Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

Have you ever put ice cream and honey bee in the same sentence?  Haagen-Dazs has because they understand the importance of bees.  I'm talking about all the fruit and nuts that go into it, they even have a honey flavored ice cream.  Bee pollination is essential for for the fruit and nuts that go into over 50% of their products. 

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Here are some of their 'bee-built flavors':  Macadamia Nut, Pear, Coconut, Cherries, Strawberries, Peanuts, Mango, and even Peppermint.  And in honor of the honey bee, they have created a new flavor called Vanilla Honey Bee.  This one combines their signature vanilla from Madagascar and rich honey from the clover fields of North and South Dakota.  What could be better?

Haagen-Dazs has put together a group of leading bee keepers and  entimologists (those who study bees) to provide them with insights into the honey bee's plight.  In the last three years, the United States had lost one-third of our domesticated honey bees and no one knows why.

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You can help too.  Visit their special website to find more facts about the bees and their disappearance.  They also provide information on planting a honey bee garden in your own backyard so you can provide them with resources for food and pollen.
Check out the videos of dancers dressed in bee costumes promoting the cause, and be sure to download the bee screen saver.

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www.helpthehoneybees.com

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Hooray for Haagen-Dazs for being a responsible  and proactive corporate citizen !

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GA Beekeepers Associaton

This weekend we attended the Ga Beekeepers Association Fall Meeting in Rock Spring, Ga.  It was fun to visit with other bee keepers that we only get to see at these meetings that are from other parts of the state.  The main reason to go tho is all the things we learn from the classes with the great speakers.  One of our favorites is Dr. Jamie Ellis from the University of Florida and formerly of the the University of Georgia. 

We got to attend classes on nutrition, nectar bearing trees and plants of Georgia, biology of bees, branding and promotion, and nutrition.  The neatest class was Structural Anatomy of a Honey Bee in 3D given by Dr. Fred Hossler from East Tennesee State University.  He had photographed bees from all angles at a magnification of 10,000 times.  It showed that honey bees have what looks like hair over practically every part of their body, but instead of hair, they are receptors with nerves in them.  The bee's two large compound eyes are made up of over 400 smaller ones that were clearly visible.  A cross section of the stinger clearly showed the hollow inside that Dr. Hossler referred to as a hypodermic needle.  He even showed a picture of an 'antenna cleaner' located on a leg that looked exactly like a teeny tiny comb.  If the bee gets pollen on her antenna, she can 'comb' it off and then place it in the pollen basket on another leg.

Friday was topped off with a low country boil with fresh shrimp brought up from Savannah and prepared deliciously.  There was also a silent auction, a live auction, and door prizes.  Danny won a queen as a door prize which we gave a new home today.  There were competitions for honey, candles, photography, block wax, comb honey and a few more things.  I entered my first photo contest here and was excited to win a red ribbon for second place.  It is the picture at the top of this post, it's a close up of freshly deposited pollen.  Next year we are planning on entering our honey, wax and another photograph.  And congratulations to our friends Mr. and Mrs. Williams who were awarded lifetime memberships to the Beekeepers Association, it was well deserved.  Also, Mrs. Webb of Clarkesville, Ga returned from a worldwide honey competition in France last week where her Sourwood Honey
won 'Best in the World'.  She beat out entries from 32 other countries.  It's great that the best comes from Georgia. 

Cooking Tips & Substitution

For best results, select recipes specifically developed for using honey. When you do use honey as a substitute for granulated sugar, begin by subbing honey for up to half of the sugar called for in the recipe. With experimentation, honey can be substituted for all the sugar in some recipes. When using honey as a substitute for sugar in baked goods:

1) Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used.

2) Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used.

3) Reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees to prevent over-browning.

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Strawberry Chocolate Tart

1&2/3 c slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 c margarine or butter, cut into pieces

3 Tbs sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 c honey

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp grated orange peel

2 tsp warm water

1 pint strawberries, sliced

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Place toasted almonds in food processor, process until finely ground. Add margarine, sugar and egg yolk; process until dough forms a ball. Chill 1 hour. Spray 9" tart pan (with removable bottom) generously with nonstick cooking spray. Press dough into bottom and up sides of tart pan. Dough will be sticky. Bake at 350* for 12 to 15 minutes, until shell is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

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In small bowl, whisk together honey, cocoa powder, orange peel and warm water. To assemble tart, spread chocolate filling into cooled tart shell. Arrange sliced strawberries in overlapping rings to cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 8 serving.

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Published by the National Honey Board

Calcium

It is estimated that by the year 2020, half of all Americans over the age of 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis (low bone mass). One of the key strategies for reducing the likelihood of developing low bone mass is to consume adequate calcium. Of course, it is also very important that the calcium consumed is absorbed. Researchers at Purdue University showed that honey enhanced calcium uptake in laboratory animals. In fact, they found that the absorption of calcium was increased as the amount of honey increased. Although this data would need to be confirmed using human subjects, the preliminary findings are very compelling. Maybe you'd like to get your calcium through a fruit smoothie made with milk rather than by taking a calcuim pill. The following recipe is easy to make and of course, delicious!


Fruit Honey Smoothie
1 c frozen strawberries
1 banana
1/3 c honey
1 c skim or nonfat milk
1/2 c plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt

In a blender, combine all ingredients; process until smooth. Makes 2 large servings.
Calories 332, Protein 9, carbs 76, fat 2, calcium 281, sodium, 110, potassium

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BEE  FACTS

Because of the multitude of floral sources from which honey originates, no two honeys are exactly alike in flavor, color and nutritional content. Honey is produced in every state. Leading honey producing states are California, Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Honey bees must visit about 2 million flowers to make just one pound of honey. Common honey varieties in the United States include alfalfa, buckwheat, clover, orange blossom and sage. In her lifetime, a worker bee will make just 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey.

The 'Good Bacteria'

BACTERIA

The gastrointestinal tract (GI) is full of bacteria. These bacteria are essential for life and good health. One group of bacteria that have been shown to be particualarly important to the health and proper function of the GI tract are called Bifidobacteria. One way to increase the Bifidobacteria populations in the gut is by consuming foods containing prebiotics, substances that increase the growth on activity of good bacteria. Prebiotics help these "friendly bacteria" and "be happy."

Honey contains a variety of substances that can function as prebiotics. Research conducted at Michigan State University has shown that adding honey to dairy products such as yogurt can enhance the growth, activity, and viability of Bifidobacteria.

Our grandson, Landon decided he wanted to try comb honey.  I think he liked it, if that messy face is any evidence.

Cookies & Beeswax

Peanut Butter & Honey Cookies

1 stick butter
1/4 c brown sugar
6 oz honey
1 egg at room temperature
1 c peanut butter (crunchy or regular)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
Optional: Sprinkle with sugar before baking


Preheat oven to 350*

In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the honey, beating continuously. Beat in the egg and peanut butter and mix well. Using a large metal spoon, fold in the flour.

Spoon onto baking sheet, spaced well apart, and press flat.  Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool until firm and crunchy, then serve.


Beeswax is the purest of all natural waxes. Only honey bees make beeswax, and once it is molded cakes, it is practically indestructible. No insects or animals will feed on it, so it may be stored for long periods of time.

Some common uses are lining baking pans with it to prevent certain pastries from sticking and to create a crunchy crust. It is used to waterproof wooden kegs and buckets, and season cast iron. It can stop squeaky door hinges, smooth rough spots on braces or dentures, and also help preserve flowers. Beeswax is also used in quilting, furniture polish, leather conditioners, marble repair, ointments and balms. Some people use it for finishing iron work, bronze preservation, mustache wax, etching glass, tack cloths, brick floor sealers, soap making, fruit coating, and lubricants for zippers, windows and drawer slides. And these are only some of their uses.

Beeswax candles have been highly prized since ancient times. Honey bees, long regarded as models of industry and purity, make their wax from the nectar of flowers. Pure beeswax candles with their delightful sweet fragrance burn longer, more cleanly, and give off more light than other wax candles.

Pure beeswax may develop a white film called bloom which can easily be removed by buffing with a soft cloth.