Our Honey and Beeswax Making Story!
What beekeepers do in the colder months
During the cooler months of the year, bees will reduce their activity to conserve energy. It's the perfect time for beekeepers to build and prepare their equipment for Spring. Bees will rapidly build-up their populations at this time so a wise beekeeper will be prepared with additional hive bodies called 'supers' (used exclusively for honey), lids, bottom boards and frames with wax foundation to place on top of each of the brood boxes. The brood box is where the Queen is laying her eggs. Timing is important because we must get the 'supers' onto the brood boxes before the bees run out of room or else they will swarm! But all of the work is worth it in the end because it means more honey for everyone!
Why does honey crystallise?
Have you ever wondered why honey crystallises? Many times people assume that something is terribly wrong when this happens but in fact it's a natural process of pure, raw honey.
Honey is composed of more than 70% sugar and less than 20% water. The sugar component is mostly glucose and fructose and if the ratio of glucose from a particular nectar source is higher, the honey will crystallise faster! So is it safe to eat? Yes!
If you don't like your honey crystallised then you can easily warm up your container. You can find methods to gently heat honey on YouTube but our favourite is to simply place your honey outside on a warm day in the sun just before you go to work. By the time you return, your honey should be in a liquid state again. Just repeat until you are satisfied with the result. Never put your honey in the microwave however. It will destroy the beneficial enzymes and properties of the honey!
The pictures show crystallised honey on the left and the same honey after sitting in the sun during the day.
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