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By Root 608 0

amber liquid oozed out of the cells and drizzled down the frame. Mr. B stuck his fingers under his veil and carefully licked off the precious honey. He invited me to do the same. Careful not to disturb a single bee, I poked my finger into a new cell to expose more of the pristine honey. As I excitedly drew my finger up to my mouth, I forgot about my protective veil and smeared it with the honey. Mr. B chuckled. I captured another dollop of honey, this time managing to bring my finger underneath my veil. It tasted glorious and exquisite, heavenly and perfect. It was like nothing I had ever savored. At that moment, I knew I wanted to keep Italian honeybees that made this divine treasure called honey.

I took home a bottle of Mr. B’s pure honey, and I proudly put it on my kitchen windowsill. Each morning after that, I woke to see the sun shining through the amber bottle, beckoning me. I began to use the honey instead of sugar in my espresso, and it also soon became a decadent spread for toast. I mixed that honey into my salad dressings at lunch and marinades for chicken at dinner, and I swirled it on my ice cream with walnuts for dessert. Over the course of a week, using the honey became a hedonistic ritual, and the windowsill was the honey’s altar. I guarded that treasured bottle and offered nibbles only to those who were worthy of its sensuousness. Crazy for this thing called honey, I became obsessed with the countless ways to enjoy it. A favorite became bergamot iced tea flavored with mint from my garden and a few heaping spoonfuls of honey.

At one point during the week, a crazy thought occurred to me: Is it safe to eat honey right out of the beehive? Is a beehive clean?

Bergamot Iced Tea with

Red Bee Honey

SERVINGS: 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups boiling water

2 Earl Grey tea bags

¼ cup Red Bee® wildflower honey

½ cup fresh mint leaves

Bring water to a boil. Steep tea bags in water for three minutes. Dissolve honey, then add mint while warm. Serve over ice cubes when cool.

Mr. B and I had just opened up the hive and stuck our fingers in there. Didn’t the honey have to be processed or pasteurized? A few days later, when I spoke to Mr. B again, he assured me that raw honey cannot carry bacteria because of its low pH. I could not think of any other food with that quality. He also told me that the bees always keep their hive pristine. He described how he extracted honey from those luscious honeycombed frames, separated it from the wax by straining it through a cheesecloth or pair of women’s nylon pantyhose, and then simply poured it into bottles. I thought, “Hmm, honey, straight from the hive and into the bottle—no boiling, no sterilizing, no refrigeration, no nothing. Could making and bottling honey be that easy?”

My first visit to Mr. B’s apiary would change the course of my life. In time, I would become immersed in beekeeping and honey. I would discover that there were bee meetings all over the country and even the world. It wasn’t long before I would comb gourmet food shops in search of unique honeys, and each purchase would symbolize a completely different culture and culinary experience. Beekeeping would give me a new perspective on food and my interaction with nature. I would begin introducing honey into my daily diet, using it to replace processed sugar and artificial sweeteners. My general health would improve markedly. Honey even helped me beat colds and then alleviate my allergies. The notion of the queen ruling her hive and female worker bees gathering nectar and making honey appealed to my own sense of industry and spurred me to launch my own honey business. There has been no end to the wisdom the honeybees have given me. These tiny creatures are symbols of craftsmanship, dedication, and perfection, and for all of their lessons I am eternally grateful.

Honeybee

CHAPTER 1

My Life as a Worker Bee

The Monday after my first visit with the honeybees, I was back commuting from my home in Connecticut to my office in New York City. I was creative director for a small giftware company, developing gifts