Honey (shahad) has been a part of our diet since ages now. The golden sweet delight is a thick and sticky liquid that holds a constant position in our pantry for various culinary purposes. To begin with, it is the world's natural sweetener and comes with many essential nutrients. Honey is known to be rich in minerals such as iron, calcium and magnesium. Now wonder it has been boasted about by our ancestors for treating cough and cold, promoting weight loss, boosting energy and so on. But ever wondered how this nectar is made? Yes, we all know that honey comes from bees, but most of us won’t know how exactly does that happen. How is honey removed from the bees? How does it end up in the jar at our homes? Well, we’ve got the answer to all that and more in a simple video right here. Shared by Instagram based food blogger @eatthisagra, a simple video from Punjab, that has gone viral, shows the entire process of honey-making! Take a look at the video:
The short video starts with the blogger showing us the framed beehives, that are meticulously stored at a distance from each other. The beekeepers come in wearing protective gears to prevent any bees from stinging him. The blogger reminds how the process is very risky, considering a bee sting is dangerous.
They first smoke the beehives before doing anything; the smoking is done to calm down any aggressive bees within the hive. After smoking; the beekeeper removes one frame from the honeycomb and releases the bees from the frame. The bees fill their honey in the hexagonal honeycombs and once it is filled, they seal the honeycomb with beeswax so that it doesn't leak. The wax is the white build up on the frames that can be seen in the video. This wax is removed from each frame by the beekeeper so that the beekeeper can access the honey.
Now, the wax-less frames are placed in a cylinder and spun at a fast pace, in order to remove the honey from the honeycombs. The spinning generates a centrifugal force that extracts the honey. This way the cylinder is filled with honey and it is collected in a container using a tap that is attached to the bottom of this cylinder. Isn’t the whole process so fascinating? Now wonder the video has already garnered over 1 million views!
What do you think about the honey harvesting process? Now that you know about how the honey is harvested, here are five recipes you can try using honey.
1. Apple Honey Challah
2. Honey Glazed Carrots
3. honey Spice Throat Tea
4. Honey Mint Lemon Tea
5. Honey Buns