Honey is truly miraculous! Honey-making starts when bees leave the hive to collect nectar, a sweet liquid found inside flowers. They use their long tongues to suck up the nectar and store it in a special “honey stomach,” separate from the one used for food.

Once the forager bee is full, she returns to the hive and passes the nectar to a worker bee. That bee chews the nectar for about half an hour, mixing it with enzymes from her mouth. These enzymes break down the sugars and begin turning the nectar into honey.

Next, the bee spreads the processed nectar into the hexagon-shaped wax cells of the honeycomb. Other bees fan their wings to help evaporate water from the nectar, thickening it into honey.

When the honey is just right—thick, golden, and low in moisture—the bees seal the cell with a thin layer of wax. This “capping” keeps the honey fresh and protected so the bees can use it as food later.

Different flavors and colors….

Honey doesn’t always taste the same—and that’s because it depends on what flowers the bees visit!

When bees collect nectar from flowers, that nectar has its own flavor and color. So if the bees are visiting clover flowers, the honey might be light-colored and taste mild and sweet. If they’re visiting buckwheat or goldenrod, the honey could be darker and have a stronger, richer flavor.

It’s kind of like how apples and oranges taste different—even though they’re both fruit. Flowers are the same way! And since different flowers bloom at different times of year, honey from spring might look and taste different than honey from fall.

So every batch of honey is a little bit special—it’s like a snapshot of what was blooming when the bees were out working.

Why honey crystallizes and never goes bad….

Honey crystallizes because it’s full of natural sugars—mainly glucose and fructose. Over time, the glucose separates from the water in honey and forms tiny crystals. This turns the honey thick or grainy. It’s totally normal and doesn’t mean the honey is old or spoiled—it’s actually a sign that the honey is raw and hasn’t been overly processed.

Some types of honey crystallize faster than others depending on the flower nectar used. For example, clover or goldenrod honey might crystallize quickly, while tupelo honey stays liquid much longer.

As for why honey never goes bad—it has a few superpowers:

• Low moisture: Bacteria and mold need water to grow, and honey has very little.
• High sugar: The high sugar content pulls water out of anything that might spoil it (like bacteria), stopping them from growing.
• Acidic pH: Honey is naturally a bit acidic, which also helps prevent spoilage.

That’s why archaeologists have even found pots of honey in ancient tombs that are still safe to eat!

So if your honey gets solid or cloudy, don’t worry—it’s still perfectly good. You can warm it gently in a water bath if you prefer it smooth again.

Yellow House Honey is never heated! For example – the jar of honey pictured below is crystallized and perfectly delicious!