Ingredients
□ 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
□ ½ cup whole wheat or graham flour
□ 1 tsp baking powder
□ ¼ tsp baking soda
□ ¼ tsp salt
□ ¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine, melted
□ ⅓ cup honey
□ 1 tsp vanilla extract
□ 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
□ ¼ cup nonfat milk
□ 1 (8 oz) package Neufchatel or reduced-fat cream cheese
□ ¼ cup honey
□ 3 cups assorted sliced or whole fresh fruits
□ Toasted coconut or granola
□ Optional honey or chocolate syrup

Crust Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Step 2
In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

Step 3
In a small bowl, mix together melted butter, honey and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture.

Step 4
Stir in egg yolk and milk.

Step 5
Form into a ball with hands.

Step 6
Place on a lightly greased pizza pan or baking sheet.

Step 7
With floured hands, press dough to form a 12-inch circle.

Step 8
Bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Step 9
Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack.

Topping Directions
In a small bowl, combine Neufchatel cheese and honey. Mix until well blended.

Serving Directions
Step 1
Spread topping onto crust to within ½ inch of edge.

Step 2
Arrange fruit over top.

Step 3
Sprinkle with toasted coconut and drizzle with honey, if desired.

The study found that climate conditions and soil productivity — the ability of soil to support crops based on its physical, chemical and biological properties — were some of the most important factors in estimating honey yields. Credit: Arwin Neil Baichoo/Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

By Katie Bohn

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Honey yields in the U.S. have been declining since the 1990s, with honey producers and scientists unsure why, but a new study by Penn State researchers has uncovered clues in the mystery of the missing honey.

Using five decades of data from across the U.S., the researchers analyzed the potential factors and mechanisms that might be affecting the number of flowers growing in different regions — and, by extension, the amount of honey produced by honey bees.

The study, recently published in the journal Environmental Research, found that changes in honey yields over time were connected to herbicide application and land use, such as fewer land conservation programs that support pollinators. Annual weather anomalies also contributed to changes in yields.

The data, pulled from several open-source databases including those operated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service and USDA Farm Service Agency, included such information as average honey yield per honey bee colony, land use, herbicide use, climate, weather anomalies and soil productivity in the continental United States.

Overall, researchers found that climate conditions and soil productivity — the ability of soil to support crops based on its physical, chemical and biological properties — were some of the most important factors in estimating honey yields. States in both warm and cool regions produced higher honey yields when they had productive soils.

The eco-regional soil and climate conditions set the baseline levels of honey production, while changes in land use, herbicide use and weather influenced how much is produced in a given year, the researchers summarized.

Gabriela Quinlan, the lead author on the study and a National Science Foundation (NSF) postdoctoral research fellow in Penn State’s Department of Entomology and Center for Pollinator Research, said she was inspired to conduct the study after attending beekeeper meetings and conferences and repeatedly hearing the same comment: You just can’t make honey like you used to.

According to Quinlan, climate became increasingly tied to honey yields in the data after 1992.

“It’s unclear how climate change will continue to affect honey production, but our findings may help to predict these changes,” Quinlan said. “For example, pollinator resources may decline in the Great Plains as the climate warms and becomes more moderate, while resources may increase in the mid-Atlantic as conditions become hotter.”

Co-author on the paper Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research, said that while scientists previously knew that many factors influence flowering plant abundance and flower production, prior studies were conducted in only one region of the U.S.

“What’s really unique about this study is that we were able to take advantage of 50 years of data from across the continental U.S.,” she said. “This allowed us to really investigate the role of soil, eco-regional climate conditions, annual weather variation, land use and land management practices on the availability of nectar for honey bees and other pollinators.”

One of the biggest stressors to pollinators is a lack of flowers to provide enough pollen and nectar for food, according to the researchers. Because different regions can support different flowering plants depending on climate and soil characteristics, they said there is growing interest in identifying regions and landscapes with enough flowers to make them bee friendly.

“A lot of factors affect honey production, but a main one is the availability of flowers,” she said. “Honey bees are really good foragers, collecting nectar from a variety of flowering plants and turning that nectar into honey. I was curious that if beekeepers are seeing less honey, does that mean there are fewer floral resources available to pollinators overall? And if so, what environmental factors were causing this change?”

For Quinlan, one of the most exciting findings was the importance of soil productivity, which she said is an under-explored factor in analyzing how suitable different landscapes are for pollinators. While many studies have examined the importance of nutrients in the soil, less work has been done on how soil characteristics like temperature, texture, structure — properties that help determine productivity — affect pollinator resources.

The researchers also found that decreases in soybean land and increases in Conservation Reserve Program land, a national conservation program that has been shown to support pollinators, both resulted in positive effects on honey yields.

Herbicide application rates were also important in predicting honey yields, potentially because removing flowering weeds can reduce nutritional sources available to bees.

“Our findings provide valuable insights that can be applied to improve models and design experiments to enable beekeepers to predict honey yields, growers to understand pollination services, and land managers to support plant–pollinator communities and ecosystem services,” Quinlan said.

To learn more about the land use, floral resources and weather in specific areas, visit the Beescape tool on the Center for Pollinator Research website.

David A.W. Miller, associate professor of wildlife population ecology, was also a co-author on the study.

The NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology Program and the USDA National Institute Food and Agriculture’s Pollinator Health Program and Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems Programs helped support this research.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Why are bees making less honey? Study reveals clues in five decades of data | Penn State University (psu.edu)

By James Murray

Image from Unsplash

Thunder Bay – Business – Almost everyone loves the taste of honey. In an age where food authenticity is increasingly scrutinized, a lesser-known but significant issue has emerged in the honey industry: honey-laundering. This term refers to the illegal practice of mislabeling the origin of honey or adulterating it with other substances. As consumers, understanding honey-laundering and knowing how to ensure the authenticity of the honey you purchase is crucial.

What is Honey-Laundering?

Honey-laundering primarily involves two deceptive practices:

Mislabeling Origin: Some manufacturers label their honey as being from a particular region or country, often one known for high-quality honey, when it actually originates from somewhere else. This practice is commonly used to circumvent import tariffs or bans from countries with a history of contamination in honey production.

Adulteration: This involves diluting pure honey with other cheaper sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, or other sugary substances. Adulterated honey is less expensive to produce but is sold as pure honey, deceiving consumers and undercutting honest producers.

Impact of Honey-Laundering

Honey-laundering not only deceives consumers but also has broader implications:

Economic Impact: It undermines legitimate beekeepers and honey producers who struggle to compete with the lower prices of adulterated products.

Health Risks: Adulterated honey can contain harmful antibiotics or heavy metals, posing health risks to consumers.

Environmental Concerns: Mislabeling origin can mask environmentally harmful production practices in some regions.

How to Ensure You’re Buying Real Honey

Read Labels Carefully: Check for country of origin and ingredient list. Authentic honey should have no other ingredient except honey.

Buy Local: Purchasing from local beekeepers or farmers’ markets can increase the likelihood of getting pure honey. It also supports local agriculture.

Certifications and Tests: Look for certifications like “True Source Certified” which ensure the traceability of honey. Some companies also put QR codes on their products that provide detailed sourcing information.

Price Point: If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Producing genuine, pure honey is a labor-intensive process, which is reflected in its cost.

Consistency and Texture: Pure honey tends to crystallize over time, whereas adulterated honey will remain syrupy.

Water Test: Put a drop of honey in water. Pure honey will settle at the bottom, while adulterated honey will start dissolving.

Flame Test: Dip a matchstick in honey and try to light it. If it lights easily, the honey is pure. Adulterated honey will prevent the match from lighting due to moisture from additives.

Trust Your Taste: Pure honey has a complex flavour profile that changes slightly with each batch, reflecting the flowers from which the nectar was harvested.

Conclusion

Honey-laundering is a global issue with significant impacts on consumers, producers, and the environment. By being vigilant and informed, consumers can play a crucial role in combating this practice. Always opt for transparency, traceability, and trustworthiness when it comes to purchasing honey. Remember, choosing authentic honey not only ensures you enjoy a quality product but also supports ethical and sustainable practices in the honey industry.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: NetNewsLedger – Unveiling Honey-Laundering: Ensuring Authenticity in Your Honey Purchase

By Mitch Leslie

Yao honey hunter Seliano Rucunua holds a male honeyguide caught for research in the Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique. CLAIRE SPOTTISWOODE

When people in the Niassa Special Reserve of northern Mozambique hanker for something sweet, they don’t call DoorDash or Uber Eats. They call a bird. The aptly named honeyguide will lead them to a bee nest so they can harvest the honey. The bird obtains a treat, too—scrumptious wax and bee larvae. A new study suggests this partnership, which occurs in several places in Africa, is even more intricate than scientists thought. People in different regions make unique sounds to summon the birds, and the birds recognize and respond to calls from their local area, researchers report today in Science. The authors say the results suggest humans and honeyguides shape each other’s cultural traditions.

“It’s an elegant study. The results are so clear, and the experimental design is so simple,” says ethologist Julia Hyland Bruno of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, who wasn’t connected to the work.

Scientists have documented just a handful of cases in which humans cooperate with wild animals. For example, in Brazil, Myanmar, and India, people and dolphins work together to catch fish. But the alliance between honey-seeking people and honeyguides in Africa takes collaboration to a higher level. The small, brown-and-white birds are adept at finding bee nests and remembering their locations. “They learn the landscape intimately,” says behavioral ecologist Claire Spottiswoode of the University of Cambridge, a co-author on the new paper. Humans, in turn, chop open the trees where the nests are located and smoke out the furious bees. The two species often split the spoils, but honey hunters sometimes stiff their assistants, destroying the wax so the birds are motivated to look for more nests.

Honeyguides sometimes solicit people to follow them, but honey hunters can also invite the birds to help. The Yao people who live in the Niassa Special Reserve, for instance, make a distinctive “brrrr” sound, followed by a “huh” that rises in pitch.

The sounds people use to draw the birds differ from place to place. Can the birds tell the difference? To find out, Spottiswoode teamed up with anthropologist Brian Wood of the University of California, Los Angeles, who has been studying the Hadza community of northern Tanzania for almost 20 years. The Hadza rely on complex whistles that are, as Wood puts it, “almost like an orchestra of melodies” to notify the birds they are ready to look for honey.

At sites in Tanzania and Mozambique, researchers and honey hunters tramped through the bush playing recordings of the Yao calls, Hadza whistles, or humans yelling their names, which served as a control. In Tanzania, honeyguides were more than three times more likely to hook up with a group playing the Hadza whistles than with one playing the Yao call or the shouts. And in Mozambique, a playback of the Yao call was more than twice as effective as the other two sounds. The researchers ruled out the possibility that the birds opted for a particular sound because it was easier to hear in that environment, determining that the calls and whistles faded equally rapidly in the two locations. The DNA of the birds doesn’t differ from place to place, but the calls can change over relatively short distances, which suggests the honeyguides don’t inherit their preference, Spottiswoode says. A more likely explanation is that “the birds learn to respond to the signals of their local human partners.”

Like humans, birds can have their own cultures, often passed down through their songs. The new findings suggest honeyguides and humans reinforce each other’s traditions. Yao and Hadza honey hunters told the researchers that they stick with the calls they learned from their forebears because changing them reduces the odds of attracting honeyguides. The birds apparently figure out that the call of their area means an opportunity for food, and they are drawn to people making it. But they don’t respond the same way to an unfamiliar call, which discourages honey hunters from innovating. Whether the honeyguides learn to respond to the local call from other honeyguides or on their own is a question the researchers want to investigate.

Yao honey hunters use fire and tools to harvest a bees’ nest in the Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique. CLAIRE SPOTTISWOODE

“They provide really clear evidence for the interaction between honeyguides and humans and the possibility for learning by the birds,” says behavioral ecologist Mauricio Cantor of Oregon State University, who wasn’t connected to the study. “They’ve done an elegant job of demonstrating that there is cultural variation here,” adds behavioral ecologist Stephen Nowicki of Duke University. Humans cooperate and communicate with domesticated animals all the time, “but this is a wild animal. To see the complexity of communication that can occur—that’s really unusual.” As the authors note, fewer people are hunting for honey because they can now buy sugar. That decline could affect the birds, notes ornithologist John Marzluff of the University of Washington. “If you are a species cooperating with us, you have to be on your game because we change rapidly.”

Humans are making massive changes to the planet and threatening biodiversity, but the birds provide a positive example of an animal that can live alongside people, Wood says. Their “ability to learn opens up possibilities for cooperation and coexistence.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Birds that lead people to honey recognize local calls from their human helpers | Science | AAAS

Marinade Ingredients
□ ½ cup honey
□ ½ cup olive oil
□ ⅓ cup soy sauce
□ ⅓ cup lemon juice
□ ¼ cup Worcester sauce
□ ½ tsp salt
□ ½ tsp pepper

Meat Ingredients
□ 2½ to 3 pounds thinly cut beef strips

Seasoning Ingredients
□ ¼ cup of your favorite dry rub seasoning (Holy Voodoo Meat Church was the seasoning I used)
Note: Adjust the amount of seasoning to your preference

Directions
Step 1
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.

Step 2
Separate the meat strips and place in a large bowl.

Step 3
Mix the marinade with the beef strips. Cover and
refrigerated for 3 to 24 hours.

Step 4
Take the meat strips out of marinade, separate and lay on a large tray.

Step 5
Sprinkle the seasoning on one side, turn the pieces over and sprinkle seasoning on the other side.

Step 6
Elevate the grates on your smoker grill approximately 1 inch. (I use other extra grates to get the elevation so the meat is not on the actual grill grates.)

Step 7
Place meat on the grates and cook on low for 2½ to 3 hours. Turn halfway through.

Enjoy this great snack with your friends and family over the holidays!

By Erin Negley | LNP / LancasterOnline

A spotted lanternfly creeps on the ground during a baseball game in Pittsburgh in 2021. Keith Srakocic / AP

In the years Matthew Libhart’s raised bees, he’s learned how to care for his hives.

He’s learned you can suggest and nudge honeybees, but you can’t make them do anything.

A few years ago, he learned they can make a new type of honey.

Libhart removed boxes filled with honey from the hives at his Warwick Township home right on time. Usually by July, the bees start to eat what they’ve stored. However, the bees were still making honey, building more comb in crevices, filling it with dark nectar. Libhart put a few empty boxes back.

“They filled them up,” he says. “And I’m like: What is this?”

Later he learned the late-season dark honey comes from Pennsylvania’s least-wanted pest: the spotted lanternfly. Since the bug showed up in Pennsylvania about a decade ago, they’ve killed grapevines and harmed other plants and trees. Bees didn’t get the “kill on sight” memo and the new honey has been one sweet side to spotted lanternflies. New research from honey samples including Libhart’s shows it has medicinal potential as well as a fall flavor for foodies.

“This is just the beginning of this research,” says Robyn Underwood, Penn State Extension apiculture educator.

A pest’s problems

Spotted lanternflies are native to China and have few natural predators in Pennsylvania, where they were spotted in 2014. The ag industry has asked people to stomp, swat and kill to slow the spread. Still, the insects have spread from the ground zero of Berks County throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.

The insects prefer the tree of heaven but will feed on more than 170 plant species, Underwood says.

The feeding can kill grapevines and is especially harmful to hops, kiwi and cucumber plants, according to new research from Penn State. The research also shows they aren’t harmful to hardwood trees like silver maple, weeping willow and river birch.

Yet also troubling is what the insects excrete: “honeydew,” sugary liquid that attracts sooty mold. The mold can stress plants and when covering a deck, for example, isn’t great for quality of life.

A silver lining

Insects, however, don’t mind the honeydew. Ants, fruit flies, butterflies and bees, including honeybees, eat it.

For honeybees, spotted lanternflies reach maturity just when their food sources start to disappear. Libhart was one of the beekeepers who didn’t have to feed his bees in the fall for a few years thanks to the lanternfly honeydew. It’s a silver lining to the pest, he says.

As the lanternfly numbers drop in Lancaster County, so has the free food for the honeybees. This fall, he’s back to feeding nearly all of his hives.

The honey made from the honeydew has been described as earthy and smoky.

Philadelphia Bee Co. made Doom Bloom honey, which it describes as a robust fall honey with a smoky flavor. A Philadelphia baker called it the “epitome of autumn.”

Libhart finds it difficult to describe.

“It’s got a kind of a weird taste that, at least in my experience, not too many people find palatable. I guess it’s kind of an acquired taste,” he says. “It kind of has a smoky, kind of maple-y taste to it, which sounds great, but it is kind of odd when you’re expecting honey.”

Underwood is not a fan but she shares individual sticks for people to sample and give their opinion.

She’s also shared honey with researchers, who have tested the honey. In several labs, they’ve found it out-performs manuka honey, the honey approved by the Food and Drug Administration for wound treatment. The spotted lanternfly honey inhibits the growth of bacteria such as MRSA and E. coli.

“No wonder it tastes like crap,” Underwood joked to a group of beekeepers last week. “It’s medicine.”

She would love for chemists to study the honey further to learn more.

In the meantime, beekeepers in four corners of Pennsylvania are taking weekly honey samples to find lanternfly DNA, led by The Grozinger Lab at Penn State. Honeybees could be the smallest scouts, discovering where the pests move before people notice.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Spotted lanternflies help make smoky honey. It could be good for you. | 90.5 WESA

By National Honey Board

Why the Food Industry Thrives on Honey Bee Pollination

When someone thinks about honey bees, they usually think about honey. That makes sense as honey bees make this amazing sweetener and flavor. However, honey bees impact our food system in ways beyond making honey. Honey bees are responsible for more than one-third of the foods we eat.

Think about that for a second. On average, honey bees are responsible for every third bite of food you take. They make commercial production of more than 90 different crops possible. Honey bees are responsible for bringing the world guacamole, pumpkin pie and most of our nut-dense food bars. They also ensure our food is flavorful by pollinating cinnamon, garlic, parsley and coriander.

Honey bees are among the most vital pollinators in the world, playing an essential role in maintaining biodiversity and ensuring the reproduction of plants. Their work in pollination supports not only natural ecosystems but also agricultural systems.

The Natural Mechanics of Honey Bee Pollination

Honey bees pollinate flowering crops, plants, trees, shrubs and weeds through their quest for food. When bees forage for food, they are looking for two things:

• Nectar = carbohydrates
• Pollen = protein

Fortunately for us and honey bees, both of these dietary needs are found on flowers. As bees move from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen, they inadvertently transfer pollen from the male part of one flower (the anther) to the female part (the stigma) of another. In natural ecosystems, honey bee pollination ensures the reproduction of many flowering plants, promoting biodiversity.

Honey bees make such effective pollinators because they are equipped with hairy bodies and pollen baskets (corbicula) on their hind legs, which allows them to effectively collect and transfer pollen. They can be safely managed and moved in large numbers from crop to crop by beekeepers.

The Impact of Honey Bees on the Food Industry

Check out this ingredient list from a popular food bar:

• Oats
• Almonds – Require honey bee pollination
• Honey – Made by honey bees
• Almond butter – Require honey bee pollination
• Tapioca fiber
• Dried apples – Require honey bee pollination
• Egg whites
• Cinnamon – Require honey bee pollination
• Vanilla extract – Benefit from honey bee pollination
• Sea salt

Without honey bees, we don’t have this product or many just like it. It’s easy to see and understand the impact of honey bee pollination on our food supply for yourself. Print out this list of honey bee pollinated foods, and cross-reference it with the raw ingredients you use.

Honey bees help the food industry thrive, so it’s important for food and beverage manufacturers to support the honey industry. By using honey in product formulations, manufacturers can help beekeepers ensure their hives are healthy and crops are pollinated.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: National Honey Board- good for the planet | Food Dive

Ingredients
□ 2½ cups self-rising cornmeal
□ ½ tsp salt
□ ¼ cup vegetable oil
□ ½ cup creamed corn
□ 1⅓ cup buttermilk
□ ¼ cup honey
□ 1 egg
□ 1 tbsp vegetable oil (for skillet)
□ Honey and Butter for serving

Zankopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 450°F.

Step 2
Swirl the 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet. Place in the over to heat. Watch that it doesn’t start to smoke!

Step 3
Mix the cornmeal and salt in a large bowl.

Step 4
In a second bowl, combine the vegetable oil, creamed corn, buttermilk, honey and egg.

Step 5
Stir the wet ingredients with the dry until just combined. Batter will be lumpy, don’t over mix!

Step 6
Open the oven and drop a tsp of batter into the hot skillet to make sure it is heated enough to sizzle.

Step 7
Once heated enough, carefully pour the batter into the skillet.

Step 8
Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and golden brown.

Step 9
Cut into slices and serve with additional honey and butter.

Tip
Add 4 pieces of chopped bacon to the batter for a special treat!

On a bright summer day, staff joined the NATO beekeeper at the honey harvesting workshop at Alliance Headquarters in Brussels on Thursday (10 August 2023). Starting with two hives in 2020, the NATO apiary currently contains four beehives due to the success of honey production. This year’s yield is expected to reach around 50 kilograms.

The NATO beekeeper harvests honey from the hives twice a year. Depending on weather conditions, one hive can produce up to 25 kilograms of honey. A significant portion of honey is left for the bees to use for survival during the winter months. Around 350 jars of NATO honey were sold at the NATO Charity Bazaar in November 2022, and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gifted jars of NATO honey to ambassadors in the North Atlantic Council last December.

The NATO bee hives are part of a wider ‘greening’ initiative at NATO Headquarters. The honey bees play a vital role in the local ecosystem as they pollinate surrounding trees, crops and plants within a 3 kilometre range. This includes the wildflower meadow at NATO headquarters, with a mix of indigenous plants and flowers including poppies and corn flowers, which were specifically chosen to encourage bees, butterflies and birds. Workshops like this aim to raise awareness about the importance of supporting biodiversity and preserving natural habitats under the threat of climate change.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: NATO – News: NATO bees are busy at bi-annual honey harvest, 10-Aug.-2023

Cookie Ingredients
□ 2½ cups + 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
□ ⅔ cup corn starch
□ 1 teaspoon salt
□ ½ cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
□ 2 teaspoon cinnamon
□ 1 cup cold butter (cut into small pieces)
□ 2 large eggs
□ 4 tablespoons honey
□ 2 tablespoons milk

Cookie Directions
Step 1
In a large bowl combine flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix well.

Step 2
Add the pieces of butter and combine until mixed into course combs.

Step 3
Add honey, eggs and milk. Mix with spoon until you can knead with your hands.

Step 4
Once you can form a smooth ball of dough, wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Step 5
Pre-heat over to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Step 6
On a floured, flat surface, roll dough into ¼-inch thickness and but cookies out with cookie cutter(s). I made on in the shape of a bee frame!

Step 7
Place on cookie sheets and back for 10 minutes.

Step 8
Let cool completely then frost.

Icing Ingredients
□ 3 to 3½ cups powdered sugar depending on whether or not you add food coloring
□ 2 teaspoon vanilla
□ 4 tablespoons melted butter
□ 1 teaspoon honey
□ 3 to 5 tablespoons milk
□ Optional: for the color of honey use 9 drops yellow food coloring, 1 drop red food coloring and 1 drop blue food coloring

Icing Directions
Step 1
Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, honey and milk until smooth.

Step 2
Then add food coloring. Gel food coloring works best.

Step 3
Ice cookies then immediately lay out on wax paper or parchment paper to let icing set.

Step 4
Layer cookies between parchment paper in air tight container for storage.

Step 5
Keep refrigerated and enjoy!

BY CHRIS SLAY

A quart of very fresh wildflower honey will taste like a sunny summer day all year long.

During the honey flow period, many established colonies made more honey than they need. In this four-part series, we’ll explore exactly what honey is, what differentiates some honey from others, traditional and modern medical uses, and the rich history humans have with honey as a food source. We’ll also disprove some common misconceptions about honey. Welcome back to the fascinating life cycle of the honey bee.

Honey begins as nectar from flowers. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen for food. The nectar that isn’t immediately consumed is stored in bees’ honey bellies and taken back to the hive. Honey bees’ salivary enzymes and proteins break down the nectar’s complex sucrose and starches into simple, more quickly digested sugars — glucose and fructose.

Because wild yeasts and bacteria can easily live on nectar, robbing its nutrients, honey bees reduce the nectar’s water content in two astonishing ways. First, they repeatedly regurgitate the nectar into their mandibles to create bubbles that provide a large surface area for water to evaporate. Second, after storing the partially dehydrated solution in open wax cells, groups of workers will constantly fan their wings, producing heat and airflow to reduce the water content even further. After the solution lowers to a water content of 18% to 15.5%, bees cap the cells with wax.

The nectar is now beyond the saturation point of water. This means there is far more sugar dissolved in what little water remains than ever could be dissolved in an equivalent volume of water.

For example, it’s impossible to dissolve one cup of sugar in seven teaspoons of water. This is honey.

Honey’s supersaturation of sugar is incredibly stable on molecular and chemical levels. Yeasts and bacteria are deterred from living on honey while in the capped cells, which ensures a very fresh and untainted food source.

The type of honey a colony produces depends entirely on the nectar’s primary source. Wildflower, the most abundant type of honey, is a combination of all of the thousands of different flowers from which the bees forage. Wildflower honey is typically light to dark amber in color and can have a very complex, multi-faceted taste. Other local nectar sources, such as basswood, tulip poplar, and sourwood trees, produce a much lighter-tasting, grassy-golden honey. Regardless of what the label says, no one knows what other flowers’ nectars are present without microscopically identifying the unique pollen cells in honey. Bees don’t discriminate.

At retail, honey is offered in many forms, but it’s either raw or processed. Most commercially produced honey is pasteurized, which ensures bacterial decontamination that may occur after uncapping the cells for extraction and the packaging process. Raising the temperature of honey above 104F also diminishes many of the unique qualities of honey. If you’ve ever had milk fresh from the cow, you understand. Commercial honey may also contain additives like high-fructose corn syrup or artificial coloring.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: All about honey – part 1 | Community News | thetomahawk.com

The sweet stuff can help with burns, coughs, anxiety and more

By Alison Gwinn,

AARP

Photo by Daily Slowdown on Unsplash

Honey’s benefits have been touted since antiquity — and it turns out the ancient Greeks and Romans were onto something: Honey really can hit the sweet spot when it comes to our health.

Though honey — a sweet, sticky liquid made by honeybees from flower nectar — is technically a sugar, “it’s also really rich in a lot of different bioactive substances,” says Mayo Clinic registered dietitian (and hobbyist beekeeper) Joy Heimgartner. Those include a range of good-for-you minerals, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants and other phytochemicals.

There are four common types of honey: Raw honey is defined by the National Honey Board as “honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding heat.” Manuka honey, produced from the flowers of manuka trees, is known for its unique antibacterial properties, attributed to a compound called methylglyoxal, says Jordan Hill, lead registered dietitian for Top Nutrition Coaching.

Organic honey is produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, pesticides or GMOs. And locally produced honey has been reported to provide relief from seasonal allergies to local pollen, though scientific evidence to support that claim is limited, says Hill.

According to Hill, honey can be substituted for sugar in recipes, but remember: It has a distinctive flavor (which varies depending on the source flowers); it’s sweeter than sugar (the general rule of thumb is to use ¾ to 1 cup of honey for every 1 cup of sugar); it’s a liquid, so you may need to cut back on other liquids or slightly increase the dry ingredients in a recipe; and it browns more quickly than sugar (so reduce the oven temperature by 25°F).

But whatever way you use honey — in a recipe or as a condiment — always keep in mind that it is a sweetener. “Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution, and we should limit added sugars of all types,” says Heimgartner. Still, “if you’re looking for a sweetener that has more to offer, honey is fantastic.” Here are six reasons why.

1. Honey doesn’t raise your blood sugar as rapidly as white sugar

“Honey is metabolized differently from white sugar and produces less of a sugar spike,” says registered dietitian and nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet. “Research suggests that honey may enhance insulin sensitivity and may support the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin.” A 2018 review of preliminary studies points to honey’s “hypoglycemic effect” and use as a “novel antidiabetic agent that might be of potential significance for the management of diabetes and its complications.”

And a 2022 study out of the University of Toronto found that honey improves important measures of cardiometabolic health, including blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, especially if the honey is raw and from a single source.

2. Honey can help with wound or burn therapy

“Honey has been used for wound healing for centuries, and certain types of honey, like medical-grade honey, have shown potential in wound management due to their antimicrobial properties and ability to promote healing,” says Hill, who nonetheless advises consulting health care professionals for appropriate wound care. Heimgartner, a board-certified oncology specialist, says, “There’s actually a lot of evidence that using honey during oral cancer radiation treatment helps to prevent some of the nasty side effects of mucositis,” or inflammation of the mouth.

How does it work? “Research suggests that honey prevents or controls the growth of bacteria on the wound, helps to slough off dead tissue and microorganisms, and transports oxygen and nutrients into a wound for quicker healing,” says Blatner.

Native plants and naturalistic perennials attract bees and other pollinators.

​Create Your Own Pollinator Garden

If you want to create your own pollinator garden for bees to forage in, consider these tips from Emily Erickson, postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, department of evolution and ecology.

• Opt for native plants or naturalistic perennials.
• Choose plants of varying colors, shapes and bloom times so you can support a variety of pollinators throughout the season.
• Avoid double-flowered varieties (those with extra petals) or plants that look drastically different from their wild relatives.
• Avoid pesticides.
• Leave areas in your yard that can serve as nesting habitats, such patches of bare soil, brush, twigs or woody stems, where many native pollinators make their homes.
• Which plants are right for you depends on your location and climate, so ask your local nursery for advice — or simply walk through a nursery and notice which plants seem to attract pollinators.

3. Honey is rich in polyphenols, including flavonoids

Why does that matter? Because those two substances have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, meaning they protect our bodies against oxidative stress, which can manifest as cancer, heart disease or other diseases. But Hill cautions that the polyphenols in honeys can vary significantly, depending on the type of honey and its floral source.

4. Honey can be an effective cough suppressant

A 2020 meta-analysis found that honey provides a widely available and inexpensive alternative to antibiotics in controlling cough frequency and severity, though it concluded that further studies were needed. “It is believed that honey’s thick texture and possible antioxidant and antimicrobial properties may provide relief for cough symptoms,” Hill says, but she adds the caveat that honey should never be given to infants under 1 year of age due to a risk of botulism.

5. Honey may provide antidepressant or anti-anxiety benefits.

“Research suggests that polyphenol compounds in honey such as apigenin, caffeic acid, chrysin, ellagic acid and quercetin support a healthy nervous system, which may enhance memory and support mood,” says Blatner. Though more study is needed, a 2014 review of research says that one established nootropic (or cognitive-enhancing) property of honey “is that it assists the building and development of the entire central nervous system, particularly among newborn babies and preschool-age children, which leads to the improvement of memory and growth, a reduction of anxiety, and the enhancement of intellectual performance later in life.”

6. Honey may support a healthy gut

Early research indicates that “honey has an extra-special ability to support a healthy gut microbiome because it contains both probiotics, or good bacteria, and prebiotic properties, which help good bacteria thrive,” says Blatner, though the evidence is limited. A 2022 paper funded by the National Institute of Health, Malaysia, concluded that “honey bees and honey, which have the potential to be good sources of probiotics and prebiotics, need to be given greater attention and more in-depth research so they can be taken to the next level.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2023/honey-health-benefits.html

Ingredients
□ 4 cups chopped broccoli
□ ¼ cup honey
□ 1 tbsp olive oil (tuscan herb was used this time)
□ ½ tsp pepper
□ ½ tsp salt

Directions
Step 1
Place chopped broccoli in a large bowl.

Step 2
Sprinkle honey, olive oil, salt and pepper over top. Stir.

Step 3
Cook broccoli in the microwave for four to five minutes, until desired tenderness.

Note
This a great addition to pork chops with hot honey drizzled on top.

Enjoy this easy, delicious dinner!

Waupaca News

Kent Pegorsch of Dancing Bear Apiary recently won an award for his Waupaca Wildflower honey at the Black Jar Honey Tasting Contest, a competition to identify the best tasting honey in the world. James Card Photo

Local honey ranked world class

By James Card

Kent Pegorsch recently won an award that is the equivalent of the Super Bowl of beekeeping.

Pegorsch is the owner of Dancing Bear Apiary. He submitted his Waupaca Wildflower honey to the Black Jar Honey Tasting Contest organized by the Center for Honeybee Research.

The goal of the contest is to identify the best tasting honey in the world. The contest is named “Black Jar” because all of the honey jars are shrouded in a coded black bag so the judges only focus on taste and not color or clarity.

Each year 500 to 1,000 entries are submitted. Out of those, the judges picked 12 winners and the Waupaca honey was among them.

Other winning honeys came from Spain, South Carolina, Hungary, Alaska, Uruguay, Vermont, Netherlands, Kansas and two from Slovakia. The honey from Spain took the grand prize.

The Waupaca honey Pegorsch submitted won in the Medium Amber category. He entered for the first time the year before and he missed being in final 30 entries.

On Sunday, June 4, Pegorsch was working in his bee yard when he heard the news. Stephanie Slater, a fellow Wisconsin beekeeper and friend, was at the completion and called him.

“I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you that you’re in the finals,” Slater said. Then his cell phone reception cut out. He refreshed his phone over and over again.

Pegorsch was working with his son and they discovered the event was being live streamed online except there was no sound as the winners were being announced.

“It was a very intense day. They later confirmed it on Tuesday. I was a little hard to get along with for two days,” said Pegorsch. “This validates that I do know my honey is a really good tasting honey when competing against honeys from all over the world. That’s the most important thing that I get out of this contest and I will definitely be competing in future years,” he said.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Sweet win for Waupaca bees – Waupaca County Post (waupacanow.com)

Ingredients
□ 1 zucchini
□ A small tub of grape tomatoes
□ 1 garlic clove
□ 1 lemon
□ 4oz of ricotta cheese
□ 2 flatbreads (I use the Storefire Naan 2-pack. I have found it holds its structure better than a pure flatbread.)
□ Parsley for garnish (fresh or the dried flakes)
□ Chili flakes (I use red pepper flakes)
□ Honey
□ Olive oil
□ Salt
□ Pepper

Directions
This recipe makes 2 servings.

Step 1
Place a lightly oiled baking sheet on the top rack and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Step 2
Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise. Thinly slice crosswise into half-moons.

Step 3
Halve tomatoes.

Step 4
Peel and mince or grate garlic. I will normally use a garlic press just to save some time – if you choose that, it will come in a later step.

Step 5
Zest and halve lemon. Quarter one of the halves.

Step 6
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Step 7
Add zucchini to hot pan with some salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and softened. It should take around 5-6 minutes.

Step 8
In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic (this is the time to use the garlic press, if desired!), and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 9
In a second small bowl, combine ricotta, half of the lemon zest, ½ teaspoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. I use half the lemon in a lemon squeezer.

Step 10
Once the oven is finished preheating and the prior steps have been completed, remove the baking sheet. Carefully place flatbreads on the prepared sheet.

Step 11
Evenly spread flatbreads with the lemon ricotta mix.

Step 12
Top with zucchini and tomatoes. Try to get the tomatoes with the cut sides up.

Step 13
Bake on the top rack until flatbreads are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Step 14
If you’re using fresh parsley, pick the leaves from stems and roughly chop the leaves.

Step 15
Once flatbreads are done, garnish with honey, parsley, remaining lemon zest and chili flakes (to taste). Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.