"bee" news and stories

Commercial beekeeping is a huge industry, though the component parts are very small. Bees are directly responsible for $15 billion worth of agriculture every year because they are needed to pollinate fields of all types of crops, as well as to produce honey. Farmers could rely on wild bees, but there just aren't enough of them to be reliable. The problem is, that there really aren't enough beekeepers, either.

There are roughly 125,000 beekeepers in the US and only 600 are commercial keepers. Almost three-quarters of all the beekeepers in the US are over 45 and most of them are retired, having embarked into beekeeping as a hobby. This means, in effect, that $15 billion worth of industry and agriculture "depend[s] on a bunch of retired hobbyists."

The issues that surround beekeeping, from fighting the mites that destroy the bees to shipping them out to farmers season after season so that crops can be pollinated, are actually more complicated and more interesting than you might expect. It's a hard industry that is getting harder to sustain every year - and yet so much depends on it. Reading the whole Plight of the Humble Beekeeper at eGullet will give you a new perspective on what is - and isn't - a buzzing industry.

[thanks, Elise]

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Honey is a symbol of the sweet year ahead during the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, but it isn't an ingredient that gets as much respect as it deserves, largely because people tend to stick to the generic grocery store honeys. Now, it's not that there is anything wrong with a generic honey, but they do lack the nuances that many more specific varieties have to offer. These honeys often come from just one type of plant or one small area of land and, rather than just tasting sweet, they offer notes of berries, flowers, citrus and spices that can take a dessert - or even a piece of toast - to a new level. Epicurious picked out some of their favorites, which include:

• Black Sage Honey, mild with notes of apple and vanilla
• Star Thistle Honey, intensely floral
• Rosemary and Lavender Honey, very mildly herbal
• Javanese Island Honey Rambutan Blossom, strong taste of sandalwood and patchouli
• Forest Honey, dark and molasses-like

More can be found with the Honey Locator. You'll also be able to find some more exotic honeys by visiting a smaller, specialty grocer or perhaps just by taking a closer look at the labels at the supermarket. If you see more than one you like, you can always host your own honey tasting.