Honey and the honey bee

The little honeybee that flies through the air, landing on flowers, filling up on the sweet nectar of nature, and then flying back to his home is actually ‘in the process’ of making honey. Honey is a thick sugary remnant of what the home of the honeybee is created of. The honeybee home is made of wax, honey, thousands of bees, and many other natural ‘things’ that make up the honeybee home.

Honey is seen used through out the earliest of times, in ancient Egypt where honey was used as a form of payment or to feed the most sacred animals. Again, in ancient history, honey was recorded as used with wine to pour over metals or bolts used in sacred houses. Ancient Greek history shows that honey was used to made alcoholic drinks, as a tribute to the gods. 

Honey is a naturally occurring substance that has been used for thousands of years. Honey has been valued as a monetary procession, as a healing aid, as a life prolonging or life giving medication, and honey has been thought to prolong the aging process. Honey has been a staple of life in the form of food from the times of the cavemen through the modern day recipe books that we use. Honey does contain many vitamins and minerals that our bodies rely on for energy and life, which is the basis for many of the uses of honey throughout history. 

In past references you can see the words ‘in the land of milk and honey’ which is referencing to where the land of plentiful is. 

Closer to our own times, many beers are made with the additive of honey for a sweeter taste. The Germans were one of the first to include honey to sweeten the bitter alcoholic beers. This continues today giving thick dark beers their flavors. 

Somewhere around the sixteenth century, the use of honey and beekeeping made an appearance in history as the Native Americans used honey in various cooking methods. As the Americas became a settling place for those seeking new lands, honey was used to preserve fruits, in cooking, to sweeten, and in recipes for making medications, as well as in making cement, varnish, and some stains for wood.

Quick facts about bees and honey: 

• Bees aren’t supposed to be able to fly that far, or even fly at all because of their body structure and their size, but bees can fly anywhere from five to six miles at the most.
  
• Bees collect their nectar and the pollen from the flowers, but they don’t actually make the honey until they are back at the hive in the honeycomb or in the honey card.
  
• The only time that bees will collect pollen is the spring months and during the early summer months as plants are first blooming. Often pollen will be swept away by the wind before the bees can get to the flower, and some flowers don’t require pollination by bees at all in order to produce fruit or vegetables.