100% NATURAL, STRAIGHT FROM HIVE TO JAR, NO MESSING , NO ADDITIVES, NO NONSENSE
Bees, Beekeepers & Honey? How do they do it?
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Gathering
Bees start making honey, which is their food, by visiting flowers. They collect a sugary juice called Nectar from the blossom by sucking it out with their tongues. They store it in what's called their honey stomach, which is different from their food stomach.
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Processing
When they have a full load, they fly back to the hive. There, they pass it on through their mouths to other worker bees who chew it for about half an hour. It's passed from bee to bee, until it gradually turns into honey. Then the bees store it in honeycomb cells, which are like tiny jars made of wax.
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Storage
The honey is still a bit wet, so they fan it with their wings to make it dry out and become more sticky. When it's ready, they seal the cell with a wax lid to keep it clean.
So that's how bees make honey. They don't make very much of it, though. It takes at least eight bees all their life to make one single teaspoonful. Fortunately for us, they usually make more than they need, so we can have some, too.
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Extraction
We then take the surplus honey frames and place them into a spinner, (think on a washing machine lying on its back) and spin the frames so that the honey comes out from the comb
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Jarring
We then pour the honey through a fine mesh sieve to filter out any bits of wax or debris, straight into the jars for you to enjoy.
We do not tamper, add or delete any of the goodness of the Honey as the bees intended it to be. 100% Natural and Delicious
Bee & Honey FAQs
What is the Native Irish Honey Bee?
Apis Mellifera Mellifera (AMM)
Our native Dark Honeybees has many important qualities that have evolved over thousands of years, making it uniquely suited and well adapted to survive in a damp Irish climate. It has evolved a larger body and has the longest dark abdominal hairs of all the European races, which keeps it warm in a cooler climate, and also has a shorter breeding season to reflect the Irish summer.
It will be forage earlier and later and over longer distances than the Italian bee and will fly in dull and drizzly weather which would force the Italian bees indoors. Brood rearing is reduced or stopped when a nectar flow ends and the Brood cycle as adapted to suit our Irish climate. There is no point in rearing brood when they is no food coming into the hives and this way it can makes better use of meagre food resources
How do i know if the honey I buy is Irish?
Plenty of the honey in our supermarkets claim to be raw, organic or good for you, perhaps some of them are. Almost none of the honey in big name Irish shops is likely to be actually Irish, as honey output here is so low, little arrives to the shelves. The Key is in the labelling. Even if the name sounds or looks “Irishy” always scrutinise the label closer. Its is a legal requirement in Ireland to state the source of the honey. You will find that a lot of Honey labels say a blend of EU and Non EU honey.
Always look for the jar that states 100% Irish Honey
“Around 20% of honey either declared as blends of EU honey or unblended honey… were found to be suspicious of containing added sugar. The rate of suspicious honey was around 10% for blends of EU and non-EU honey, blends of non-EU honey and honey of unknown origin.” – http://www.europarl.europa.eu
Is local Honey Better for you?
New benefits of Local natural Honey are being discovered every day. Some Hay-fever sufferers swear by consuming locally produced Honey.
Some other benefits have said to be the following, when consumed in moderation,
Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties
Cough suppression (must be avoided in infants)
Heart health
Blood cholesterol regulation
Healing of mouth sores and swollen gums
Boosts athletic performance
Relief from cold sores
Healthy skin and hair
Aids digestion
Relieves asthma
Helps heal digestive tract ulcers
Relieves sunburn
Can honey go out of date?
Natural, properly preserved honey will not expire. In fact, archeologists found honey thousands of years old in ancient Egyptian tombs, and it was still good! While most of us don’t need to worry about honey that old, their discovery proves that if properly contained, real honey can last for a very, very long time. Honey stored in sealed containers can remains stable for decades and even centuries!
The reason for the magical longevity of honey lies in its biological makeup. Because of the sugar content and low pH of honey, as well as the bees’ honey-making process, organisms that can spoil food won’t survive in honey. But honey has to be natural and sealed properly to enjoy its long lifespan.
My honey is crystallised, can i still eat it?
Even though honey doesn’t have an expiration date, it can still undergo natural changes. The National Honey Board says that over time honey may “darken and lose its aroma and flavor or crystallize,” depending on changes in temperature.
While changes in aroma or flavor may be less appealing, crystallized honey is completely normal and doesn’t change honey’s taste. In fact, it proves your honey is real and not pasteurized! Crystallization happens most often in real honey, because it contains natural sugars and pollen, both things you want in your honey. If you don’t enjoy those crystals, simply rest your honey in a bowl of warm water for about an hour to dissipate the formations. This won’t change the taste or smell of your honey and certainly doesn’t mean your honey has expired!
Why is weedkiller bad for bees?
The world's most used weedkiller damages the beneficial bacteria in the guts of honeybees and makes them more prone to deadly infections, new research has found. Previous studies have shown that pesticides such as neonicotinoids cause harm to bees, whose pollination is vital to about three-quarters of all food crops.