How Local Honey Is Made: From Hive to Jar

Every jar of honey starts with bees visiting thousands of flowers. Here's how small-scale honey is produced, and what "local" really means when you buy it.

How bees make honey

Worker bees collect nectar from flowers and carry it back to the hive. There, it's passed from bee to bee, enzymes are added, and water is evaporated by fanning until the nectar thickens into honey. The bees store it in wax cells and seal them with a wax cap.

Why honey tastes different from place to place

Honey's colour and flavour depend on the flowers nearby. In Kerala, you'll find honey from rubber plantations, coconut groves, forest flowers, and mixed farmland, each with its own taste and thickness. Honey from the same place can also change from season to season.

Harvesting

1. The beekeeper removes frames of capped honeycomb, leaving enough honey for the colony.
2. The wax caps are sliced off.
3. Honey is extracted, usually by spinning the frames in a centrifuge.
4. It's strained to remove wax and debris, and allowed to settle.
5. It's bottled, sometimes after gentle warming.

Heavily processed commercial honey may also be heated to high temperatures and finely filtered. See our post on raw vs processed honey.

What "local" means

"Local" isn't a legal term. It usually means the honey comes from a particular region rather than being blended from many sources. Ask the seller where the honey is from.

Does local honey help with allergies?

It's a popular belief, but studies haven't shown clear benefits for hay fever or allergies. Honey is, however, well supported as a soothing remedy for coughs in adults and children over one year.

Supporting beekeepers

Bees also pollinate many of Kerala's crops, including cardamom and coffee. Buying honey from small beekeepers helps keep hives, and pollination, going.

Try our Naadan pure honey. For home checks, read honey purity tests at home.