What did you do in the garden today?

[esturtz27]

I've heard there's still a bit of fake honey around here. I keep away from the squeezy plastic bottles and anything too cheap and tacky looking.

I've heard that some companies give their bees a sugar solution throughout the year (which, correct me if I'm wrong, is usually given to bees just over the winter months, to keep the hive going?) to increase the amount of honey made.

Sugar water in the winter months depends on a few things...hive strength, how cold it gets, what the dearths were like and then if you left honey with your bees. My dad and uncle leave half their fall honey (they are just big enough to be commercial) but still will feed weaker/ smaller hives. Bigger companies do give sugar water supplements but I doubt much of it makes it in to the honey supply because they use that nectar immediately in winter. Bees, if they have available natural foods will ignore the sugar water for the better stuff but I tend to dislike "big honey" because they are also a part of the migration pollination train.... best advice buy local or as local as you can.

 

[esturtz27]

About honey . It is said basswood flowers make one of the best honey . Not common here . Lots of basswood at the cabin . Tempting to have a hive there but not practical . Too far away . We do have lots of black locust here . Makes a good honey .

Basswood honey is very tasty. That and elderberry honey are my favorites

 

[chickengr]

We tried some yogurt which was 6 months past its sell by date, a few weeks ago... it didn't taste any different from fresh.

Oh btw, does anyone know why they put a use by date on honey?

expiring dates mostly serve to continue production. if they don't discard some staff who would buy more?

 

[chickengr]

I know for a while in the U.S (idk if Europe had this issue) there were massive commercial honey companies cutting their honey with corn syrup. There was also a good bit coming over from China that was called "golden honey" its was 30% honey. The late 90s early 2000's were a mess in the honey world. Idk how often they find fake honey now but it's not as severe an issue as it was.

I always buy honey from the bee keepers. even then I am not sure if it is real. too many frauds around.

 

[chickengr]

I've heard there's still a bit of fake honey around here. I keep away from the squeezy plastic bottles and anything too cheap and tacky looking.

I've heard that some companies give their bees a sugar solution throughout the year (which, correct me if I'm wrong, is usually given to bees just over the winter months, to keep the hive going?) to increase the amount of honey made.

even bee keepers do that. they make syrup of 3 herbs (mint, lemon balm and wormwood) and sugar. honey is still good but sugar kills bees. they live less than they should.

 

[chickengr]

pine and chestnut honey are my favourite.

 

[ChicksnMore]

A few years ago we visited Tombstone while driving across the country. There's a shop there called "Killer Bees" who sells all kinds of honey and honey mixes (https://killerbeeguy.com/). It all comes from Killer Bees. It was actually pretty amazing. I think I bought 6 or 7 jars of different types, but the one that stands out in my mind was a Wild Desert honey. The guy explained that there's some flower in the desert that only blooms rarely and that honey comes from the killer bees collecting pollen from that flower. It's pretty incredible. My favorites were the Blueberry Creme, Almond Butter, and Wild Desert.

I love the killer bee honey too. I used to let the kids pick a jar each and they'd spend forever tasting them to decide. Best pretzel dip ever.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

We rarely use honey so it lasts us for years. In fact, we rarely use sugar in general. If I do, it's usually Stevia in my coffee or a Tablespoon of it in our spaghetti sauce recipe...

Fyi , Stevia is bad for dogs ( not sure if you have one) since I have a dog, and she sometimes gets a nibble of what we eat, I don't use stevia

 

[MotherofOrpies]

How it's tagged makes a difference.

If it says 'expiration' or 'use by' that typically means you should not eat it after that date due to the potential of bad bacteria which could make you sick.

If it says 'best by,' then the food is generally safe to consume provided the can is not rusted, dented, or seal broken. Food past this date may change in consistency or taste but shouldn't make you sick to eat it.

Honey, as long as it is kept dry and not too hot, is good for centuries, I think they even found some honey in the egyptian toombs, and it was still good ...My grandfather was a very good beekeeper, I never touched store bought honey until he passed away, boy, was I in for a nasty surprise In Germany, the longest sell by date is 2 years, same goes for salt, as long as it stays dry, you can use it indefinitely

 

[igorsMistress]

How it's tagged makes a difference.

If it says 'expiration' or 'use by' that typically means you should not eat it after that date due to the potential of bad bacteria which could make you sick.

If it says 'best by,' then the food is generally safe to consume provided the can is not rusted, dented, or seal broken. Food past this date may change in consistency or taste but shouldn't make you sick to eat it.

This doesn’t apply to honey, which can last a very long time and still be safe to eat. It’s naturally antibacterial. I suspect a use by date on honey is more for profit or the honey has been cut with something that has an expiration.

Although you know the gov. Eggs must be sterilized and refrigerated, never stored at room temp