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July 

It is summer and you might not think of respiratory problems in July, but this editor contracted pneumonia. Never had it before and never want it again  The ER doctor happened to mention using honey for the cough. Apparently, sometimes, you don't want to suppress the cough completely with medication. It is true that using the honey really did help by soothing the cough. Taking some before bed really helped me get some needed rest.  We have included the Buckwheat Honey in our featured products, as it is good to have some on hand.  I personally am not fond of the buckwheat,( It works the best for cough, any honey is good.) but I thought of it as medicine and I grew to like it as it really helped.  It still is not my favorite,but it was sweet medicine.  
We always welcome your honey stories and let us know your favorites. Bee Healthy!

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“Ask the bees what the Druids knew.”

Old English adage
 
            Historically, there are many cultural beliefs that surround bees.  Some are true; some are mythological.  It is well-known, in current observations of “bee-havior,” that bees hate the odor of cattle and horses.  Indeed, bees find most human scent to be offensive.  Yet, there are stories told about “Bee Shamans,” people who can handle bees without a suit and who never get stung!  Science and myth, when taken together, often blur the lines of understanding when studying records kept by those living in the past.  For example, several sources indicate examples of longevity from a diet of honey.  Pythagorus, the Mathematician, ate honey consistently and lived to age 75; quite an achievement for ancient times!  However, within past cultures, there is evidence of some interesting human behavior in regards to bees.  Here are some examples.
Celts maintained a bee cult.  They believed that bees had a “secret wisdom,” and that mead (fermented honey and water) was a ritual drink.  Newly married couples were given full honeycombs for a moon’s worth (month) of mead.  This is the origin of the word “honeymoon.”
Egyptians believed that bee venom in cream form was an ancient remedy for arthritis and rheumatism.  (The sting offsets uric acid.)   Bees were referred to as the tears of the sun god, Ra.
Ancient Greeks worshiped Aristaios, the god of shepherds and beekeepers.  They also believed that good souls were reincarnated as bees.  Zeus, the king of gods, was believed to have been fed by bees as babies.
Chinese fairy tales have a bee (which they call “Feng”) help young men find the right bride.














The Maya of Central America held a festival in the month of Mol (our December) so that the gods would provide flowers for the bees.  In addition, the Maya produced balche (ball-CHAY), an alcoholic drink made of fermented honey and an extract from the balche tree, which is still made today.
In India, the Hindu gods Vishnu, Krisna, Indra, Karma, and Siva all have either been depicted as a bee or have a bee somewhere on their statue.  They are often referred to as the “nectar-born ones.”
Ancient Christians made frequent reference to bees.  To many, bees symbolized purity, abstinence, diligence, and a sense of order.  These were put forth as desirable qualities for proper Christians.  The symbolism doesn’t stop there.  Bees represented “The Holy Ghost,” and the sweetness of honey stood for Christ and His Divine Mercy!  Beware the stinger in the form of The Last Judgment.  Bees carved on caskets represented resurrection, as did the Greeks.  It was believed that it was unlucky to kill bees and that a virgin could pass through a swarm without getting stung. Bees were often incorporated into Coats-Of_Arms.
 



 



Honeycombs

 

             For many centuries, humans have harvested honey from bees for its sweet taste and waxy comb, a unique substance that can be used for many purposes.  What is honeycomb?  Like honey, honeycomb is made by honeybees in their hives.  Both substances get their start as nectar from flowers, which the honeybees transform into honey through a process of partial digestion and regurgitation (yes, honey is bee vomit).  The honey can then be turned into honeycomb, which is used to store the bees’ eggs, larvae, pollen, and honey.
           Honeycomb is made of a series of cells that are always assembled in a horizontal, hexagonal pattern for maximum strength and volume.  A natural wax, honeycomb is made up of chemical compounds of fatty acids along with long chain alcohols.  Like honey, the precise taste of the honeycomb will depend on the environment and type of flowers used for nectar.
           Honeycomb is formed by the female worker bees, who secrete the substance from glands on the sides of their bodies – and must have a hive temperature of 91 – 97 degrees Fahrenheit to do so.  Bees must consume over eight pounds of honey to create one pound of wax for their honeycomb, and it is estimated that a bee must fly 150,000 miles (the equivalent of six times around the earth) to produce one pound of beeswax.
            Harvesting honey does not require the destruction of the honeycomb, thanks to a centrifugal machine that “spins” the honey out and returns the honeycomb basically intact to the bees. This honeycomb may be filled up again and again by the bees. Although it starts out almost clear, honeycomb is darkened over time by the cocoons inside and traffic stains from the bees’ feet.
           Honeycomb that you see for sale at health food shops is fresh, brand new comb that has just been made by the bees and is full of honey, not cocoons. The honey is not removed from the waxy cells, and is instead sold intact as “comb honey” to be spread on bread, muffins and pastries.
          Many honey enthusiasts contend that old-fashioned “comb honey,” a.k.a. honeycomb, is the only true unprocessed honey – a food put into its container by the animal that made it.  Taken directly from the hive and usually cut by hand, honeycomb in this form preserves more of its wild flavor and nutrients.  Honey in the comb is how most of our grandparents ate it, and the wax can be chewed like a natural gum, a sweet treat that’s popular with kids.
         According to The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture, the comb honey era lasted from 1880 to 1915, and was a time when most beekeepers in America produced comb honey. Before the enactment of the pure food and drug laws, liquid honey was frequently “extended” with corn syrup, so consumers preferred honey that came straight from the bees with no human interference. When they ate a chunk of comb honey they knew it was pure, just as the bees had intended.
         As time went on, several things happened. Laws came into being that assured better food handling and labeling, honey extraction equipment improved, and beeswax by itself became popular for industrial uses. Beekeepers could make more money by selling the honey and the wax separately. In addition, if a beekeeper re-used his wax combs year after year, he could get bigger crops of honey. It takes a lot of bee-power to make the comb, so providing ready-made comb allows the bees to store more honey.
         Unfortunately, we lost a real treat when comb honey disappeared. Each batch of honey retains the floral essences of the plants from which it was made, but the flavor of wax comb also differs according to what the bees ate and adds a richness to the flavor that extracted honey doesn’t have. Add to this the aroma of the basswood section box in which the comb was built, and you have a combination of flavors, textures, and aromas you can’t find anywhere else on earth.
         With minimal processing and maximum taste, finding natural comb honey is easier than ever. Spread it on your favorite breakfast toast, enjoy on its own, or free the honeycomb to prevent crystallization and keep it fresh for months on end. One of nature’s most delicious gifts, honeycomb has always been an important ingredient on human menus and will no doubt continue to sweeten our lives and our desserts.

 

 
How to Eat Comb Honey
 

You are experiencing honey in its truest, purest, most delectable form.  No other form of honey can match honey in the comb for delivering the exquisite flavors and aromas of honey in a completely immaculate and natural form.  That's why you should eat comb honey!  The beeswax is a completely edible substance.  Swallow it with the honey, or savor the taste of the honey long after you’ve swallowed it by chewing the wax residue just like chewing gum.  You can also use honey comb just as you’d use liquid honey, spreading it with a knife, wax and all.
 

  • Toast a piece of your favorite bread or an English muffin. While it is still very hot, spread it lightly with butter.  With a knife, cut a chunk of comb honey and spread it over the toast. You may have to mash it a bit, but the heat will soften the comb so it flattens into the toast along with the honey. It doesn’t melt, but becomes soft and aromatic. It is also good on hot biscuits,French toast or pancakes. 
  • You can also stir a chunk into a hot bowl of oatmeal. The wax just melts away, releasing the pristine sweetness of the comb honey and turning your oatmeal into a tasty treat
  • The upscale restaurants often serve comb honey in the center of a plate surrounded by a selection of expensive cheeses and multi-grain crackers. The idea here is to cover the cracker with a piece of cheese and top it off with a small chunk of comb. This works great with cheddar or brie, but any cheese will work.
                                                      





The force that makes the winter grow
Its feathered hexagons of snow,
and drives the bee to match at home
Their calculated honeycomb,
Is abacus and rose combined. An icy sweetness fills my mind,
A sense that under thing and wing
Lies, taut yet living, coiled, the spring.


Jacob Bronowski




 

Winter Park Honey is a family business specializing in local and varietal honey. We at Winter Park Honey are dedicated to helping bees create the finest honey possible. All of the honey from Winter Park Honey is raw, unheated, unfiltered, and unprocessed. Our honey comes straight from the comb to the bottle. We are FDA approved and have only the finest American honey.
 




Featured Products with 10% off



HoneyComb
 
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This is raw, totally unprocessed honey.  It literally comes straight out of the hive and into the box. It has not been sprayed with any preservatives. Enjoy eating the wax too; the entire square is edible.  Honeycomb makes a great hors d’oeuvre. Just put the entire square in the center of your favorite serving plate, surround it with some blue crumble cheese and your favorite crackers.  Dip a cracker in the comb, scoop up some cheese and enjoy!  Made in the U.S.A.  This product meets the qualifications for Kosher.
 
Purchase Here
 

Buckwheat Honey
 


 

Buckwheat Honey is one of the darkest honeys there is. 100% Pure. Raw. Natural. It has a molasses flavor and is rich in antioxidants. It’s great to add this honey to your tea or coffee throughout the cough and cold winter season!  Made in U.S.A.  Bottled by hand.  This product meets the qualifications for Kosher.

Purchase Here
 


 

As the ancient Greeks suspected, as Varro claimed, as bee lovers have always thought, as Charles Darwin himself once wrote, the honeycomb is a masterpiece of engineering. It is "absolutely perfect in economizing labor and wax." 
Studies on the geometry of honeycomb pattern explain that no other shape can create more space with the given material.
Circles  leave space, and square makes smaller area.
The hexagon structure provides the maximum strength and that it is used in designing airplane wings and satellites walls. 
The wax cell walls may be only about 0.05mm thick, but each cell can support 25 times its own weight.
A comb of 100 g. weight can hold in it up to 4 kg. of honey.
Producing wax is a laborious process. For each gram of wax produced, the bee needs to consume 6 to 7 grams of honey
 




Farmers' Markets and Festivals

Florida Markets

Friday

Windermere Farmer's Market
Between 5th and 6th on Main Street
Windermere, Florida 34786
9AM -2PM

 
Saturday


Winter Park Farmers Market
200 West New England Ave,
Winter Park, FL 32789
7AM - 1PM
 
Winter Garden Farmer's Market
104 S Lakeview Ave,
 Winter Garden, FL 3478
8AM-1PM
 
Lake Mary Farmers Market
100 N. Country Club Road,
Lake Mary, FL 32746
9AM-1PM
 
Amelia Farmer's Market
6800 1st Coast Hwy,
Amelia Island, FL 32034
9 AM- 1PM
 
Sarasota Farmers Market
1517 State St,
Sarasota, FL 34236
7AM - 1PM
 
Sunday

Celebration Farmers Market
631 Sycamore St,
Celebration, FL 34747
9AM - 3PM
 
Maitland Farmers Market
701 Lake Lily Drive
Maitland, FL 32751
9AM - 2PM


 Colorado Markets


Friday


Dillon Farmers Market
Buffalo Street (by Town Park)
3PM – 7PM


Saturday
 

Edwards Farmers Market
9AM-2PM

Minturn Farmers Maket
9AM-2PM

Sunday

Vail Farmers Market
Meadow Drive, Vail CO
10AM – 4PM

 

Go To Winter Park Honey Store
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We are FDA approved

Copyright © *2015* *Winter Park Honey|*, All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
Winter Park Honey
PO Box 3556
Winter Park, Florida 32790 
Toll Free  855-WPHoney (974-6639)

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