CART
800.596.0885
MY ACCOUNT
WISHLIST
SIGN IN
or
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
There are no items in your basket.
INGREDIENTS
RECIPES
REGIONS
FRESH
CHEFS' PANTRIES
PRODUCERS
WOMAN owned Businesses
Anchovies
Baking
- Baking Chocolate
- Baking Decorations
- Baking Nuts
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa & Cocoa Butter
- Extracts & Flavorings
- Flour
- Fruit for Baking
- Gluten-Free Baking
- Pastry Shells & Miscellaneous
- Sugar
- Vanilla
Balsamic Vinegar
Beans
Binchotan
Bitters
Bittering Agents
Candy & Confections
Capers
Chai from India
Chilis
Chocolate
- Craft Chocolate
- Traditional Chocolate Makers
- Chocolate Confections
- Couverture and Baking Chocolate
- Cocoa Powder and Drinking Chocolate
Chutneys
Coffee
Condiments
- Ketchups
- Mustards
- Other Condiments
Condiments for Cheese
Cookies
Couscous
Crackers
Dessert Sauces
Drinks and Cocktail Mixers
Duck & Goose
Escargot
Everything Else
Fish Sauce
Fish & Seafood
Foie Gras
Fruitcake
Furikake
Gluten Free
Grains
Grilling Pantry
Herbs & Spices
Honey from the World's Flowers
Hot & Saucy & Spicy
Hot Chocolate
Jams & Jellies & More
- Conserves
- Jelly
- Marmalades
- Jams
Ketchup
Lard
Lentils
Molecular Cuisine
Mustard
Nuts and Almonds
Nut and Seeds Oils
Oatmeal
Nuts & Seed Butters
Oils
Olive Oils
Olive Oil - Olio Nuovo
Olive Oil - Infused
Olives
Panettone from Italy
Panforte from Italy
Pasta
Pasta Sauce
Pate
Pates de Fruit - Fruit Jellies
Piementon Paprika Pepper
Pesto
Pet Food
Pickled
Pomegranate
Preserved Fruit
Preserved Vegetables
Pruneaux d'Agen - Prunes
Pulses
Quinoa
Rice
Salt
- Sea Salt
- Smoked Salt
- Exotic & Flavored Salts
Sardines
Soy Sauce Shoyu
Stocks
Syrups & Sweeteners
Tea
Tomatoes
Torrone and Nougat
Truffles & Mushrooms
Tuna
Verjus
Vinegar
Press Picks
All Recipes
Breakfast & Brunch
Appetizers & Snacks
Salads & Dressings
Soups, Stews & Chili
Vegetables & Side Dishes
Main Course
Desserts
Breads
Drinks
Pizzas & Pastas
Sauces & Condiments
Recipes from Friends
Asian Ingredients
French Pantry
Italian Gourmet Food Pantry
Moroccan Pantry
Spanish Pantry
Latin America
A few of our Favorite things
Avocados
Beaufort Cheese
BINCHO-TAN Japanese Charcoal
Bottarga
CHERRIES
Colomba Easter Cakes
COPPER RIVER SALMON
Fra'Mani Salami
Fresh Fish
Garlic
Heritage Ham Smoked-to-order
Holiday Gourmet Gifts
Mangalitsa Pig
Nonnettes from France
Panettone
Panforte
PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO
Sardinian Cheese
Smoked & Specialty Meats
Stocking Stuffers
Tomme Brulee Cheese
Torrone and Nougat
Truffles & Mushrooms
Turkey
Wild Alaskan Salmon
Marcella and Victor Hazan
Yotam Ottolenghi (Simple, Jerusalem, Plenty More ...)
Chef Brady William (Canlis)
Tim's Pantry Picks ChefShop.com
Chef Roberto Cortez
Eliza's Essential Pantry
Tina Ujlaki - Amazing Food Person
Orangette.com (Molly Wizenberg)
Chef Bill Morris
ChocolateAndZucchini.com (Clotilde Dusoulier)
Chef Brandon (Delancy, Seattle)
Chef Lesa Sullivan (LesaCooks.com)
GlutenFreeGirl.com (Shauna Ahern)
Chef Bridget Charters
herbivoracious.com (Michael Natkin)
Chef John Howie (Passion and Palate)
Chef Karen Binkhorst (Home Meals with Karen)
Chef Erin Coopey (The GlorifiedHomeChef)
STORE EVENTS
PRIVATE CHEF NETWORK
COOKING CLASSES
COOKING CLASSES @HOME
Essential Pantry
ARTICLES
Acetum Manufaktur (Acetoria)
Agostoni Chocolate
Albertengo
Almazara As Pontis
Andrea Slitti Chocolatier
Antica Torroneria Piemontese
Apiculture Dr Pescia
Argencove Chocolate
Asin Tibuok
Askinosie Chocolate
Big Island Bees
Bona Furtuna
Breramilano Cova and Co
Brontedolci Pasticceria
Fallot Mustard Mill
Firefly Kitchens
Flamigni
Garden Treasures Organic Farm of Arlington
Hawkshead Relish Company
Heilala Vanilla
Island Bakery
Jaipur Avenue Masala Chai
June Taylor
KATZ Farm
Kitchen Imp
KL KELLER FOODWAYS
Kozliks Mustard Company
La Trinquelinette
La Vecchia Dispansa Balsamico
Lakrids by John Bulow
Le Bon Magot
Le Dolcezze Di Nanni
Leone
Les Ruchers de Bourgogne
Love Cocoa James Cadbury
Mademoiselle de Margaux Chocolate
Mama Lils
Marshall's Haute Sauce Company
Mission Chocolate
Monograno Felicetti Organic Kamut Grain Pasta
Moonshine Trading Company
Oregon Growers Farm Direct
Ortiz Seafood Company
Pierre Biscuiterie
San Giacomo
Sgambaro Molino E Pastificio Italian Pasta
SOM - Portland
SOMA chocolatemaker
Summerdown Mint
Tasmanian Honey Company
Villa Jerada
White Label Chocolate
Wildwood Chocolate
Effies Homemade
Heritage Shortbread
Hey Boo
India Tree
Jaipur Avenue
June Taylor
Kitchen Imp
Mission Chocolate
Landsea
Le Bon Magot
Raincoast Crisps
Soom Foods
INGREDIENT PANTRY
Anchovies
Baking
- Baking Chocolate
- Baking Decorations
- Baking Nuts
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa & Cocoa Butter
- Extracts & Flavorings
- Flour
- Fruit for Baking
- Gluten-Free Baking
- Pastry Shells & Miscellaneous
- Sugar
- Vanilla
Balsamic Vinegar
Beans
Binchotan
Bitters
Bittering Agents
Candy & Confections
Capers
Chai from India
Chilis
Chocolate
- Craft Chocolate
Traditional Chocolate Makers
- Slitti Chocolate
- Pralus Chocolate
- Madm de Margaux
- Venchi Chocolate
- Chocolate Confections
- Couverture and Baking Chocolate
- Cocoa Powder and Drinking Chocolate
Chutneys
Coffee
Condiments
- Ketchups
- Mustards
- Other Condiments
Condiments for Cheese
Cookies
Couscous
Crackers
Dessert Sauces
Drinks and Cocktail Mixers
Duck & Goose
Escargot
Everything Else
Fish Sauce
Fish & Seafood
Foie Gras
Fruitcake
Furikake
Gluten Free
Grains
Grilling Pantry
Herbs & Spices
Honey from the World's Flowers
Hot & Saucy & Spicy
Hot Chocolate
Jams & Jellies & More
- Conserves
- Jelly
- Marmalades
- Jams
Ketchup
Lard
Lentils
Molecular Cuisine
Mustard
Nuts and Almonds
Nut and Seeds Oils
Oatmeal
Nuts & Seed Butters
Oils
Olive Oils
Olive Oil - Olio Nuovo
Olive Oil - Infused
Olives
Panettone from Italy
Panforte from Italy
Pasta
Pasta Sauce
Pate
Pates de Fruit - Fruit Jellies
Piementon Paprika Pepper
Pesto
Pet Food
Pickled
Pomegranate
Preserved Fruit
Preserved Vegetables
Pruneaux d'Agen - Prunes
Pulses
Quinoa
Rice
Salt
- Sea Salt
- Smoked Salt
- Exotic & Flavored Salts
Sardines
Soy Sauce Shoyu
Stocks
Syrups & Sweeteners
Tea
Tomatoes
Torrone and Nougat
Truffles & Mushrooms
Tuna
Verjus
Vinegar
Press Picks
RECIPES
All Recipes
Breakfast & Brunch
Appetizers & Snacks
Salads & Dressings
Soups, Stews & Chili
Vegetables & Side Dishes
Main Course
Desserts
Breads
Drinks
Pizzas & Pastas
Sauces & Condiments
Recipes from Friends
REGIONS
Asian Ingredients
French Pantry
Italian Gourmet Food Pantry
Moroccan Pantry
Spanish Pantry
Latin America
FRESH
A few of our Favorite things
Avocados
Beaufort Cheese
BINCHO-TAN Japanese Charcoal
Bottarga
CHERRIES
Colomba Easter Cakes
COPPER RIVER SALMON
Fra'Mani Salami
Fresh Fish
Garlic
Heritage Ham Smoked-to-order
Holiday Gourmet Gifts
Mangalitsa Pig
Nonnettes from France
Panettone
Panforte
PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO
Sardinian Cheese
Smoked & Specialty Meats
Stocking Stuffers
Tomme Brulee Cheese
Torrone and Nougat
Truffles & Mushrooms
Turkey
Wild Alaskan Salmon
CHEF'S PANTRIES
Marcella and Victor Hazan
Yotam Ottolenghi (Simple, Jerusalem, Plenty More ...)
Chef Brady William (Canlis)
Tim's Pantry Picks ChefShop.com
Chef Roberto Cortez
Eliza's Essential Pantry
Tina Ujlaki - Amazing Food Person
Orangette.com (Molly Wizenberg)
Chef Bill Morris
ChocolateAndZucchini.com (Clotilde Dusoulier)
Chef Brandon (Delancy, Seattle)
Chef Lesa Sullivan (LesaCooks.com)
GlutenFreeGirl.com (Shauna Ahern)
Chef Bridget Charters
herbivoracious.com (Michael Natkin)
Chef John Howie (Passion and Palate)
Chef Karen Binkhorst (Home Meals with Karen)
Chef Erin Coopey (The GlorifiedHomeChef)
STORE EVENTS
PRIVATE CHEF NETWORK
COOKING CLASSES
COOKING CLASSES @HOME
Essential Pantry
ARTICLES
PRODUCERS
Acetum Manufaktur (Acetoria)
Agostoni Chocolate
Albertengo
Almazara As Pontis
Andrea Slitti Chocolatier
Antica Torroneria Piemontese
Apiculture Dr Pescia
Argencove Chocolate
Asin Tibuok
Askinosie Chocolate
Big Island Bees
Bona Furtuna
Breramilano Cova and Co
Brontedolci Pasticceria
Fallot Mustard Mill
Firefly Kitchens
Flamigni
Garden Treasures Organic Farm of Arlington
Hawkshead Relish Company
Heilala Vanilla
Island Bakery
Jaipur Avenue Masala Chai
June Taylor
KATZ Farm
Kitchen Imp
KL KELLER FOODWAYS
Kozliks Mustard Company
La Trinquelinette
La Vecchia Dispansa Balsamico
Lakrids by John Bulow
Le Bon Magot
Le Dolcezze Di Nanni
Leone
Les Ruchers de Bourgogne
Love Cocoa James Cadbury
Mademoiselle de Margaux Chocolate
Mama Lils
Marshall's Haute Sauce Company
Mission Chocolate
Monograno Felicetti Organic Kamut Grain Pasta
Moonshine Trading Company
Oregon Growers Farm Direct
Ortiz Seafood Company
Pierre Biscuiterie
San Giacomo
Sgambaro Molino E Pastificio Italian Pasta
SOM - Portland
SOMA chocolatemaker
Summerdown Mint
Tasmanian Honey Company
Villa Jerada
White Label Chocolate
Wildwood Chocolate
WOMAN owned Businesses
Effies Homemade
Heritage Shortbread
Hey Boo
India Tree
Jaipur Avenue
June Taylor
Kitchen Imp
Mission Chocolate
Landsea
Le Bon Magot
Raincoast Crisps
Soom Foods
Home
> shop:
INGREDIENT PANTRY
>
Honey from the World's Flowers
The ABC’s of Bees & How Real Honey is "Made"
article by ChefShop.com
We’ve come a long way with the production of honey, and in the last century we have learned a lot more about the science of bees and honey. And, all our scientific 'know how' has led to the understanding that all sweeteners are not created equal.
Honey is a processed food …"processed" in a factory so efficient it would even make Henry Ford jealous. Of course, I am talking about beehives and those tireless worker bees. Bees travel as much as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just one pound of honey – and you thought maple syrup was a time consuming activity…
Bees produce honey the same way today as they have for at least 150 million years. Bees produce honey so that they have food for the hive during the long months of winter when flowers aren't blooming and when little or no nectar is available to them. Bees consume mainly pollen, a good source of protein and vitamins, for the first half of their lives, but come winter they switch to honey. European honeybees, genus Apis Mellifera, produce such an abundance of honey - far more than the hive can eat over a single winter - that humans can harvest the excess without risk to the honeybees.
Honeybees are social insects, and bee colonies have a marked division of labor that includes a queen, drones and workers. The smallest bees in the colony, the workers, are the busiest. A typical colony can have between 50,000 to 60,000 of these sexually undeveloped females. The life span of a worker bee varies according to the time of year, but it is typically 28 to 35 days – so many of the worker bees that are reared in September and October will live through the winter. The workers main jobs are to feed the queen and larvae, guard the hive entrance, and help to keep the hive cool by fanning their wings. They also produce wax comb, and collect nectar to make honey.
Drones are large male bees that have no stingers. Drones do not work. Their sole purpose is to mate with the queen.
The largest bee in the colony is the queen. A two-day-old larva is selected by the workers to be reared as the queen, and eventually become the largest bee in the colony. Throughout her life the Queen bee will be the only sexually developed female in the colony. She will emerge from her cell 11 days later to mate in flight with approximately 18 drones. During this mating, she receives million of sperm, which last her entire life span of nearly two years. The queen starts to lay eggs about 10 days after mating, laying as many as 3,000 eggs in a single day.
Mature worker bees run about ten one-hour trips to and from the hive every day. Each can fly up to five miles in search for nectar, storing what she gathers in her “honey sac.” As the worker bees buzz on flowers, they collect a little water, a substance called propolis, (also referred to as “bee glue) and nectar (the sweet liquid flowers excrete to attract bees and other insects.) Their movement from flower to flower also provides one of nature’s most crucial functions – pollination. While collecting nectar, pollen collects on and falls off the bees’ legs, helping to fertilize flowers so they can produce seeds and fruit. Each variety of flower produces a unique type of pollen and a unique type of nectar both of which will affect the color, texture, flavor, and others properties of the honey. Since it is a product of nature, nectar and pollen can change from season to season and from year to year.
Back at the hive, bees will turn the nectar into honey, which is their primary food. Inside the hive, house worker bees remove and handle the nectar, passing it off from one another and fanning their wings rapidly to help evaporate moisture and concentrate the nectar. During this process known as "ripening," special enzymes on their bodies work with evaporation to transform the nectar into honey. When ready, the worker bees deposit the droplets of honey into hexagon-shaped wax cells and seal the cell with more wax. In her lifetime, the average worker bee makes only 1/12 teaspoon of honey, just a few small drops. Bees consume about 8 pounds of honey for every pound of surplus taken by the beekeeper.
Next article:
What's in Your Honey and Is It Real?
Check out our
Selection of Honeys from Around the World
(c) ChefShop.com, 2018