22
COROMANDEL LIFE
SUMMER 2014
WHY ARE BEE HIVE BOXES
ALL THOSE
FUNKY COLOURS?
This honey can often be ‘saved’ by
heating to dissolve the crystals which
also heats off remaining moisture. It
may be – may be – perfectly safe, but
have an alcohol tinge.
MEAD: The Bee’s Brew
Some advice found on the internet
suggests that if your honey starts
to ferment, just go with the flow –
make an alcoholic beverage called
mead. Ingredients, simply listed:
honey, water and yeast.
However, to personalise the final
taste to your liking, many things will
influence the flavour and character
of the brew. The honey varietal you
select (ie, manuka vs pohutakawa),
the yeast, (a sweeter ale yeast
or a drier winemaker’s yeast) and
the water you use (spring water
is preferred for purity, no chlorine
yet still contains minerals), all affect your
end result. (Don’t forget to sterilize all pots,
bottle, and implements to prevent unwanted
contamination.)
The next thing you need is time. Up to eight
weeks for fermentation, but then it must age.
Three months. Six. Give it a year.
The basics are simple, but the varieties are
endless. Add fruit juices or spices to give even
more distinct or various flavours. Since the
Lord
of the Rings
movies aroused curiosity about
mediaeval times, interest in mead has grown.
There are now several producers of mead in
NZ, both fruit wine producers and companies
that specialise in only mead or mead liqueurs.
‘Sting’ from Sanctuary Honey is one of those,
producing the world’s only Active Manuka honey
mead. (Find it at Colenso’s Café in Whenuakite.)
Watch a ‘mead tasting’ with owner Paul Berry at
In our next issue,
we will write about honey
healers: Manuka honey, bee pollen, propolis, and
even bee venom! (How would one collect bee
venom??) There is a way, and we will venture
into the beekeeper’s ‘honey shed’ to see their
equipment and follow their process.
F
orever Yours ...
HONEY
Honey lasts forever: This has been a rumour
so long, we had to look it up.
A
pparently archeologists around 1800
found honey in jars in the tomb of
a pharoah. Age of honey — about two
thousand years. And it was reported that it
was still edible.
Why? Honey is created by bees to have a
long shelf life, as it needs to last as their food
source. They seal honey in the cells, which
keeps out other contaminents.
What spoils food is bacteria, and bacteria
need water to survive and multiply.
Honey has a low Ph, and this acidic
environment is not conducive to bacterial
growth. Another factor: Honey is high in sugar
which absorbs the water out of a bacteria’s
cell. This explains why honey can be used as
a wound dressing.
How does this work? High sugar content
makes honey a ‘hypertonic solution’, whereas
bacteria and other living organisms are
‘hypotonic’. When you mix the two, they will
equalize in a process called osmosis. Bacteria
lose the battle here: their water is leached into
the honey, causing its demise.
Honey is also healing because of the
antiseptic action of hydrogen peroxide,
created from the enzyme invertase
(introduced by the bees themselves to turn
nectar into honey).
Beyond the Ph and the sugar, beyond the
naturally occuring hydrogen peroxide, the
pollen gathered from the medicinal manuka
shrub is itself antiseptic and adds to these
antibacterial properties.
WATER IS ITS WEAKNESS
So it makes sense that honey would last
forever. However, honey will start to spoil, or
ferment, if it gets water in it, even moisture
absorbed from the air. This might happen if
your honey crystalizes, and the water that
IS in the honey condenses, creating a nifty
condition for fermentation from airborn
yeasts. Honey that is not fully cured within
the comb’s cell has more moisture in it, and
may be the source of fermentation.
Not just packed in NZ or made
in NZ, but actually grown and
produced right here
in NZ, by Kiwis.
by Carol Wright
We’ve heard a few stories,
but would love to
hear from you!
Email us if you have an answer!
“Beehives & Kauri” by Rachel Olsen
Your online shop for buying local produce.
