In ancient Egyptian papyri that comprise what is believed to be the oldest collection of medical information in the world, half of the 800 medical diagnoses and recipes mention the use of honey. Bearing the date of the 9th year of the reign of Amenhotep I (~1526 B.C.), these papyri reveal that the ancient Egyptians had discovered the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of honey. In modern times, still-edible honeycombs have been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.
Honey is the only food eaten by humans that is made by an insect; apis mellifera, one of four species of the order Hymenoptera. In order to make one pound of honey, honeybees have to gather nectar from two million flowers, and in the process fly around 90,000 miles. This is an aggregate number of course, an individual honeybee only produces about one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. Why do they do it? A beehive is a pantry-in-progress for honeybees, functioning as a reserve for the hive during the winter when nectar isn’t available.

Honeybees have amazingly specialized bodies. They have five eyes, three ocelli that discern light intensity (including ultraviolet light) for finding flowers, and two large compound eyes on either side of the ocelli, which have thousands of facets, uniquely suited to detecting movement. Their antennae detect flower fragrances, their legs gather pollen, they have an internal crop for transporting nectar, and a stinger to use in protecting their hive.

As honeybees collect nectar from flowers and plants, it is stored in their crop, where it mixes with enzymes that break the nectar down into fructose and glucose. They then carry it to the hive and pass it to drones inside the hive. These drones transfer the substance to wax storage chambers, where other drones evaporate water from the nectar by fanning it with their wings, which completes the process of turning nectar into honey. Since a hive can produce 2 to 3 times more honey than it needs to survive a winter, the extra honey can be harvested.

Beekeepers can also harvest bee pollen by covering the hive opening with a special hard cloth pierced with holes exactly sized so that as the bees fly through them to enter the hive, pollen pellets are scraped off their legs and drop into a collection container below. Within three days bees develop a memory about the difficult fit at the hive entrance, so the cloth is removed to allow the honeybees to retain their loyalty to the same hive.

The flavor, color and aroma of honey vary depending on the flowers visited by the honeybees that made it.  Honey ranges from mild to bold in flavor, and light amber to dark brown in color. RGV harvested honey, available at the Farmers Market, is varietal in nature. Since nectar from the same orange orchards will vary from year to year, honey from bees visiting those orchards will have a unique aroma and flavor as well. Each jar carries the memory of the floral source.

Please join us to sample local honeys every Saturday from 3 - 4:30 p.m. at the Harlingen Farmers Market, 712 N. 77 Sunshine Strip in the courtyard at El Mercado Mall.