional value when it is over heated. Large honey processors filter and overheat their honey for various reasons. They overheat the honey to slow the crystallization process. Would you purchase a jar of honey that is crystallized on the store shelf? And, these processors filter the honey to get the honey beautifully clear, however, this removes some of the pollens in the honey that provide the nutritional value you desire.
Many beekeepers will warm their honey for bottling purposes, but do not heat to extreme temperatures altering the nutritional value of the honey. Also, we do not filter our honey through fine filtration processes, we only strain the honey through course strainers that only remove beeswax, and other debris that does not belong. There is no build up of pollen in our straining process, which means the pollen stays in the honey.
So if you are purchasing honey for its nutritional value and the ability to help you during allergy season, first and foremost, it is most important that you buy honey that is not overheated, so the honey has not lost its nutritional value. Second, you can be concerned about where the honey comes from, however, it is not just your town or county, it is a multi state area, and has to do with the floral sources that the bees visit.
You are, however, doing a great thing by buying "local honey". You are supporting your local farmer. But, when it comes to nutritional value, ask the beekeeper if they filter or strain their honey (straining is ok), and how hot they heat their honey. I would consider it a red flag if they heat over 130 degrees.
Some people believe that if their honey crystallizes, it has gone bad, or has been tampered with. All honeys crystallize, with the exception of a rare few. It has to do with the variety of blossoms where the nectar is collected. Clover or goldenrod honey is quick to crystallize, tulip poplar is very slow and may take years to crystallize. Crystallization is not harmful nor a sign of deterioration. I will talk more about why honey crystallizes in another post.
A jar of my honey might crystallize on your shelf, but that is a good sign. That means it is not overheated and the nutritional value has not been compromised. To re-liquify a jar of honey, heat a pan of water, take off the stove and place jar in water. (This may take several times). Do not store your honey in the refrigerator, this will expedite the crystallization process. Keep at room temperature or warmer.
HoneyBees Rock!
When it comes to purchasing honey for its allergy benefits, local can mean more than just the vicinity of where you live. Take, for example my location. I reside in Ocoee, Tennessee, and people from Chattanooga (35 miles away) think that I am just too far to purchase honey for its health benefits. Does Chattanooga have some mysterious floral sources (plants and trees) that we do not have here in Ocoee? No. In fact, the entire state has the same floral sources, and so do surrounding states.
Many of my customers purchase honey for its nutritional value. Honey loses its nutritional value when it is over heated. Large honey processors filter and overheat their honey for various reasons. They overheat the honey to slow the crystallization process. Would you purchase a jar of honey that is crystallized on the store shelf? And, these processors filter the honey to get the honey beautifully clear, however, this removes some of the pollens in the honey that provide the nutritional value you desire.
Many beekeepers will warm their honey for bottling purposes, but do not heat to extreme temperatures altering the nutritional value of the honey. Also, we do not filter our honey through fine filtration processes, we only strain the honey through course strainers that only remove beeswax, and other debris that does not belong. There is no build up of pollen in our straining process, which means the pollen stays in the honey.
So if you are purchasing honey for its nutritional value and the ability to help you during allergy season, first and foremost, it is most important that you buy honey that is not overheated, so the honey has not lost its nutritional value. Second, you can be concerned about where the honey comes from, however, it is not just your town or county, it is a multi state area, and has to do with the floral sources that the bees visit.
You are, however, doing a great thing by buying "local honey". You are supporting your local farmer. But, when it comes to nutritional value, ask the beekeeper if they filter or strain their honey (straining is ok), and how hot they heat their honey. I would consider it a red flag if they heat over 130 degrees.
Some people believe that if their honey crystallizes, it has gone bad, or has been tampered with. All honeys crystallize, with the exception of a rare few. It has to do with the variety of blossoms where the nectar is collected. Clover or goldenrod honey is quick to crystallize, tulip poplar is very slow and may take years to crystallize. Crystallization is not harmful nor a sign of deterioration. I will talk more about why honey crystallizes in another post.
A jar of my honey might crystallize on your shelf, but that is a good sign. That means it is not overheated and the nutritional value has not been compromised. To re-liquify a jar of honey, heat a pan of water, take off the stove and place jar in water. (This may take several times). Do not store your honey in the refrigerator, this will expedite the crystallization process. Keep at room temperature or warmer.
HoneyBees Rock!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Spring Pollens - My favorite time of year!
The spring pollens will be flowing from the trees soon. The bees have been bringing in plant pollens aggressively in the south for the past month. The reported pollen counts on the nightly news have been climbing, and they will only climb higher once the trees start blossoming.
Although many suffer from the high pollen counts, it is a favorite time of year for me, and the bees. The excessive pollen that is produced is a time for the honeybees to get to work. You see, pollen is baby food. The main reason honeybees bring in pollen is to feed young larvae. The abundance of pollen in a colony is a sign for the hive to start laying young, to start growing for the honey flow. Sometimes the bees bring in so much pollen, they leave little room for the queen to lay. This is one of the reasons for spring swarming, we call it pollen bound. It is one of the many jobs for a beekeeper, to make sure the colony has room for the queen to lay eggs.
Late hot summers and dry weather slows up the pollens being produced and brought into colonies. The lack of pollen being brought in then slows up brood production in a colony. They do not need the high populations to gather nectar, so the size of the colony will recede.
Yellow, red, purple, white, black, green, orange. No, not the colors of the rainbow, the color of various pollens being brought into the colony. Cars covered in pollen dust. Yellow rivers of water flowing when it rains. Love it. Honeybees Rock!
Although many suffer from the high pollen counts, it is a favorite time of year for me, and the bees. The excessive pollen that is produced is a time for the honeybees to get to work. You see, pollen is baby food. The main reason honeybees bring in pollen is to feed young larvae. The abundance of pollen in a colony is a sign for the hive to start laying young, to start growing for the honey flow. Sometimes the bees bring in so much pollen, they leave little room for the queen to lay. This is one of the reasons for spring swarming, we call it pollen bound. It is one of the many jobs for a beekeeper, to make sure the colony has room for the queen to lay eggs.
Late hot summers and dry weather slows up the pollens being produced and brought into colonies. The lack of pollen being brought in then slows up brood production in a colony. They do not need the high populations to gather nectar, so the size of the colony will recede.
Yellow, red, purple, white, black, green, orange. No, not the colors of the rainbow, the color of various pollens being brought into the colony. Cars covered in pollen dust. Yellow rivers of water flowing when it rains. Love it. Honeybees Rock!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Bees are bringing in red pollen today. Temp is about 60 degrees, and the bees are active. It's a good thing and a bad thing for them. They are more active and eat more, but risk starvation if they do not have enough honey stores to support the population. http://ping.fm/x7gCf
Thursday, January 12, 2012
What's the difference between honey and wildflower honey?
Honey is a general term used for the sweet nectar the bees gather and bring back to the colony for sustenance. Some beekeepers call this product honey, and others can determine the floral source that the majority of the crop has been produced from.
When a flower blooms and produces nectar (not all flowers produce nectar), the flavors will all be distinctive to its botanical variety. A sourwood blossom's nectar will taste different from a crimson clover nectar, or a tupelo honey nectar.
Bees will generally visit the same variety of flowers to collect nectar, however when a honey flow is on from several floral sources at the same time, some bees will visit one variety, and some the other varieties. This will result in a blended honey of multiple floral sources. Many novice beekeepers just call all their product "honey". Experienced beekeepers can differentiate the flavors in the honey, and frequently one of the varieties of honey can be a majority. In the case when one flavor dominates the blend, the beekeeper will call the honey by the dominant flavor (it's floral variety).
It is quite difficult or impossible to have a honey that is 100% one floral variety. That would mean the bees only visited one type of flower during it's bloom season. Unfortunately we cannot tell our bees where to forage.
Wildflower honey is gathered from a variety of wildflower blossoms. The honey is usually darker in color, with a stronger, bolder flavor. It is a favorite of mine over mild honey because of this bolder flavor. If I have a variety of honey that I cannot differentiate the floral sources it contains, I might just call it "Honey". It's not a bad thing, just a generalized term. In my area, I am aware of most of the honey flows that my bees are foraging.
Honey is regional. So depending on where you are located in North America, or anywhere in the world for that matter, you will be exposed to different varieties of honey. I would encourage you to try different varieties of honey, keeping in mind that generally darker honeys are stronger in flavor, and lighter honeys tend to be milder.
Visit HoneyBeesRock.com to see my varieties of Honey! And, yes, Honeybees do ROCK!
When a flower blooms and produces nectar (not all flowers produce nectar), the flavors will all be distinctive to its botanical variety. A sourwood blossom's nectar will taste different from a crimson clover nectar, or a tupelo honey nectar.
Bees will generally visit the same variety of flowers to collect nectar, however when a honey flow is on from several floral sources at the same time, some bees will visit one variety, and some the other varieties. This will result in a blended honey of multiple floral sources. Many novice beekeepers just call all their product "honey". Experienced beekeepers can differentiate the flavors in the honey, and frequently one of the varieties of honey can be a majority. In the case when one flavor dominates the blend, the beekeeper will call the honey by the dominant flavor (it's floral variety).
It is quite difficult or impossible to have a honey that is 100% one floral variety. That would mean the bees only visited one type of flower during it's bloom season. Unfortunately we cannot tell our bees where to forage.
Wildflower honey is gathered from a variety of wildflower blossoms. The honey is usually darker in color, with a stronger, bolder flavor. It is a favorite of mine over mild honey because of this bolder flavor. If I have a variety of honey that I cannot differentiate the floral sources it contains, I might just call it "Honey". It's not a bad thing, just a generalized term. In my area, I am aware of most of the honey flows that my bees are foraging.
Honey is regional. So depending on where you are located in North America, or anywhere in the world for that matter, you will be exposed to different varieties of honey. I would encourage you to try different varieties of honey, keeping in mind that generally darker honeys are stronger in flavor, and lighter honeys tend to be milder.
Visit HoneyBeesRock.com to see my varieties of Honey! And, yes, Honeybees do ROCK!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
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