Monthly Archives: October 2012
Food for Thought: It’s Food Day
Today is Food Day. What is Food Day, you ask? It’s a national day to celebrate, think about, talk about, and move towards healthier, more affordable, and more sustainable food for everyone. Today, events are taking place across the country to discuss issues with today’s food system and how the system and our food policies can be improved. You can read more about it at the Food Day website.
Yesterday, I attended events at the first day of a two-day celebration of Food Day organized by Food Sol at nearby Babson College. The first was a panel discussion featuring several local thought leaders in the food space. They covered a wide range of perspectives, from distribution of food to the hungry or the seriously ill to availability and education about healthier and more affordable food for the poor and underserved to the history of food ways and why people eat the way they do, in the past and the present. There is certainly a lot wrong with today’s systems, but there was a great deal of optimism about current steps in the right direction and hope for more in the future.
The second event was an on-stage chat led by Andrew Zimmern, current entrepreneur-in-residence at Babson with six Boston-area chefs with a strong bent towards local and sustainable foods. Each person talked about their personal path to where they are today and their ideas for how to continue to educate people about the importance of eating healthier and more sustainably. It was another lively discussion.
I’m going back for another event this afternoon. I’m feeling inspired. There is so much to think about and so many opportunities to take steps forward on this important topic.
Honey Harvest Time
I’ve been lax about sharing my beekeeping experiences this season. Honestly, they’ve been low-maintenance, and I abandoned weekly inspections during their aggressive period back in late May, so there wasn’t that much to talk about.
7 Frames with Honey (in the Recycling Bin)
Well, now it’s time to reap the rewards of the season. My bees made and capped honey on 7 of the 10 frames in the honey super. Some frames had just spots of honey, others had honey on just one side, and a few were filled on both sides.
Frame with Spots of Honey
Last week, I “stole” the honey super. I was home alone, and it was a little terrifying. I was taking away the top box on the hive, the honey super, but I wanted (needed) it to be bee-free. I don’t have any pictures, but here’s what I did.
First, I got set up. I lined a recycling bin with a plastic garbage bag, covered it with a wet towel, and placed it about 20 feet from the hive. Then, I removed the honey super and placed it about 20 feet from the hive and 20 feet from the recycling box.
Here comes the exciting part. One at a time, I removed each frame from the honey super. There’s no way this could be simple, so, of course, the frame was covered with bees. I carried the frame over to the hive where I used my bee brush to gently brush the bees off the frame onto the hive entrance. The bees naturally want to protect the honey, so not all the bees came off nor were they happy to be brushed off. I walked backwards towards the recycling brush, continuing to brush bees off the frame. I quickly pulled back the towel and stowed the bee-free frame in the recycling bin. I repeated this for each frame that contained honey. Finally, I replaced the covers on the hive and brought the recycling bin into the basement, away from the bees, which would otherwise tend to try to reclaim their honey.
Many beekeepers will use a mechanical extractor to get the honey out for the frames. They will uncap the capped honey, and the extractor is a centrifuge that forces the honey from the comb when it spins. Because I had only 7 frames, I decided to use a low-tech extraction technique known as “crush and strain”.
This process is a sticky mess! First to get setup, I lined various surfaces with flattened paper bags, flattened cardboard boxes, and plastic bags. I lined a large roasting pan with a flexible cutting board, and I placed a strainer in a large pot.
To extract, using a metal spatula, one frame at a time, I scraped the honeycomb (the wax and the honey) into the roasting pan. Then, I crushed the comb with a potato masher to free the honey from the comb.
Finally, I scraped the crushed honeycomb into the strainer where the honey drips into the pot.
I ended up having to use two different pots because the first strainer filled with wax.
The honey is still dripping right now, so I’m not sure what my final yield will be, but there will be multiple jars. I was licking my fingers and can attest that my bees’ honey is delicious! I also have a lot of wax that I can melt and do something with: lip balm, candles, spoon oil, furniture polish, who knows?
Regardless of the final yield, I can’t tell you how satisfying this experience has been so far.
A Plateful of Happiness 