The humble honey bee is one of natures little miracles. In its lifetime, each worker bee will produce a mere 1/10 of a teaspoon of honey. It takes 300 bees about three weeks to gather a pound of honey. However, an entire colony can produce a surplus of 100lbs for the beekeeper to collect and enjoy.
So you might wonder how these industrious little creatures make such a delectable delicacy? Well, the forager bees go out and collect nectar from flowers and return it to the hive where some of the moisture is removed from it by other bees. The condensed nectar is what we eventually consume as honey. The nectar is what gives each honey its distinctive flavour. So depending on what flowers the bees are collecting nectar from determines what the honey looks and tastes like.
Taste is one of many criteria that judges consider when determining what makes a winning honey. It is an involved process where the judges look at colour, clarity, bubbles, foam and crystals in the honey. They also consider the taste and moisture content among other things. To learn more about judging honey and all other aspects of beekeeping, we encourage you to join us at the Chestermere Country Fair. The Calgary and District Beekeepers association will be on hand to answer all of your questions. They are a wealth of information, and you can even examine their live hive in action.
The Calgary and District Beekeepers Association has experienced an increase in membership as of late, with over 100 members at the moment, and yet beekeepers entering honey into competition is dwindling. As such, we are encouraging all beekeepers to enter their honey into the Red Ribbon Competition at Chestermere’s 26th annual country fair September 12. The three categories to enter this year are light coloured liquid honey, dark coloured liquid honey and creamed honey. Each entry needs to weigh 500 grams and be presented in a jar. More information can be found by visiting the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ ChestermereCountryFair.com. Or emailing chestermereAGsociety@gmail.com.
And If you just can’t wait to learn more about honey or get some locally made honey for yourself, we will also be showcasing different hobbyist beekeepers at the AG society sponsored Farmer’s Market starting this coming weekend. The market will feature home baked, home made, home grown goods and will run from 9am-noon at the Chestermere Public Library parking lot. We hope to see you there.
