Springtime Means Honey

field of cosmos flowers - a honeybee favorite food!

Anyone with pollen allergies knows: it's spring, and the flowers are blooming. With pollen also comes nectar, and the bees are busy gathering pollen to feed the baby bees, and nectar to make honey. So far, the honey flow is strong, and so long as the weather holds out, we hope to have a good spring crop. Spring honey is a special treat; it's not always available, and it many respects, it's a bonus crop that is always appreciated. Spring honey and fall honey are also quite different: spring honey is often lighter in color and in flavor, and depending on what's blooming, will be made of nectar from oak, maple, rhododendron, dandelion, crocus, apple, pear, cherry, and lilac flowers. Fall honey is often darker, ranging from golden amber to a deep brown (almost black), and is typically goldenrod, boneset, aster, coneflower, sage, knotweed, and many herbs. No two crops of honey are the same (unless of course, the bees are part of a commercial pollination service), and thus wildflower honey is much like wine, with different flavors and tastes from season to season, year to year. Every spring, for instance, what flowers are visited depends on the weather: a late frost might kill all the apple buds, or high winds and a well-timed storm may wipe out the oak and maple flowers. An early spring will often see many types of flowers blooming all at once, and hence the bees will choose some flowers over others, while other years, the flowers appear and disappear in succession, with the bees following the nectar as it appears.

While it's still early, so long as the weather remains good with ample water, we are expecting a good spring crop. Spring honey is delicious in its extracted liquid form, creamed, or even candied. The textures do not affect the flavor, but texture is a part of the enjoyment of food and it's fun to have different textures available. While we personally like creamed honey the best, a drizzle of liquid spring honey over toast or cream cheese is a light sweet treat. Like the warm sunshine after a long winter, spring honey tastes like the promise of summer and sunnier days ahead!

Disclaimers: Blog posts are opinions, not advice. One thing all beekeepers will agree on, is that if you ask 10 beekeepers what to do, you'll get 13 different answers. Beekeeping is alchemy, nature, and a bit of magic.