Honey Facts
Honey Hints
A foraging bee visits approximately 1,500 flowers each day to gather nectar.
She stores the nectar in her honey stomach,
House bees remove and store the nectar in wax cells when she returns to the hive and regurgitates it.
A single worker bee makes only about a 1/12 tsp. of honey in her lifetime.
Worker bees fan the nectar to reduce its moisture content to 18%.
Bees know exactly when it is ripe and ready to be capped with wax.
Honeybees use honey as food for brood (called bee bread), for energy and to keep the hive warm in winter.
Too Good to “Bee” True!
Honey is a natural sweetener made from the nectar of flowers
It is a simple sugar – more easily converted to energy
It contains amino acids, vitamins and minerals, and bioactive hormones
Harmful bacteria does not grow in honey because of ph levels
A tablespoon of honey=65 calories
Enjoying the Sweet Stuff
May appear cloudy due to particles of pollen and propolis - raw
Can help with allergies
Heating destroys many of its valuable properties
Varies in color and flavor depending on the forage sources – generally the darker the color, the more robust in taste
Tends to deepen in color as it ages, but its flavor and nutritional value unchanged
Never spoils
May crystallize – sit in warm water (never microwave)
Store at room temperature
Keep instruments dry as adding moisture may cause fermentation