Huuuuuneeeee

[Snag]

That's how they say it in some places in the south ... today I
extracted 15 frames of honey , 5 and 10 each from my two strongest hives
. The yield was 10 quarts and 10 pints , six of each have chunks of comb
. I didn't check them frequently enough and there was a *cross-comb mess
in both hives . Both had tons of honey even after I robbed them - and I
didn't mind cutting that comb out of the frames and jarring it , I can
charge a premium for "chunk honey" . At my asking price that's nearly
400 bucks worth of product . The tourist season is on and they're coming
in droves , and this is the kind of stuff they look for ...
*Each box , or "super" has 10 frames for the bees to draw out their
comb , and usually they draw it out straight down the frames . Sometimes
they jump from frame to frame , putting the comb crosswise to the frames
. Makes harvesting difficult , because you have to cut the frames apart
to extract the honey . And when you cut it , all the sweet goodness runs
out all over the place . It's going to take me a month to find all the
sticky and wipe it down .
--
Snag
Illegitimi non
carborundum

[jmcquown]

Sounds wonderful, Terry! I sure do wish I had a use for honey. I've
got a jar in the pantry dated 2006 and have yet to open it. But I'm
glad you're getting some money from those hives. :)

Jill

[Ed Pawlowski]

I like honey but use little. Great on toasted rye bread and butter. If
you eat plain yogurt, drizzle some in. When I was younger and less
concerned with calories I'd just eat a spoonful because it tasted good.

[Dave Smith]

I go on honey sprees. I had a two pound jar of it that I used up over a
period of a month or so. As soon as I was out I bought another two pond
jar and I have not yet opened it.


It is great on lightly toasted rye and even better on very well
toasted white bread. I have a little problem eating straight yogurt,
but a little drizzle of honey, about 1/4 tsp) makes it quite tasty.

My father in law used to love honey. We would rip off a piece of toast
and put a big spoonful of honey on it. We figured that he ate about
2pounds of honey per week.

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 7:06:29 PM UTC-5, jmcquown wrote:
>
> I've
> got a jar in the pantry dated 2006 and have yet to open it. But I'm
> glad you're getting some money from those hives. :)
>
> Jill
>

The wonderful thing about honey is it never goes bad. If it should get a
bit grainy just put the jar in a pan of very warm to hot water. Presto!
In just a little while you've got smooth honey again.

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 9:12:18 PM UTC-5, Dave Smith wrote:
>
> It is great on lightly toasted rye and even better on very well
> toasted white bread.
>

Psst! Buttered hot biscuits.

[Hank Rogers]

And corn bread. Just as good as a piece of cake.

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 10:00:46 PM UTC-5, Hank Rogers wrote:

>
> itsjoan...@webtv.net wrote:
> >
> > Psst! Buttered hot biscuits.
> >
>
> And corn bread. Just as good as a piece of cake.
>

I've never eaten honey on cornbread but have molasses several times.

[graham]

Easier to nuke it in the MW.

[Snag]

You've missed a treat ... first you slather it with butter , then you
pour on the honey - if it doesn't dribble on your chin (or beard ...)
you didn't put enough on . We've got 2 kinds of honey , fall and
spring/early summer . The fall has a more pronounced flavor and is
darker . The stuff I extracted today has a very light delicate flavor
and is very pale in color . I have no idea what they forage on , but
there's only woods and grass hay fields and clearings full of
wildflowers in the direction they go . There is zero mono-crop farming
here and this is as organic as it gets but I can't label it as such .

[Bruce]

Would be cool to mount a tiny camera on a few bees to see where they
go.

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

Hmmmmmm, I've never thought of that!

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 11:42:21 PM UTC-5, Snag wrote:
>
> The stuff I extracted today has a very light delicate flavor
> and is very pale in color . I have no idea what they forage on , but
> there's only woods and grass hay fields and clearings full of
> wildflowers in the direction they go . There is zero mono-crop farming
> here and this is as organic as it gets but I can't label it as such .
> --
> Snag
>

If only bees could talk.

:o)

[Snag]

SHRIEK !! Never never never nuke honey ! You kill all the microflora
that give it it's unique properties . Many big operations heat their
honey to thin it so it's easier to filter . And filtering takes out all
the microfragments of pollen and the heating kills all the microflora .
I process cold and the only filtration is 4 layers of cheesecloth to
strain out the big stuff like wax fragments and the occasional wing or
leg . But then I'm not running 1000 hives either ...
I also do not treat my hives with chemicals . My bees were bred to be
resistant to Varroa Destructor mites . Apparently those genetics are
dominant in my immediate area because their resistance has remained
unchanged for 6 years now .

[Bruce]

There's an unexpected laudable hippie element in you.

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

He's probably processing his honey as beekeepers have always done.

[Bruce]

Yes, and he doesn't add foam suppressant.

[Gary]

A "bee cam" I love the idea! :)

[Gary]

They probably do. Not until my 4th ferret did I learn much of
their language. Almost silent sounds and lots of gestures.

[Mike Duffy]

On Wed, 08 Jul 2020 07:19:22 -0400, Gary wrote:

> A "bee cam" I love the idea! :)

Of course, a bee could never support the weight of even the smallest
camera.

However, if you could affix a small retro-reflective matrix onto the
upper-rear abdomen, a small fleet of scanning laser arduino co-ordinated
drones might be able to track a bee. Throw in a few heavier camera
platforms and you have the makings of a university-level robotics project.

[graham]

The way I do it, the temperature doesn't get any higher than the warm
water method. It just saves the bother of heating a pan of water.

[graham]

Can you get away without feeding them drugs to keep AFB at bay?

[Snag]

Are you referring to foul brood ? I've never had that in my hives nor
have I heard of anyone in our area that has . AFAIK if your hives get
infected you kill the bees and burn the equipment .

[Snag]

It's not so much the temp as it is the microwave RADIATION .

[Cindy Hamilton]

Can you provide a citation for this?

Cindy Hamilton

[jmcquown]

I don't eat yogurt but I've been known to cook with plain yogurt in
place of sour cream from time to time. :) I used to use honey in hot
tea, back when I drank tea, but that was more than 10 years ago.

Jill

[jmcquown]

Yep, I've heard that. You mentioned honey on biscuits elsewhere in this
thread. I just never think about that jar of honey. <shrug>

Jill

[songbird]

for sure! my favorite way of having both! :)


songbird

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

Make your Sunday breakfast this week hot buttered biscuits and honey.

[Bruce]

This is the first one I found:

"The microwave will essentially destroy all of the beneficial enzymes
and properties of the honey. Sure it will return it to a liquid state,
but then you can just consider it not much more than a honey colored
sweetener."
<http://www.lincolnlandbeekeepers.com/uploads/1/0/6/4/10649295/how_to_decrystalize_honey.pdf>

[Cindy Hamilton]

Here's a more detailed explanation:

<https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28946234/>

Since I don't like the taste of honey, it's all kind of moot for me.

Cindy Hamilton

[Bruce]

On Wed, 8 Jul 2020 13:43:59 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton

I never ask for more info about things that are moot to me :)

[Dave Smith]

We have biscuits for brunch at least twice a month. My wife puts out an
array of condiments, usually two types of jam, a marmalade and honey. We
both make sure to have at least one with honey.

[Hank Rogers]

That's right, you only sniff around.

[graham]

Yes, Foul Brood.
We used to feed ours a sulfa drug in the Spring (I think) but it's so
long ago that I can't remember if it was to prevent AFB.

[jmcquown]

The thing is, I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Jill

[itsjoan...@webtv.net]

A once a year treat.

[John Kuthe]

Like Heath Bars? My English Toffee is way better! Made with cream, butter and sugar! In fact I may just go get a piece! BRB...YUM!! Yep, better than a Heath Bar! :-)

John Kuthe...

[Ophelia]

"Gary" wrote in message news:5F05ABBA...@att.net...

====

So do I:))) Will you do it, Gary?:)))

[Ophelia]

"Gary" wrote in message news:5F05ABED...@att.net...

==

:))))

[Cindy Hamilton]

It would appear I have more curiosity than you.

Cindy Hamilton

[Bruce]

On Thu, 9 Jul 2020 03:24:02 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton

If you were curious about it, it wouldn't be moot to you :)

[Gary]

I don't care to have honey plain (like on toast or biscuits)
but I do use it as an ingredient in some asian sauces.

[Gary]

May-BEE a ferret cam someday. That would be cool.

[Cindy Hamilton]

The practical effects of microwaving are irrelevant to me. Even if I
ate honey I wouldn't care if it were antimicrobial.

But it's still interesting.

I read articles about child-rearing even though I have no children.

Cindy Hamilton

[Sheldon Martin]

Rather than sugar I like a little honey drizzled on fresh cut fruit...
also on hot cereal. A little on vanilla icecream too.

[Ophelia]

"Gary" wrote in message news:5F06F901...@att.net...

====

Oh yes:)))))

[jmcquown]

Don't talk to me about making candy, John. I've made different types of
candy many times, starting when I was a teenager with my grandmother's
recipe for date-nut coconut candy which is very labor intensive. Also
my recipe for peanut brittle. And different kinds of fudge. I don't
need advice from you about how to make candy.

Jill

[notbob]

On 2020-07-08, Snag <Snag...@msn.com> wrote:

> SHRIEK !! Never never never nuke honey!

Too often, the label has "foil" in it, making nuking all but
impossible.

> Many big operations heat their honey to thin it so it's easier to

> filter . And.....

....add sugar!!

Honey is so adulterated, now, we do not allow honey to be
imported from China, any longer. China exports it to places like
Vietnam, Singapore, etc, which imports it to us!

Don't you think it strange, ppl are demanding more and more honey, yet
bee's are dying off? Perhaps that is why you are getting suck big
returns from yer obviously "real" honey.

> I also do not treat my hives with chemicals . My bees were bred to be
> resistant to Varroa Destructor mites . Apparently those genetics are
> dominant in my immediate area because their resistance has remained
> unchanged for 6 years now .

Good for you.

BTW, how can I determine if honey is real. I jes "un-crystallized" a
half a jar of organic honey (hot water). If it "crystallizes" at all,
is it "real" honey? I've had crystallization occur to "true" maple
syrup (very quickly). ;)

nb

[Sheldon Martin]

On 15 Jul 2020 notbob wrote:

>On 2020-07-08, Snag wrote:
>
>>SHRIEK !! Never never never nuke honey!
>
>Too often, the label has "foil" in it, making nuking all but
>impossible.

Best to place the honey jar into a pot of pre-heated water. Do not
over heat honey or its flavor will change and not for the better. Warm
honey slowly and not in a pot of water still being heated or for sure
you will forget about it until all the water cooks away and your smoke
alarm goes off.