The average lifespan of a summer worker bee is about 35 days. And in this fleeting time, she will produce about one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey. One twelfth! There is strength in numbers people.
I try and leave my bees with at least 100 pounds of honey in their hives. Which is hopefully enough food for them to make it through a long Wisconsin winter. At the end of August I graciously harvest any surplus from the hives, both as extracted honey and cut comb. Ultimatley the quality of the summer nectar flow determines if I have extra honey left to sell. I usually do.
My honey is raw, unheated, and coarse filtered. This means it is loaded with all sorts of goodness like pollen, teeny bits of honeycomb, and live enzymes. And I don’t use any chemicals in my hives.
I try and sell most of my honey locally in the Chequamegon Bay area. If you’d like to try some, drop me a note. I deliver!
- 8 ounce jar = $6 (nifty hostess gifts and stocking stuffers)
- 16 ounce jar = $10
- 2 pound jar = $18
- 12 ounce comb honey = $13
STORING HONEY:
Store honey in a sealed container at room temperature. Honey should not be kept in the refrigerator! One of the beautiful things about honey is that it does not go bad (assuming it has been harvested at a proper moisture content.) I remember reading a National Geographic article about archeologists pulling a 3,300 year old jar of honey from an Egyptian tomb – still liquid and still fragrant.
Most raw honey will, however, naturally crystallize. To reliquify it and still maintain its natural enzymes and nutrients, gently warm the honey in a hot water bath. Use a saucepan that is taller then the jar. Place the jar in the pan and fill the pan with hot tap water until the water line is above the honey line in the jar. Remove the honey jar lid and put the pan on the stove burner on medium to low. When you see the honey on the outside of the jar starting to liquefy stir the honey, heat the water for another minute and then turn off the burner. Stir the honey every few minutes until the honey is fully liquefied (when no crystals can bee seen when you look through the jar from the side). In order to preserver its raw goodness, the honey should not get warmer than 115ºF. Reliquify as needed.
A FEW HONEY INTENSIVE RECIPES:
Garlic Pig 
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