Honey

You probably know that honey is an amazing substance made by honeybees using nectar and pollen that they collect from the blooms of trees and flowers. 

These two substances are combined with enzymes from the bees to produce the honey we love that is actually one and half times sweeter than white table sugar, but unlike refined white sugar, honey still retains the vitamins, minerals and enzymes we benefit from. 

Bees make honey because they are wired to so that they will have resources to eat during times of dearth-most notably winter, when trees and plants are in a dormant state and not producing the nectar and pollen bees need to survive. 

In its raw state, honey is completely natural and contains the all benefits of vitamins, minerals and enzymes added by the bees alone. 

Sometimes raw honey will crystallize. Crystallization is a natural process that occurs frequently in raw honey. Honey contains sugar and water. The bees "ripen" their honey by drying it. The bees know best when it comes to flavor and dry honey is the best. Typically, we don't harvest honey until it reaches about 16%. When there isn't enough water to keep the sugar dissolved, it separates and forms crystals. 

If you raw honey crystallizes, simply remove the lid and place the jar in a pan of water on the stove, on low. NEVER let the water boil. In a short time your honey will be liquified and ready to enjoy. NEVER microwave your honey. 

FAST FUN FACTS

-Honeybees fly at 15mph and do not like to fly in the rain or cold.

-Queen bees lay 1500-3000 eggs every day. 

-Drones, (males) do not have a stinger. 

-A single honeybee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime and its takes 36 bees to make a tablespoon of honey. 

-Each colony of bees makes between 60 and 100 lbs honey each year. We leave approximately 50 lbs of honey on each colony for them to consume over the winter. 

-Honeybees tap on about 2 million flowers and fly 50,000 miles to make 1 lb of honey!