Ingredients
□ ½ cup butter (softened)
□ ⅔ cup honey
□ 2 eggs
□ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
□ ¼ teaspoon salt
□ Zest from half a lemon
□ ¾ cup flour
□ ¾ cup raspberries (or mixed berry blend,
which is what I used)

Glaze Ingredients
□ ¾ to 1 cup powdered sugar
□ 1 teaspoon raspberry jam
□ 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 2
Prepare an 8×8 square pan by spraying it with non-stick spray (or lining it with parchment paper).

Step 3
In a large bowl, combine butter, eggs, honey, lemon juice, salt and zest. Mix by hand or hand mixer.

Step 4
Add flour and mix until just combined.

Step 5
Add fresh raspberries (or mixed berries) and stir in by hand.

Step 6
Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

Step 7
Bake for around 25 minutes or until edges are brown and the middle is set. Do not over bake! You want the texture to be like a brownie.

Step 8
Let it cool.

Step 9
While the bars are cooling, combine the glaze ingredients and whisk together.

Step 10
Pour it over the cooled bars and spread out into an even layer on the top. Let the glaze set for at least 20 minutes.

Step 11
Cut into squares and serve.

Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator in an air tight container. Enjoy!

Intellectual Property Office rules that New Zealand beekeepers’ attempt to stop Australian producers using the name did not meet necessary requirements

Tess McClure in Auckland

New Zealand honey producers have lost their latest battle to trademark mānuka honey, the latest blow in a years-long fight to stop Australian beekeepers using the lucrative name.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand ruled on Monday that New Zealand mānuka beekeepers’ attempt for a trademark did not meet necessary requirements, and the term mānuka was descriptive.

Mānuka refers to a white flowered tree that grows in both New Zealand and Australia – although it is more widely known as “tea tree” in Australia. The bees that browse its tiny pale blooms produce a kind of honey known for antibacterial and supposed health properties – and which fetches a significant price markup on the international market as a result.

At the highest concentrations, some New Zealand batches have fetched up to NZ$2,000 to $5,000 for a 250g jar at luxury stores overseas. The lucrative nature of the product has been responsible for outbreaks of crime in New Zealand, with fierce competition over access to mānuka forests spurring mass poisonings of bees, thefts, vandalism and beatings.

For more than a decade, however, the two countries have been at loggerheads over the use of the mānuka name – a Māori word, which New Zealand argues is an indigenous treasure, uniquely associated with its own honey production. Pita Tipene, Chair of the Manuka Charitable Trust, said the decision was “disappointing in so many ways”. He said the trust would pause to regroup, before continuing its battle.

“If anything, it has made us more determined to protect what is ours on behalf of all New Zealanders and consumers who value authenticity,” he said.

“Our role as kaitiaki [guardians] to protect the mana [dignity] and value of our taonga [treasured] species, including mānuka on behalf of all New Zealanders is not contestable.”

Australian industry players welcomed the decision as a “commonsense outcome” and issued a press release saying they had plans to grow international sales in response to rising demand.

Australian Manuka Honey Association chairman Ben McKee said he was “delighted” by the ruling.

“Our product has a long history of being recognised as manuka honey, it is produced like the NZ product is, and it also offers the sought-after antimicrobial properties that consumers around the world value so highly,” he said.

New Zealand producers first tried to trademark the term in 2015.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand called the fight “a trans-Tasman tussle of extraordinary proportions” and said in its ruling that it was “one of the most complex and long-running proceedings to have come before the Intellectual Property Office”. The latest decision follows a similar 2021 ruling from the UK to not grant trademark status.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: New Zealand loses fight with Australia over mānuka honey trademark | New Zealand | The Guardian

Released March 17, 2023, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

United States Honey Production Down One Percent in 2022
United States honey production in 2022 totaled 125 million pounds, down one percent from 2021. There were 2.67 million colonies producing honey in 2022, down one percent from 2021. Yield per colony averaged 47.0 pounds, unchanged from 2021. Colonies which produced honey in more than one state were counted in each state where the honey was produced. Therefore, the United States level yield per colony may be understated, but total production would not be impacted. Colonies were not included if honey was not harvested. Producer honey stocks were 23.3 million pounds on December 15, 2022, down one percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program, which are entered separately.

Honey Prices Up 12 Percent in 2022
United States honey prices increased 12 percent during 2022 to $2.96 per pound, compared to $2.65 per pound in 2021. United States and state level prices reflect the portions of honey sold through cooperatives, private and retail channels. Prices for each color class are derived by weighing the quantities sold for each marketing channel. Prices for the 2021 crop reflect honey sold in 2021 and 2022. Some 2021 crop honey was sold in 2022, which caused some revisions to the 2021 crop prices.

Price Paid for Queens, Packages, Nucs was 22 Dollars in 2022
The average prices paid in 2022 for honey bee queens, packages and nucs were $22, $98 and $129, respectively. Pollination income for 2022 was $241 million, down 11 percent from 2021. Other income from honey bees in 2022 was $55.2 million, down 31 percent from 2021.

Released August 1, 2022, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

January 1, 2021 – Some History
Honey Bee Colonies Down One Percent for Operations with Five or More colonies
Honey bee colonies for operations with five or more colonies in the United States on January 1, 2022 totaled 2.88 million colonies, down one percent from January 1, 2021. The number of colonies in the United States on April 1, 2022, was 2.92 million colonies. During 2021, honey bee colonies on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 were 2.90 million, 2.83 million, 3.17 million and 3.09 million colonies, respectively.

Honey bee colonies lost for operations with five or more colonies from January through March 2022, was 331,780 colonies, or 12 percent. The number of colonies lost during the quarter of April through June 2022, was 282,630 colonies, or 10 percent. During the quarter of January through March 2021, colonies lost totaled 464,640 colonies, or 16 percent, the highest number lost of any quarter surveyed in 2021. The quarter surveyed in 2021 with the lowest number of colonies lost was July through September, with 295,660 colonies lost, or nine percent.

Honey bee colonies added for operations with five or more colonies from January through March 2022 was 367,890 colonies. The number of colonies added during the quarter of April through June 2022 was 589,630. During the quarter of April through June 2021, the number of colonies added were 665,730 colonies, the highest number of honey bee colonies added for any quarter surveyed in 2021. The quarter of October through December 2021 added 93,940 colonies, the least number of honey bee colonies added for any quarter surveyed in 2021.

Honey bee colonies renovated for operations with five or more colonies from January through March 2022 was 187,180 colonies, or seven percent. During the quarter of April through June 2022, the number of colonies renovated were 492,410 colonies, or 17 percent. The quarter surveyed in 2021 with the highest number of colonies renovated was April through June 2021 with 475,750 colonies renovated, or 17 percent. The quarter surveyed in 2021 with the lowest number of colonies renovated was October through December 2021, with 146,520, or five percent. Renovated colonies are those that were requeened or received new honey bees through a nucleus (nuc) colony or package.

Varroa Mites Top Colony Stressor for Operations with Five or More Colonies
Varroa mites were the number one stressor for operations with five or more colonies during all quarters surveyed in 2021. The period with the highest percentage of colonies reported to be affected by varroa mites was April through June 2021 at 50.7 percent. The percent of colonies reported to be affected by varroa mites during January through March 2022 and April through June 2022 are 33.7 percent and 45.2 percent, respectively.

Colonies Lost with Colony Collapse Disorder Symptoms Up 12 Percent for Operations with Five or More colonies
Honey bee colonies lost with Colony Collapse Disorder symptoms on operations with five or more colonies was 86,070 colonies from January through March 2022. This represents a 12 percent increase from the same quarter in 2021.

If you want to explore USDA’s survey results further, start here:
Access to NASS Reports are available for your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways:

• • All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS website: www.nass.usda.gov.
  • Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on “National” or “State” in upper right corner, above the “search” box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive.
  • Cornell’s Mann Library has launched a new website housing NASS’s and other agency’s archived reports. The new website: https://usda.library.cornell.edu. All email subscriptions containing reports will be sent from the new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. To continue receiving the reports via e-mail, you will have to go to the new website, create a new account and re-subscribe to the reports. If you need instructions to set up an account or subscribe, they are located at: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/help. You should whitelist notifications@usdaesmis.library.cornell.edu in your email client to avoid the emails going into spam/junk folders.

Per Capita Consumption, 2022
We calculate this figure each year using data from USDA ERS, NASS, ERS, FARM SERVICE and the U.S. Census Bureau. From these sources we determine how much honey entered the system, how much honey left the system, how much was used, how much wasn’t used and the population on July 1, 2022. These figures include U.S. production, U.S. exports, honey put under and taken out of the loan program and honey remaining in storage, plus how much was imported from off shore. Essentially, it’s a measure of honey in minus honey out. The resultant figure, divided by how many people were here on that particular date results in how much honey was consumed by each and every individual in the U.S. last year. And yes, you are correct, not every person eats honey, but by producing this figure on an annual basis, we are able to compare apples to apples each year in honey consumption.

The chart compares these figures for the previous 13 years. We’ve included the USDA’s price of all honey for comparison too.

Honey Into the U.S., 2022
U.S. beekeepers with more than five colonies in 2022 produced, according to USDA, 125.3 million pounds of honey. The Honey Board calculates that an additional eight million pounds or so are produced by those with fewer than five colonies for a total production of 133.3 million pounds. Additional honey in figures include 23.3 million pounds taken out of warehouses from last year, two million pounds taken out from last year’s loan program and a whopping 260.9 million pounds imported for a rough total of 419.5 million pounds of honey in, during 2022. This honey sold, on average, wholesale, retail and specialty honey for $2.96/pound, according to USDA figures. Commercial beekeepers in the U.S. will tell you to make a living, this price should be about the same price as diesel fuel. Take a look next time you are at the gas station.

Honey Out of U.S. Stock, 2022
For the honey out figure, we exported nearly 12.3 million pounds to other countries, have nearly 23.3 million pounds still sitting in warehouses and put just under two million under loan, for a total of about 38 million pounds of honey produced in 2022 that were moved out of the U.S. figures for 2022.

The July 1, 2022 population was right at 333.3 million people in the U.S. So, to calculate per capita consumption, subtract honey out (put under loan, exported or still in warehouses) from honey in (honey produced this year, left over from last or imported) and divide by 333.3 million, for a total of 382 million pounds consumed in the U.S. last year. Divide this by 333 million people which gives you about 1.2 pounds of honey per person consumed by people in the U.S. during 2022, the lowest since 2012.

The top 10 producing states produced a total of $8,844,300 with a total of 1.879 million colonies. This comes to 70.4% of the U.S. colonies, and 70.6% of total dollar value.
The top three producing states had a total of 982,00 colonies, producing a total of $51,111,000. This comes to 36.8% of all colony production in the U.S. in 2022, producing 57.8% of total production dollars. Moreover, these three states produced 36.8% of all the colonies in the U.S. in 2022.

Top 10 Producing States
The places that yield the most honey every year are pretty much determined by the climate, the soil, agriculture and politics. The crops grown, or not grown in a region certainly play a role in what can be found relative to nectar, pesticides and regulations relative to how many colonies you can put on any given acre, that won’t starve after a couple of months. Of course, government conservation programs lend a hand here too.

We’ve been curious about this for the last eight years or so, just because it’s interesting to see what changes, and what doesn’t. The Dakotas, California, Montana, Florida, Minnesota, and Texas are almost always in the top eight, with the last two changing occasionally: New York, Louisiana, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan and perhaps a few others round out these performers.

This year provided few surprises in who is on the list, and the totals for the top 10 this year were essentially where they always are relative to the number of colonies counted in these states and the amount of honey produced. Again, these states produced 70% of all of the honey produced in the U.S., and had 70% of all the colonies in the U.S. sitting somewhere within their borders. It’s pretty clear that what happens in these few states is going to determine the U.S. crop.

But, just because we can, this year we looked at the contributions of the top three states, for almost every year, the Dakotas and Texas. Combined, they held on to 52.3% of the colonies used last year and produced just over 40% of all the honey U.S. beekeepers made last year. This means, of course, that 52% of the colonies, and 60% of the U.S. honey crop is spread out over the remaining 47 states. You can see this comes to just under 1%/state. That sort of puts us in our place, doesn’t it? This extreme unbalanced situation commands notice, then, as to what will happen when climate change erodes, or doesn’t, weather patterns in these three states including rainfall, Summer and Winter temperatures, farming practices and conservation practices.

Already, drought in the western third of the U.S. is having an effect, not only on the bees, but their forage and the crops they pollinate as well. Like it or not, we are at the mercy of big weather – call it climate change or whatever – it’s dry out there!

Released January 11, 2023, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Pollination Costs and Income, 2022
Cost Per Colony to Pollinate Almond Up 13 Percent from 2017
In Regions 6 & 7, the average cost per colony for almonds increased 13 percent from 171 dollars per colony in 2017 to 194 dollars per colony in 2022. The average price per acre increased from 272 dollars per acre to 336 dollars per acre during that period. The total value of pollination for almonds increased 44 percent. Almonds were the highest valued crop in that region. The total value of all pollination in Regions 6 & 7 for 2022 was 387 million dollars, up 42 percent from 2017.

Blueberries had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 1 in 2022. The price per colony for blueberries increased 27 percent to 98.4 dollars per colony in 2022. The price per acre increased 42 percent to 179 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for blueberries in Region 1 for 2022 was 8.56 million dollars. The total value for pollination of all crops in Region 1 for 2022 was 21.9 million dollars, up 33 percent from 2017.

Blueberries had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 2 in 2022. The price per colony for blueberries increased 40 percent to 78.3 dollars per colony in 2022. The price per acre increased 63 percent to 139 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for blueberries in Region 2 for 2022 was 3.60 million dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 2 for 2022 was 6.60 million dollars, up 10 percent from 2017.

Watermelons had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 3 in 2022. The price per colony for watermelons increased 38 percent to 76.9 dollars per colony in 2022. The price per acre increased 57 percent to 100 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for watermelons in Region 3 for 2022 was 1.85 million dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 3 for 2022 was 7.39 million dollars, up eight percent from 2017.

Apples had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 4 in 2022. The price per colony for apples increased three percent to 51.7 dollars per colony in 2022. The price per acre decreased slightly to 41.0 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for apples in Region 4 for 2022 was 114 thousand dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 4 for 2022 was 628 thousand dollars, down 27 percent from 2017.

Apples had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 5 in 2022. The price per colony for apples increased 12 percent to 58.3 dollars per colony in 2022. The price per acre increased 36 percent to 62.8 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for apples in Region 5 for 2022 was 6.59 million dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 5 for 2022 was 17.5 million dollars, up four percent from 2017.

Ingredients
□ 2 cups (400g) active and bubbly natural yeast starter
□ 2½ cups (580g) warm water
□ ¾ cup (255g) honey
□ 1 egg, beaten
□ 1 tbsp (20g) salt
□ ⅓ cup (68g) avocado or coconut oil
□ 8-11 cups flour (unbleached all-purpose, bread flour or whole wheat flour is suggested)

Directions
Step 1
In a mixer or large bowl, combine the natural yeast, water, honey, salt, egg and oil.

Step 2
Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing and kneading as it is added.

Step 3
Be careful not to add too much flour. When the dough starts to pull away from the bowl and there are places the flour is not mixed entirely, let the dough rest for 10-20 minutes.

Step 4
After the rest, continue to add flour. If you are using a Bosch mixer, the dough will become lopsided – at that point, you know you’ve added enough flour. You want the dough to be tacky, not sticky.

Step 5
Knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Step 6
Cover the dough with a clean dish towel or with the lid to the mixer. Allow to rise until doubled in size (approximately six hours). You can also let it rise longer if you’re wanting a more fermented taste or to reduce the gluten. I often let it rise overnight for 10 hours or so on the countertop. To speed up the rise, put it in the oven (off) with the oven light on.

Step 7
When the dough has doubled in size, empty onto a lightly oiled surface and divide into three to four equal portions. With practice, you will learn what quantity of dough works best for the size of your bread loaf pans. Form the dough into loaves and put each loaf into a greased or parchment lined bread pan.

Step 8
Cover again and let loaves rise until doubled. Anywhere from three to five hours.

Step 9
Once doubled, bake at 400 degrees for 28 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

Step 10
When the loaves come out of the oven, immediately remove the loaves from the pans and set on a cooling rack to prevent condensation. Add butter to the tops if desired.

Step 11
Let bread cool before slicing.

Step 12
Enjoy!

Don’t get rid of that last inch of solidified honey in the jar. Do this instead.

BY ANNA HEZEL

When archaeologists excavated King Tut’s tomb in 1922, they found (and allegedly tasted) a jar of honey that had survived the past several millennia intact. I think of this every time I come across a jar of honey in my kitchen that I helped harvest a full four years ago from bee hives my Brooklyn community garden keeps on the roof of my apartment building.

Although it’s a romantic idea to preserve the smells and tastes of Prospect Park’s flora from summer 2019 for posterity, I’m not keeping it around for sentimental reasons. I just can’t, for the life of me, get the jar open. And since this is the only container in my entire pantry without an expiration date printed on it, I’ve decided to procrastinate figuring it out…indefinitely.

While the King Tut story is oft-repeated to demonstrate that honey lasts forever, I’ve always wondered how this could be true when I’ve watched so many half-eaten jars over the years crystallize and solidify to a point of unusability. I reached out to Bruce Shriver, the beekeeper at Gowanus Apiary; Amy Newsome, a gardener, beekeeper, and author of Honey; and the folks behind Brooklyn-based Mike’s Hot Honey to get some practical advice on how to keep this natural sweetener at its free-flowing, floral best.

Does honey go bad?

At its core honey is essentially a very concentrated sugar solution, and because it has such a low water content (about 18%), it’s very resistant to fermentation or spoilage. It’s also full of organic acids from the nectar it’s made from, which give the honey an average pH of 3.4 to 6.1. This acidic quality makes it very difficult for microbes to survive in that jar or squeeze bottle.

“Honey lasts forever as long as it’s stored in an airtight container, such as a jar with a cap,” explains Shriver. The problems arise when the honey is exposed to air and humidity.  “Honey will absorb moisture from the air if left open, which can cause it to ferment.”

When the moisture level changes, and the fermentation process begins, those sugars can be converted to alcohol. Mead is made by diluting honey with lots of water, and mixing it with yeast to kickstart that fermentation process. But if your jar is sealed and sheltered from extra humidity, it will last indefinitely. And, according to the USDA, even if you notice it getting cloudy or taking on a crystallized texture, the honey is still safe to eat.

Why does honey crystallize and turn solid sometimes?

“When bees make honey, they are creating a ‘supersaturated solution,’ which in this case means the natural sugars (mainly glucose and fructose—from the harvested flower nectar) are dissolved in a tiny amount of water, and the honey stays liquid but very temperamentally so,” explains Newsome. “The sugars start to crystallize over time.”

“All honey will crystallize over time,” agrees Shriver. “Commercially processed honey tends to crystalize more slowly than raw honey. That’s because all of the particles (mostly pollen grains) have been filtered under high pressure and heat. This process not only removes the pollen but also destroys many of the naturally occurring yeasts, enzymes, flavonoids, polyphenols and microbial compounds.”

The way honey solidifies is also partially decided by the bees themselves, when they choose which blossoms to land on.

“Each flower species has a different proportion of glucose to fructose in its nectar, and glucose crystallizes more readily than fructose,” Newsome explains. “This is why you can buy naturally runny honeys, like acacia, which has a higher fructose ratio.”

What can you do to prevent or fix it?

Newsome tells me that she saw an Instagram post recently that made her want to cry, suggesting that you can prevent crystals from forming by stirring some corn syrup into your honey. A section of her book, called “Crystallization is not the enemy,” suggests embracing the thicker, grainy texture and spreading it on crumpets or toast.

“I know it can be a pain,” she says, of the sweet but finicky syrup, “but really we should learn to love it and work with it, as a quirk of the natural world, and marvel that the bees have managed to make something so mercurial and delicious.”

When I reached out to the folks at Mike’s Hot Honey with a few questions on the subject, they sent me an informational pamphlet on the subject (presumably they get this question a lot). The pamphlet recommends keeping honey below 50° Fahrenheit for long-term storage, since this cooler temperature prevents crystallization. This will slow down how easily the honey flows, so they also recommend allowing it to warm back up to room temperature before using. If you’re using your honey frequently, they recommend keeping it between 70° and 80° Fahrenheit—a range that will delay crystallization.

But if you don’t have the luxury of tomb-like, cold storage conditions, you can always bring your solidified honey back to life with a little heat. Just set the jar or squeeze bottle in a bowl of warm water (but avoid water over 95° Fahrenheit, which can degrade some of the flavonoids, according to Shriver) until it starts flowing again.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Why Does Honey Crystallize? (And How to Decrystallize It Naturally) | Epicurious

The Texas Legislature wants to crack down on who can claim their honey is made in Texas. Beekeepers say the proposed legislation is too stiff and doesn’t take into account real-world production issues.

BY JAYME LOZANO-CARVER

State lawmakers are debating a bill that would forbid Texas beekeepers from labeling their product as made in Texas if it contains a single drop of honey from another state. Beekeepers say the legislation doesn’t take into consideration real-world production problems. Credit: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal-USA TODAY via REUTERS

State lawmakers are moving forward with a bill that could potentially land Texas honey producers in jail for mislabeling their products, creating a buzz in the beekeeping community.

House Bill 590, authored by Rep. Ernest Bailes, R-Shepherd, states that a product cannot be labeled as “Texas honey” unless the product consists “exclusively” of honey produced from apiaries in the state.

While the concept of the bill seems simple, Texas beekeepers say it could sting producers and their livelihood. According to Texas A&M’s AgriLife agency, Texas contributed 8.9 million pounds of honey — worth $17 million — to the national honey production.

“There’s a lot of things out there we need to address in labeling honey; this one is just not quite where it needs to be,” said Dodie Stillman, president of the Texas Beekeepers Association.

Running one of Texas’ 157,000 honey-producing colonies can get complicated. Weather conditions could make it difficult to produce enough honey for a business, so some will create a Texas-heavy blend with honey from other states. Relabeling products can get expensive or even lead to a loss for some producers. Beekeepers on border territories can have nectar DNA that inevitably blends between the two states.

But even with all the room for error, HB 590 would effectively make mislabeling Texas honey products a class B misdemeanor and potentially send a producer to jail for up to 180 days.

In an effort to soften the legislation, Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., R-Magnolia, proposed an amendment that would allow honey producers to label their product “made in Texas” as long as it consisted of “predominantly” Texas honey.

“This bill is not a bad bill inherently, but I do think if we don’t pay attention to what’s going on, there may be some consequences,” Bell said during a recent debate on the House floor.

Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, spoke in support of Bell’s amendment, explaining how his constituents could also be affected because of how the bill is tailored.

“How many of our constituents do you think we should subject to …Texas prisons, who have done nothing more than make and sell honey?” Harrison asked.

Bell answered, “If we have one in jail, that’s more than we need to have in jail for producing Texas honey.”

The amendment ultimately failed.

The bill’s genesis came from a constituent in Bailes’ district. The state’s beekeepers association is neutral on the bill, an association spokesperson said.

“I think everybody agrees helping consumers know where their honey is from is a good idea,” said Leesa Hyder, the association’s legislative committee leader. “The question is, does this bill really do that?”

Hyder added there’s also a concern about how producers can prove their honey was made in the boundaries of the state.

Hyder said there was not time or opportunity for the association to address the problems with the bill — such as potential for consumer confusion, legal battle for producers and the uncertainty on whether this will even help make Texas honey more profitable. The association will remain neutral on the bill as it moves over to the Senate in coming weeks.

During the debate, Bailes compared it to his ranching business in defense of the bill.

“If we have a drought, and I have cattle grazing on grass, for grass-fed beef, and I start feeding them grain, it’s no longer grass-fed beef,” Bailes explained. “That’s as simple as it gets. We are better than simply saying it should be ‘predominantly’ and dilute ourselves for the almighty dollar.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Texas beekeepers face possible jail time under proposed legislation | The Texas Tribune

Ingredients
□ ⅔ cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
□ 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
□ 1 teaspoon honey
□ ¼ cup fresh raspberries or strawberries
□ 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips, melted
□ 2 tablespoons spray whipped cream topping (optional)

Directions
Step 1
Stir the Greek yogurt, cocoa powder and honey in a bowl.

Step 2
Add the fresh berries of choice.

Step 3
Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted and smooth; stirring in between.

Step 4
Drizzle the chocolate over the raspberries.

Optional Step 5
Top with whipped cream if desired.

The team is working towards picking up chemical cues in honey to tell the botanical sources of the sweet treat

Grad Assistant Taylor Mac, left, and professor Cory Emal test different types of honey using a variety of methods including taste and aroma.

While Michigan is well-known as a leader in craft brewing, its status as a vanguard in the production of mead—made from fermented honey—is becoming more visible. And like fancy chefs who want to know the origins of every ingredient in their signature dishes, mead-makers are increasingly interested in knowing everything about the honey they use, right down to which plants the bees visited on their daily rounds. Enter EMU chemistry professor and amateur mead-maker Cory Emal, Ph.D. (Emal is also the coordinator of EMU’s Fermentation Science program.)

Leading a team of colleagues and students, Emal is developing a new way to analyze the unique chemical “fingerprint” of honey varieties. The goal of the research is a fast and robust test that will yield a detailed history and provenance of the sweet syrup.

Currently, it can be hard to verify claims on a label and there have been documented instances of honey fraud. A specific variety of honey can be adulterated with other varietals or even with corn or rice syrup. In one case, bees harvesting from the New Zealand mānuka plant made 1,700 tons of honey, but more than 10,000 tons of mānuka honey were sold.

Our five senses can identify honey to a certain point. In Emal’s sensory analysis class, students learn to interpret the unique tastes and aromas that distinguish one honey from another. For instance, meadowfoam honey has a distinct vanilla flavor, while buckwheat honey can be malty or minty. Varieties also range in color from pale yellow to deep molasses.

Brewers and chefs have to trust their senses and the honey labels for reassurance they are getting what they want, but most differences are subtle enough to confuse even the most discriminating palette. The best alternative is a microscopic analysis of pollen grains, a process Emal calls “expensive and labor intensive.”

In a new approach, Emal and his colleagues use nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, to pull out subtle chemical differences in honey. An NMR machine works like a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, but “instead of looking at somebody’s knee, we’re looking at chemical molecules,” explains associate professor of chemistry Gregg Wilmes, Ph.D. “It’s probably the most powerful tool that we have to figure out the structure of molecules, especially organic molecules.”

A number of EMU students have been involved in the project. Undergraduates Alia Frederick, Aubrey Martin, and Maggie McCullough came up with the best sample preparation method and ran the initial data collection on the NMR. Grad student Justin Norris dug through the dizzying spectral data and figured out a good way to process the data. Norris also came up with an organizational method to sort data and start building the spectral honey variety library.

“Every molecule is going to have its own distinct pattern,” says Wilmes. “What we are trying to do is use this to figure out the patterns in honey.”

The team ran five honey varietals through the NMR looking for distinct patterns of peaks in the readout. On first look, the results looked very similar to those for the sugar molecules. “Where we see the differences is when we really zoom in,” says Emal. “Here’s where we can start to see the minor compounds. These are the things that are going to be that signature for the individual types of honey.”

To see if these smaller peaks could tell the difference, Emal and Wilmes enlisted the help of biology lecturer Maria Goodrich, who ran the results through statistical analysis to pull out the parts that best represent a certain honey variety. They found that the five honeys tended to group together by variety. Their work is in the early stages, but so far there seems to be a distinctive chemical fingerprint that can separate one honey from another.

Eventually, they would like to build a library of the chemical traits of honey. As they build their catalog, they hope to be able to tell whether bees visited an orange grove in California, Florida, or Panama. “Even from season to season, because we don’t know what effects climate change is going to have over the years on honey traits,” Emal says. “We want to be able to build a big enough library of trusted samples, so that we have a better idea of the provenance of the honey.”

Visit the EMU Department of Chemistry website to learn more about program offerings and research projects.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: EMU researchers are chemically “fingerprinting” different varieties of honey – EMU Today (emich.edu)

Companies covered in honey market are Bee Maid Honey Limited (Canada), , Comvita Limited (New Zealand), , Capilano Honey Ltd. (Australia), , Dabur India Ltd. (India), , Billy Bee Honey Products (Canada), , New Zealand Honey Co. (New Zealand), , Barkman Honey LLC (U.S.), , Yamada Bee Company (Japan), , Dutch Gold Honey Inc. (U.S.), , Golden Acres Honey (Canada) & other.

Source: Fortune Business Insights

Pune, India, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The global honey market size was valued at USD 8.17 billion in 2021. The market is expected to grow from USD 8.53 billion in 2022 to USD 12.69 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.83% during the forecast period. Rising demand for organic and healthy alternatives to sugar to propel market growth. Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its report titled “Honey Market, 2022-2029.”

The honey market has seen significant growth in recent years, with consumers becoming increasingly interested in natural and healthy sweeteners. Honey is a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of foods and beverages, as well as in natural remedies and skincare products. As a result, there has been an increase in the production of honey by both small-scale and commercial beekeepers. However, this growth has also led to concerns over the quality and authenticity of some honey products on the market.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Honey Market Size to Worth USD 12.69 Billion by 2029 | At a (globenewswire.com)

Source: EU Coordinated action to deter certain fraudulent practices in the honey sector, JRC Technical report

The EU market is flooded with syrup-based “honey”: finally putting a figure on foul play!
The European Commission published two joint reports on fraudulent practices in imports of honey into the EU. According to investigations, 46% of the collected samples were suspected of being adulterated with added syrups. This dramatic situation has been denounced by Copa and Cogeca for years now. Yet solutions are known and unanimously supported by the sector: it is high time for the EU to act!
Thanks to joint work by DG Sante, JRC and OLAF, the Commission has quantified an alarming reality: of the 320 samples received from competent national authorities, 147 (46%) were suspected of non-compliance with the requirements of the EU Honey Directive. Almost 74% of the Chinese, 93% of the Turkish and 100% of the British honey samples were considered “suspicious”!

Read the full Press Release here: Press Release

Ingredients
□ ¼ cup butter
□ ¾ cup honey
□ 1 egg
□ 1 tsp vanilla extract
□ ½ cup flour
□ 1 tsp baking powder
□ ½ tsp salt
□ 4 tbsp cocoa powder
□ ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
□ ½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions
Makes 6-8 servings
Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°F

Step 2
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and honey. Warm butter works better.

Step 3
Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

Step 4
Stir in flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.

Step 5
Stir in nuts and chocolate chips, if using.

Step 6
Grease a 9×9” baking pan.

Step 7
Pour batter into the greased pan, then even it out smoothly.

Step 8
Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes.

Step 9
Check consistency. If the edges aren’t crispy, bake for another 5-10 minutes until crispy.
Enjoy with ice cream or by themselves!

Both mānuka and non mānuka values are down and beekeepers are exiting the industry.

Honey yields are predicted to be well down this season compared with the 10-year average of 19,000 tonnes.

Final figures are not produced until the end of June. But Apiculture New Zealand chief executive Karin Kos said everyone was talking about how much the yields were down and the season was nearing its end.

She said it was no surprise, given spring was wet and cold, summer has had too much rain, flowering had been poor, bees hadn’t been out foraging and when they had there had been little to feed off.

“If I look at the beekeepers I’ve been speaking to in Auckland, Waikato, East Cape, pretty much most of the North Island, they’re saying it’s one of the worst seasons in 10 years.

“It’s a very interesting story down south …In Southland they’re reporting a bumper crop, clover and Canterbury is also looking good. So overall, I think it’s going to be a poor season yield wise.

“I know that beekeepers are just sort of working through and hoping that with a bit of fine weather at the tail end of the season, they might be able to recuperate something, but overall not a great season honey yield wise.”

Prices were also down as the honey surplus continued to haunt the sector.

Honey was seen as liquid gold in recent years and people donned beekeeper hats and white overalls and flocked to the industry. The prices of hives soared.

But Kos said now both mānuka and non-mānuka values were down and beekeepers were exiting the industry as the margins were just not there.

She expected hive numbers would continue to drop over the next two years.

“There’s been pressure on beekeepers, undoubtedly, it’s been very tough for them. And I know that we’ve seen the hives, they peaked at 918,000 in 2019. And they’ve dropped to 731,000 hives in operation for the 2022 season. And we’re expecting that drop to continue this year.

“There’s been a lot of upheaval over the past few years, the correction has been happening and is continuing to happen.

“But you know, I think if we look at international markets and international demand, there is still strong demand for our honey overseas, particularly mānuka honey.

“So I think that while it’s definitely tough time for the beekeepers at the moment, there are still some positive things on the horizon… the fact that we’ve got some free trade agreements, (16 percent tariff removal in the UK) coming into effect, all of that does actually help just improve their competitiveness overseas as well,” she said.

Kos also believed the Middle East was an interesting new market, along with the United States, which had been growing reasonably well.

“But I think one of the big factors, too, was our exporters hadn’t been able to travel over the last few years. And so now they’re able to travel freely, they’re able to actually develop and search out those new markets.

“I think that’s something we can’t underestimate. It does take time to build new markets. But I know, just talking to exporters, the ability to get out and just firm up and shore up contracts is really important.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Honey yields expected to see significant drop – Apiculture New Zealand | RNZ News

Lakshmi Varanasi

Marina Marchese is one of two certified honey sommeliers in the United States. Marina Marchese

I’ve never really understood why no one talks about honey the way they talk about wine or cheese or olive oil.

There are thousands of different grapes, growing in different places, and each one produces a unique kind of wine.

The same is true of honey. There are thousands of botanical sources that make so many types of honey that it’s hard to even quantify.

In Bulgaria, for example, honey is made out of the coriander flower. In Greece, honey is made from thyme. Just in Italy alone, there are more than 25 types of honey.

Yet most people in the US are only familiar with “mass market” honey — a generic, blended version with a singular flavor profile.

My origin story

I came into the world of honey tasting by way of beekeeping.

I visited a honey bee hive for the first time in 1999. Like most people, I was terrified, even though I was wearing full protective gear, a veil, and a hat. Yet I was surprised to see how docile the bees were.

Marchese tending to her honey bee hive. Marina Marchese

A year later, I started my own hive. At first, it was just a hobby, but soon it turned into a full-fledged career. I began selling my own honey under the brand Red Bee at local farmers’ markets. Then I started collecting honey from various botanical sources. I also started making connections with beekeepers across the country by attending conferences.

The deeper I delved into this realm, the more I wondered why there wasn’t a central database that catalogued every variety of honey. I read everything by the US Department of Agriculture. I read everything by Eva Crane, the mathematician who devoted her life to researching bees and bee-keeping. I started going to as many honey shows as I could.

Eventually, I stumbled upon a program in Italy called The Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. The goal was to teach the sensory analysis of honey — similar to what exists for the smelling or tasting of wine.

The program has been operating for 40 years and has three levels. For your final certification, you need to pass a formal exam. There’s an oral portion, a written portion, and a blind tasting, where you must identify the botanical source of 18 honeys by smell and taste alone.

I was the first US citizen to pass through all three rounds of the program. Since then there has been a second, which only underscores the point that there are very few honey sommeliers in the country.

To read the whole article go to; I’m a Honey Sommelier, Here’s How I Landed the Job (businessinsider.com)

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: I’m a Honey Sommelier, Here’s How I Landed the Job (businessinsider.com)

Ingredients
□ ½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
□ ½ cup honey
□ 2 tablespoons sugar
□ 1 cup sliced almonds

Directions
Step 1
Line an 8×8” pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving 2” extensions on two sides for easy removal.

Step 2
Coat the foil (if using) with butter. Set aside.

Step 3
Add butter, sugar and honey to a saucepan.

Step 4
Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

Step 5
Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is golden brown.

Step 6
Add sliced almonds (you can use whole or smash up your own as well) and pour into buttered pan.

Step 7
Place in the refrigerator and let chill for 1 hour.

Step 8
Invert pan, take crunch of aluminum foil and break into bite-sized pieces.

Note:
Because there’s more honey than sugar, this may turn into a more caramel consistency when it hardens.

Ingredients
□ 1 cup creamy peanut butter (natural will work too)
□ 1 cup honey
□ 1 large egg
□ 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
□ ½ teaspoon salt
□ ½ teaspoon baking soda
□ 2 cups flour (you can also use whole wheat flour)

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 2
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 3
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter and honey. Beat until completely incorporated.

Step 4
Stir in egg and vanilla.

Step 5
Add the salt, baking soda and flour. Mix until it comes together to form a dough.

Step 6
Shape dough into small balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough). Place balls on the prepared sheet.

Step 7
Use a fork to lightly press each dough ball down.

Step 8
Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies become slightly golden brown.

Note:
Be careful to not over-bake! Honey burns much more easily than sugar.

Step 9
Remove from the oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool.