Honey on the frame. |
Our harvest of almost 40 pounds — a few jars were given away before this picture was taken. |
Food has been tainted by unscrupulous or overstressed producers throughout time — I mean, who wouldn't throw a little turmeric in the butter when it looked a little pale, or turn the other way when a cow gets sick at milking time? If you are giving the food to your very own kith and kin, you'd be careful. But those faceless masses? Who cares. Let them eat sawdust. That's human nature and a good reason to keep food production as close to home as you can.
Have you ever read about adulteration of bread and milk in the 19th century?
People noticed that children who ate home-baked bread in 1830s England didn't suffer from the rickets that affected city children who ate only bakery bread, which had a considerable amount of alum added to it to whiten the flour. And this led to government oversight of food production.
One of the fallacies we all fall victim to is the idea that history is a gradual overall process of improvement. (Keep this fallacy in mind when you teach your children history or discuss what they learn in school with them. Resist it mightily, or you will all end up being hoodwinked.)
In that plastic bag is so much honey in frames that he can hardly carry it! |
This illusion of inevitable progress comes from the undeniable truth that we become aware of a mistake or problem, such as unhealthy bread, and try to address it — for instance, by creating a government agency the purpose of which is to regulate the purity of our food.
Well and good.
Bridget has done a lot of the beekeeping, along with Papa. |
You must open each cell before the honey will come out. |
But our very satisfaction in solving one problem blinds us to the reality that such things can be — and are — going on now, right under our noses. Your very own wonderfully clean, brightly lit supermarket offers up gaily wrapped and, after all, not terribly cheap, adulterated food. Not all of it is adulterated. But a lot.
Take bread. Are you aware of how much store-bought bread and other processed foods have soy flour and other soy products (lecithin, MSG, hydrolyzed protein, and many other names that disguise soy)?
You buy a loaf of bread with the idea that it's made of wheat, primarily. But that's hardly true anymore. Soy isn't a poison (nor was alum — it just interfered with absorption of nutrients, as does soy). But soy consumed in large quantities does have unintended consequences for our bodies, particularly those of young people.
And there is soy in a lot of things.
So we try to make our own bread. At least we know what goes into it!
And then there's the issue of food imported from places that we can't oversee very well. And that brings me to honey. It's terrible to think that you don't know what is in a jar of honey you buy, or even where it comes from.
The extractor in motion. |
Our family is nowhere near being free of dependence on food from far away, or even all processed foods. But we are taking small steps when we can, and having hives fills me with excitement — I've realized how many things I can barter honey for! My freezer already has a bunch of fat, delicious free-range organic chickens tucked away in its depths. They are good for at least 3 meals each, and I traded them for our honey! Folks are offering me good cold hard cash for the stuff! And truly, it's the most amazing, wholesome, near miraculous substance.
After last year, when the bees did well to survive at all after a summer of non-stop rain, we thought we'd never see the harvest we hoped for. We were thankful for the three pounds we got, but could only dream of a bountiful honey supply.
We couldn't believe the sunshine this year! The sun actually shines! For days! Phil had a hard time preventing himself from opening the hives every day.
I would say the man is truly obsessed with his bees. Just before we left for Ireland, he took out two supers and tucked them safely in the garage — and then proceeded to talk about them the whole time we were in foreign parts.
“Look, sweetie, there's a herd of cows on that cliff!”
“I wonder how the bees are doing.”
On our return, naturally, the number one priority was getting that honey into jars. Now, I would say that you probably shouldn't leave two weeks in between taking the frames out of the hive and extracting it — the bees keep it nice and warm where it is (and warm honey can be separated from the wax easier than cooler, older honey). But that's okay.
Trying the deck after the picnic table proved wicked unsteady. |
Honey extractors are simple but expensive. He found a cheap one on Craigslist that is pretty darned big. It holds up to four frames and rotates them as it spins, so you don't have to switch them around. There's nowhere to put it, whether storing it or using it.
Its torque is so strong that the picnic table didn't work for long. The deck was okay except that very soon the bees discover that you have a big store of their favorite food. Who wouldn't get their perfect food on the deck rather than make it themselves!
A person visible there on the left, extracting. |
So we had to move inside. Nothing like having this going on in your kitchen! I kept walking around saying, “Some people build honey houses….” The island worked okay, but next time (September for another harvest, we hope!) we're using a stand made for power tools.
At this point it's a big ole DIY operation. For instance, we used a (very clean) piece of screen mesh (you know, for screens) to strain the honey into the bucket, which is one we use for beer-making. So that spigot is woefully inadequate for this purpose. When it came time to go from the bucket to jars (through that little tiny spigot), it took literally two hours to fill each jar. I filled jars for days. But he ordered a honey gate for that bucket, so next time should be better.
I used a canning funnel with a piece of (very clean) nylon stocking over the bottom to further strain before jarring, but there was very little debris left over after the mesh step. I don't think it was necessary, other than to make the whole process even more painfully slow.
Bonus: Wax! What was strained out I dumped into this yard-sale cooker and slowly heated. The first stage yielded a few more jars of cooking honey (since it was already heated from this step) and wax. I then heated the wax again with water, and got about a pound or more of clean, fresh beeswax after it cooled in the pan! I plan to make more of my furniture polish and candles.
Empty frames. |
The bees do your cleanup for you — just put the extractor outside and they do the work!
Honey can be stored in any clean jar. It has amazing antibiotic and other properties and shouldn't be heated or processed. It's just pure, strained, raw honey! We got over 35 pounds, and about 4 more pounds of heated honey for cooking.
Susan says
This is great. Wow. Do you have a good beekeeping book or website to recommend? We eat a lot of honey and we pay good money for the good, local stuff. We live in the city but I know there are urban beekeepers and we do have a bit of yard. Hmmm.
_Leila says
Susan, see below for Phil's answer…
Denise says
Your honey looks fantastic! I didnt know that the bees would clean up afterwards either. Hubby and I want to get some when we get a farm. It always ticks me off when people say we are so much smarter than our ancestors. Oh really. If we put them out in the middle of the woods with no food or water and no shelter would they be able to survive? Yeah our ancestors were stupid…and we are soooo much smarter. Why look we know where our food comes from and how it is made and how to make it ourselves…sarcasm is dripping….
margo says
I so agree with you about making food and how we should not assume we are naturally getting smarter and better as time goes along.
I was fascinated by the honey process. I do buy good local honey, but I didn't know what all went into getting it from the hive to the jar! Why should honey not be heated? Is there a better way to de-crystallize honey if it's been sitting in the decanter for a while?
_Leila says
Margo, you can heat honey (for instance, to cook with it), and nothing bad will happen to it. But if you heat it from the get-go (in processing it), you destroy the natural anti-oxidants, yeasts, enzymes, anti-fungals, and other beneficial microorganisms present in raw honey. If you want to fight allergies and other health problems with local honey, don't heat it!
_Leila says
Oh, and honey that hasn't been treated (heated and filtered –as opposed to just strained) will naturally crystallize. It's still very good, but of course harder to get out of the container! You can heat it gently in its container in a pan of warm water. In the hive, the bees keep the honey at 95°. You can warm it to 115° and it should still be “raw.”
By the way, honey doesn't go bad unless water is added to it!
freckledhen says
This is all so interesting to me. Intriguing…the equipment and all that lovely honey. It seems like a daunting hobby. Is it?
_Leila says
Um, no, because my dear husband does all the work (along with Bridget)…until it's all in my kitchen. Then it's like canning only without the sterilization woes (honey won't go bad — you just follow normal hygiene rules).
And, it's sticky.
You get the equipment as you need it…unless there's a deal on Craigslist 😉 (But you can't really get used hive bodies because of diseases that attack bees…but the other stuff you can find around, like smokers and extractors.) See Phil's comment below…
Jodi says
My husband and I are planning to keep bees next year. I've checked out a lot of sites, and I have to say your photos are most encouraging and beautiful.
Kathy says
I've been reading your blog for awhile trying to glean everything possible, and still feel like what I really need is…YOU! 🙂 So now I am left wondering if I need/should add one more thing to my already overwhelmed life…I already know the answer, but I love the way you inspire. Thanks again~
Jennie C. says
What is that yellow tool you are using to uncap the honeycombs? We lost our two hives last year and the replacement bees are really thriving this year. We're looking at quite a lot of honey for ourselves. When we lost the second hive this past spring, there was good honey in there, so I just used a carving knife to uncap and then I left the frames in a plastic bucket in the sun and just let the honey run down. The leftover wax: when you heat it, the honey and wax separate into layers? And then heating the wax again in water cleans it? Sorry I have so many questions. 🙂
_Leila says
It's called a capping scratcher. Of course you can use a knife (electric or dipped in hot water).
Yes, the wax separates from whatever liquid it's in and floats to the top. Then it solidifies as it cools and can be lifted off. You can pour off the honey through a strainer.
Then the wax will have “slumgum” on it (don't you love our language?). So it has to be heated again with water so you can remove all that debris from the wax. I did it twice and don't really remember the first (successful) time, which stinks…because I figured it out and then sort of didn't remember the second time. Some blogger.
Anyway, this batch could use another melting/cooling process, I think. The underside is still a little dirty.
But yes, the wax rises and the dirt sinks into the water. If you have a lot of slumgum, you can scrape it off and use it as a firestarter! The things you learn on the interwebs…
jjlaughing says
I love honey. Iwill have to check into that. I am always looking out for a new challenge. I jsut figured out how to make my own yogurt. Perhaps honey is next!
priest's wife says
Beautiful photos! My father-in-law keeps bees (100 hives) and is a fountain of knowledge. Let me tell you- your husband's obsession will only grow. Along with the honey, my in-laws collect pollen and propolis (this is the dark orange substance on the frames). Scrape the propolis into a jar, add vodka- this will be a home remedy to clean cuts (be careful- it stains) and to take a little bit for a sore throat
Amy says
My goal is to switch over to honey as a sweetener vs sugar or any other artificial sweetener. I recently wrote a blog about the craziness of additives to the foods we now eat and how we really don't know what is good for us any more and my friend also wrote a similar blog. They can be found here:
http://thehandmadeandnaturallife.blogspot.com/201… (my blog) http://www.firstcametwins.com/2010/08/i-hate-food… (my friend)
I am trying to make more of my own food and eating less processed foods for my family. It is tough going a lot of times, but it is something that I really want to stick with!
Sue says
My mouth is watering! I am so jealous… I want to do that!!!
Betsy M says
Your post brings back so many memories of my Mom and Dad keeping bees when I was growing up. When we were extracting the honey the kitchen would get so sticky but absolutely nothing was better than that fresh honey on a thick piece of homemade bread. Yum!!!
You are absolutely right about all the additives in the foods right now. My first and third daughters had an allergy to Milk and Soy when babies and that was such an eye opener. Who would think that SOY would be in almost all canned tuna? or onion flakes? or plain frozen chicken? or 100% olive oil cooking spray? I could go on and on. I think that many people “think” that they are eating preservative free but if you check closely you need to almost grow your own in order to be certain in this day and age. Very sad.
Joy says
That honey is beautiful! I buy local honey at the farmstand nearby. It's made in the next county and one of these days, I want to go out to the farm itself. A friend has told me that they sell honey in the comb as well (what a treat that is–my mother used to buy it sometimes when I was a child). Perhaps I'll take a drive next week. 🙂
kisok says
Thank you so much for the rickets link … will be using that in our home school history when we get to the industrial revolution in just a few weeks … hope it will spice things up for my science maniac 🙂
Deirdre says
Summer 2010 was natural-living heaven for this LMLD girl. First I was in France, where we drew clean, tasty drinking water FROM THE VILLAGE FOUNTAIN, PEOPLE! And then I got home to eat honey FROM THE COMB while bees buzzed around me!!! Too awesome. It makes me desire simplicity so much… just give me a plot of land in the country! Seriously, what more could a girl ask for?
I would just like to throw in a few cents re: the Chief-as-bee-obsessed thesis: This summer he was sighted on the deck, gazing across the lawn at the hives, *talking to them!* Hahaha! I would never have guessed my dad would become a bee-whisperer. 🙂
natashamlawler says
This is all just completely fascinating! I had no idea how people got honey out of the little combs! This looks like a really big, but rewarding project. And by the way, we are enjoying / rationing / savoring the Chief's honey all the way here in Hong Kong thanks to Suki's delivery service.
regan says
this is a wonderful post!
so interesting and even sad as we just had to have a huge hive, honeycomb, honey, etc removed from our atttic. it broke my heart not to be able to keep any of it.
my grandfather used to keep bees and it was the yummiest honey!
i am sure your youngest girl will treasure those memories of her and her papa!
happy bread making.
and sweet finger licking!
🙂
emily b says
beautiful post–pictures, story line and all.
Anne says
One thing Leila didn't mention is how AMAZINGLY good the beeswax smells. I just couldn't get enough of that smell!
Lauren says
Beautifully designed site, lovely images and words. I want to be like you! Thanks for the inspiration.
Deb Meyers says
I don't have bees … yet … but the bee balm in my garden was glorious this year, and the bees a constant source of wonder! Someone, somewhere, is harvesting honey, and we helped : )
La ura says
El propóleo es una mezcla resinosa que las abejas recolectan de las yemas de árboles, los flujos de savia, o de otras fuentes botánicas. Se utiliza como un sellador para espacios abiertos no deseados en la colmena. El propóleos es utilizado para pequeños espacios (aproximadamente 6 mm (0,24 pulgadas) o menos), mientras que los espacios más grandes se llenan generalmente de cera de abejas. Su color varía dependiendo de su fuente botánica, el más común es de color marrón oscuro. El propóleos es pegajoso y por encima de la temperatura ambiente, 20 ° C (68 ° F). A temperaturas más bajas, se hace difícil y muy frágiles.