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 | Lancashire Times A Voice of the Free Press |
Jan Harris
Deputy Group Editor
1:00 AM 21st October 2023
nature
National Honey Day - 21 October 2023
Image by PollyDot from Pixabay
The charity, which represents 28,000 beekeepers, urges honey-lovers to buy a jar produced as close to their homes as they can.
The BBKA’s honey ambassador Lynne Ingram said:
“It’s the end of the season and the honey harvest is mostly gathered in.
“This is our opportunity to celebrate the sheer variety, colour and taste of British honeys. From the water white borage honey to the darkest honeydew and gel like heather honey, the UK produces some remarkable honeys that are a joy to taste.
“Honey is made from nectar that is unique in colour and flavour to a particular plant, and to the soil and climate where it is grown – its terroir.
“In the same way that fine wines differ due to their terroir, honey, too, has different characteristics with flavours varying from the light and delicate to rich and mellow. Like wine, honey is delicious when paired with other foods such as cheeses.”
“It’s the end of the season and the honey harvest is mostly gathered in.
“This is our opportunity to celebrate the sheer variety, colour and taste of British honeys. From the water white borage honey to the darkest honeydew and gel like heather honey, the UK produces some remarkable honeys that are a joy to taste.
“Honey is made from nectar that is unique in colour and flavour to a particular plant, and to the soil and climate where it is grown – its terroir.
“In the same way that fine wines differ due to their terroir, honey, too, has different characteristics with flavours varying from the light and delicate to rich and mellow. Like wine, honey is delicious when paired with other foods such as cheeses.”
This year, with its cold spring, blazing June and damp summer, has produced some distinctive flavours. Some beekeepers have noticed harvests with rich tasting and highly aromatic honeys as a result of trees flowering during high temperatures.
Now in its second year, National Honey Day is going from strength to strength. The BBKA’s Chair, Diane Drinkwater, added that local honey shows attract crowds of non-beekeepers interested in how bees produce completely different honeys in one season.
Diane said:
“Honey bees are remarkable insects and so is the honey they produce. One bee can produce an average of half a teaspoon in her lifetime and it takes two million flowers to produce one pound of honey or 0.45kg.”
“Honey bees are remarkable insects and so is the honey they produce. One bee can produce an average of half a teaspoon in her lifetime and it takes two million flowers to produce one pound of honey or 0.45kg.”
Photo by Arwin Neil Baichoo on Unsplash
The BBKA is encouraging consumers who purchase a jar of local honey on National Honey Day to use the hashtags #NationalHoneyDay, #LocalHoney, #Beekeeping.
Image by xiSerge from Pixabay
There are 20,000 species of bees
Bees have 5 eyes and 6 legs
Bees actually have 4 wings
Bees see all colours except red
Honey bees harvest nectar and pollen from flowering plants
Bees do a 'waggle dance' when they find the perfect nectar
Male bees in the hive are called drones and they do not have a stinger
Worker bees are females who do all the different tasks needed to operate and maintain the hive
Honey bees live in large groups called colonies
An average beehive can hold around 50,000 bees
If a queen bee dies in a hive the workers create a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it special food called ‘royal jelly’
For more information click here