Bee Products
Products produced in the hive
For over 70 years Wedmore’s Manual has been the reference book of choice for answers to all practical beekeeping questions. This updated reprint, with contributions from an eminent panel of contributors is one that all serious beekeeper should have on their bookshelf.
Create Natural beeswax products – candles, soap, balms, salves and home decor for health and home.
‘THIS IS THE BOOK I’ve been waiting thirty years for. Excellent instructions. Bountiful information. Beautifully done’. – Kim Flotsam, Editor Bee Culture Magazine.
The three generations of the Jefferson family, widely known for their famous production of Heather Honey, base their beekeeping on an annual cycle of activities leading up to the anticipation of two weeks decent August weather. Tony fully describes their methods and this small volume is an investment for those who wish to produce this premium quality honey.
Just as honey bees are found all over the world so are recipes that use their honey. Caribbean jerk, Spanish chicken, French sauces, British biscuits and Turkish cakes all gleam with the sweet stuff. It can take just a spoonful or two of honey to bring its deep flavour to a dish. As a marinade it can enhance meat and poultry, and it works particularly well with nuts and fruits, cream and cheese, and herbs and spices. Along with recipes for delicious honey dishes, Spoonfuls of Honey describes different varieties of honey, explains what to consider when buying and storing, gives tips on its use in your cooking, explores the benefits to your health and the role bees and honey play in nature.
Not so long ago, in a small island nation in the South Pacific, beekeepers produced a most peculiar honey. It was much darker than clover honey everyone put on their toast in the morning, and it tasted very different. In fact the honey was a problem: it was hard to get out of the combs, and even harder for beekeepers to sell. This book chronicles the remarkable ‘rags –to-riches’ story of manuka honey, as seen through the eyes of a New Zealand beekeeping specialist who watched it unfold from the very beginning.
This book takes us from the beginning of time to the present day to show the ways in which bees and beekeeping, honey and wax, are part of the culture, mythology, theology and folklore of every people in the world. Luke Dixon is a beekeeper during the summer and a theatre director during the winter. He is the resident beekeeper of London’s Natural History Museum and the author of ‘Keeping Bees in Towns and Cities’.
This fully illustrated guide provides all available practical information on the production of royal jelly and covers in detail. Why bees produce royal jelly, Therapeutic uses of the product, Detailed methods of production, New larval transfer systems, International standards, Storage and sale of the fresh product. step by step instructions show you how anyone ,with access to one or more hives can enjoy the satisfaction of producing royal jelly. About the author Dr. Ron van Toor gained an MSc in Crop Protection at Bath University, UK. He has worked as an agriculture researcher and technology transfer specialist for 18 years in science disciplines including integrated weed and pest management, agronomy and soil fertility. He worked with the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1986-1990 to solve specific problems in the export of honeybees and the production of royal jelly. He gained his PhD in plant pathology at Lincoln University New Zealand in 2002 and now works as a scientist in crop protection for a New Zealand food research organisation.
The first English translation of an updated German title first published over 20 years ago and since then there have been both Czech and Slovak editions. It explains the best methods for harvesting and gives a wide range of recipes, many of which have been used as folk medicines in Eastern Europe.
In ‘Beauty and the Bees’, Dr Sara J Robb explains how honey, beeswax, and propolis can be used to decrease the signs of ageing. Bee products, in particular honey, are valuable as dietary supplements, as functional foods, in home remedies and in cosmetics. Substituting some of the sugar, in your diet, with honey will significantly increase your physiological levels of antioxidants and can slow the ageing process. Honey antioxidants correlate with honey colour; the darker the colour of honey, the higher the age defying antioxidants. The colour scale below shows the colours of honey, which can be used to estimate the levels of antioxidants. If you choose a dark honey, such as heather, ivy or buckwheat, you can increase the amount of antioxidants in your diet. As well as increasing antioxidants in food, bee products have had a place through history in remedies and cosmetics. Beeswax, propolis and honey have medicinal qualities that end themselves to home remedies and cosmetics. Beauty and the Bees begins with an introduction, by nutritionist Dr Domingo J. Piñero, discussing the importance of honey as a functional food. High antioxidant honey recipes are provided, including sweet and savoury honey recipes, honey baked goods and confections. Beauty and the Bees also contains recipes for beeswax anti-ageing creams, antioxidant honey soaps and Aunt Bea’s Remedies.
This booklet deals exclusively with beeswax – how to melt and refine it, its special properties as a wax, how to mould it, and the various ways it can be used for candle making. I have not discussed mineral or other waxes and their uses, as there already exists a considerable amount of literature on these, nor have I discussed candle making generally. All of these ideas suggested here have grown from my own experience as a beekeeper and candle maker over the past several decades. Some of them appeared in my “Bee Talks” in Gleaning in Bee Culture, published by A. I. Root Company, Medina, Ohio, in 1972 and 1973. This booklet greatly expands upon the methods described there, however, and I have also been able to incorporate here many more pictures. I express my thanks to the editors of Gleanings for permission to reproduce some of that material here.