This event is part of Project Bee.
“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.”
Hey honey, it’s harvest time!
It’s now the time we’ve all been waiting for… we get the pleasure of tasting the sweet, sweet fruits of their labour. We know it’s time to harvest as the bees have filled most, if not all, of the frames in the honey super (smaller upper box) with honey and capped the comb. What does that mean? Well, bees secrete a whitish wax over the comb cells when they’ve finished packing in the honey. It’s their version of putting it in ‘deep storage’.
What’s the buzz?
Participants will be guided through the extraction process, from beginning to end, including selecting an extraction site, choosing the best method, gathering the necessary tools and frames, using the extractor, collecting and straining the honey, and, drum roll please, TASTING IT!
Similar to a wine tasting, we will blind taste test the honey we extract, along with a lineup of local honeys. Using all of our senses, with help from a colour chart and honey aroma wheel, we will explore each honey’s colour, aroma, clarity, texture, taste, and (most important) flavour notes, and learn how different flowers will produce different flavours. Mmm, ain’t it good to be a bee!
FACILITATOR
ALEX PEDERSEN is an avid beekeeper and a the President of the Limestone Beekeeper’s Guild. She took courses in apiculture at the University of Guelph’s Honeybee Research Centre as an undergrad student. Today, she and her partner keep hives north of Kingston to collect honey and other hive byproducts. Alex loves to talk about bees, honey, and the importance of pollinators for food production and environmental sustainability.
SUPPORTERS
We are able to offer this workshop free of charge thanks to support from the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area, The Davies Charitable Foundation, and the Limestone Beekeepers’ Guild. Please show them some love!