For the past few years, our four hives have produced a total of 11-17.5 gallons of delicious and useful honey each summer (depending on weather and hive population). And to my delight, each year's harvest tastes different: 2016 tasted deliciously like caramel and 2017 offered a wonderfully floral flavor. This year's low production (because of all the rain?) is tasty but without the extra quality of the prior two years. What will next year bring?
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Lots of bees making honey! |
To someone who thinks of honey as a topper only for an occasional biscuit, our homestead production volumes may seem excessive. Me, too, at first. The harvests inspired me to find many uses for that delectable golden syrup. I learned that food is only one end product. Below are various frequent uses as well as information about the bees we raise and how we extract the honey.
Hygiene:
Honey is a humectant, so it attracts water molecules in the air, as a natural moisturizer. It can soothe sunburn or windburned skin as well as dry hair. I give myself a honey facial and hair treatment 2 or 3 times a month. Imagine how lovely that smells! I simply dilute a few tablespoons of honey and slather it all over my head and face, letting it rest for about 20 minutes. It rinses out (easily) in a bath or shower, leaving soft skin and fluffy hair with healthier looking ends. I have made moisturizing bars with honey, beeswax, and lanolin for friends, but at home, it is easiest to spoon the honey straight out of a jar. If you have a pint in your pantry, give it a try.
Medicine: Honey tempers the sting of a burn or bug bite, and its anti-microbial properties have been known for thousands of years to protect cuts and scrapes from infection. Many people add it to hot liquids to calm a cough or sore throat, and to render strong tasting medicines more palatable. For example, some people soak garlic cloves in honey and pop those to ward off pesky colds.
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Regular hive check |
Alcohol: I have made several batches of mead. For some reason, the straight honey/water/yeast mixture ferments less reliably for me than those mixed with wild plants and their natural yeasts. So I favor the latter. Raspberry mead is my favorite. The results have been dry with a gorgeous color, a fruit forward scent and a lingering nutty aftertaste. I have also flavored mead with elderflowers which impart a delicate flavor. Maybe I will try a cranberry mead this fall.