How Bees Make Honey. Honeybees collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants to use as food for adults and for their young. Nectar is the sweet liquid that plants produce to attract insects for pollination. It consists of sugars dissolved in water. Bees collect this nectar and bring it back to the hive where enzymes are added. Small droplets are placed in cells and the bees fan their wings to evaporate most of the water away. When the water content reaches about 18%, the honey is considered to be "ripe" and the bees cap the cells with a layer of wax.

From the Hive to the Honey Jar. Beekeepers put extra boxes above the hive called "supers" to store the excess honey. When there are many flowers producing an abundance of nectar, beekeepers call it a honeyflow. At the end of the season, beekeepers remove the honey supers and extract the honey. The layer of wax is removed with a hot knife and placed in an extractor. The extractor is a large stainless steel tank which spins. Centrifugal force throws the honey out of the combs where it collects at the bottom of the tank and flows out through a gate. Honey is then filtered several times to remove pieces of wax, etc. Finally the honey is poured into glass jars or plastic bears and consumed by you.

Does all honey look and taste the same? No.The nectar source determines the color and flavor of honey. The nectar from some plants produces a very dark, strong flavored honey. Nectar from other plants produces a very light mild flavored honey. Raspberry honey is light and mild, buckwheat honey is very dark. My honey is called wildflower honey because it comes from the flowers of many different kinds of plants. One of the major honey producing plants in RI is the black locust tree. This thorny tree blooms in early June and is absolutely beautiful displaying a multitude of lovely white pea-like blossoms. My favorite honey is the honey produced from sweet pepperbush, a shrub which grows in the swamps and lowlands in RI. It is very light in color, with a very distinct flavor. Another favorite is the mild honey produced from the autumn olive bushes in mid May.  Honey producing plants in our area include: fruit bloom, wild cherries, dandelion, dogwood, autumn olive, black locust, clover, raspberries, blackberries, several types of sumacs, sweet pepperbush and goldenrod. If you buy honey from the supermarket, it is usually a uniform color. Most commercial packers blend different types of honey so that it always looks the same. Much of the commercial honey comes from other countries like China, Argentina and Brazil..

Honey Storage. Honey should be stored at room temperature and never in the refrigerator. Refrigeration speeds the crystalization process. However, in time all honey will granulate and form visible sugar crystals. Depending on the nectar source, this granulation process happens quicker in some honeys than with others. If the honey crystalizes, there is nothing wrong with it; the honey just has to be heated to melt the crystals. This can be done by placing the jar in warm water, a warm oven or with the use of a microwave. Warning - Honey burns very easily so you should never heat it above 140 degrees.