MINNESOTA WILDFLOWER HONEY
Meet the Beekeeper
Limiting the number of hives he works and keeping the bees close to home allows the beekeeper to utilize more labor intensive techniques that are friendlier to the bees and the environment and result in an excellent quality honey.
Whether located on an abandoned homestead or on a plot belonging to this beekeeper’s family for 5 generations, the bee yards are surrounded by flowering plants that honeybees love, such as wild plums, red clover, basswood trees, sneezeweed, goldenrod and blue lobelia.
Honeybees gather nectar from many floral sources, combine it with enzymes which break down the sugars, store it in the hive, and evaporate the sugary liquid down to about 17.5% moisture before capping off the ripe honey with a fresh coating of beeswax.
In the honey house, the top wax coating is cut off each frame, opening up the honey-filled hexagonal cells. Frames are loaded into large extractors and spun at high speed, sending the honey flying out of the honeycomb.
All honey and wax particles are pumped into a huge vat, where they are allowed to sit for a day. Wax is lighter than honey, so it floats to the top and is hand-skimmed from the honey. By being patient, this beekeeper produces beautiful, clear wildflower honey without any filtration, thus retaining all of the natural pollens and goodness in his honey.
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