We ended up with 2 and a half gallons of honey.
That's 31.6 lbs. of golden sweetness
Then we took the wax/honey mash leftover stuff and put it in an 8x11 glass pan and cooked it at 170F for a LONG time. But what we ended up with was about a pint and a half of now pasteurized honey, and a nice cake of beeswax.
Which I had to break up to get out of the pan
One of my sister in laws is going to take some and make some lip balm and stuff out of it. So I shredded her a pack.
Tastes nothing like mozzarella
Yet another little gem from the hive - we got a little bag of a substance called propolis after we processed the wax/honey mash.
Tastes nothing like beeswax
Propolis is made by bees when they collect sap from conifers and birch trees, mix it with some wax from their wax secreting glands, a little pollen, and- of course- a touch of honey. They use it like glue, to seal holes, connect things in the hive, even create tunnels and pathways. Propolis apparently has anti-EVERYTHING properties. Antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory. It can be made into a mouthwash that can help toothaches and inflamed gums. It can be swallowed in a pill form to help with sore joints, GI problems, allergies, and other stuff. So, we're going to process it by freezing it and grinding it into powder, then mixing with various liquids (water is ok, but there are apparently not many water soluble parts to it) Some people soak it in vodka and use it as a tincture. Whatever we end up doing with it, it should be interesting!
I also whipped up a little honey butter... because...
HONEY BUTTER!
Who knew that bees produced so many good things just doing what they do!
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