 January 8, 2006 |
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 The Story of Honey: The Busy Bees
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants"
Honey bees are the only insects that produce a food consumed by humans. Honey is produced in one of the busiest yet most efficient factories in the world – a beehive.
Honey bees are social insects with a marked division of labor among the various bees in the hive. A colony contains one queen, 500 to 1,000 drones and about 30,000 to 60,000 workers.
The matriarch of the colony is the queen. Nurtured on a special diet of royal jelly, the queen is the only sexually developed female in the hive, often living for two years or more. A productive queen will lay up to 3,000 eggs in a single day.
The drones’, stout male bees that lack stingers, single purpose in the colony is to mate with the queen.
Workers, the smallest bees in the colony, are sexually undeveloped females. A colony can have 50,000 to 60,000 workers.
The life span of a worker bee varies according to the time of year. Her life expectancy is approximately 28 to 35 days. Workers that are reared in September and October, however, can live through the winter.
Workers feed the queen and larvae, guard the hive entrance and help to keep the hive cool by fanning their wings. Worker bees also collect nectar to make honey. In addition, honey bees produce wax comb. The comb is composed of hexagonal cells which have walls that are only 2/1000 inch thick, but support 25 times their own weight.
Honey bees' wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
To make a pound of honey, worker bees must forage nectar from millions of flowers. To communicate the location of nectar sources, bees perform several different and distinct dances.
In addition to gathering nectar to produce honey, honey bees perform another vital function – pollination of agricultural crops, home gardens, orchards and wildlife habitat.
As bees travel from blossom to blossom in search of nectar, they transfer pollen from plant to plant, thus fertilizing the plants and enabling them to bear fruit. Almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, sunflowers, watermelon and many other crops all rely on honey bees for pollination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants and that the honey bee is responsible for 80 percent of this pollination. A 2000 Cornell University study concluded that the direct value of honey bee pollination to U.S. agriculture is more than $14.6 billion.
National Honey Board
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 NECI Advanced Placement Program
New England Culinary Institute has been celebrated for 25 years for our unique fast-paced, hands-on culinary education. Learn directly from dedicated chef-instructors in real-life environments with some of the smallest classes in culinary education. NECI averages 7 students per instructor. Our maximum class size is 10 students in labs.
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NEW...This Week's Foodservice Daily Newsletter: The BUZZ About Honey Date: January 9, 2006 - January 13, 2006
Guest Host: National Honey Board
Theme: The Buzz About Honey - Monday: Apple Pie a la Mode; Honey-Glazed Red Pepper with Goat Cheese.
- Tuesday: Cajun Tomato Bread; Sweet and Hot Red Pepper and Tomato Soup.
- Wednesday: Asian Grilled Pork Tenderloin; Asparagus with Honey Garlic Sauce.
- Thursday: Blazing Bronco Burgers with Smoking Chipotle Honey Sauce; Balsamic Onions with Honey.
- Friday: Fresh Melon Salsa; Baklava.
Not a Member Yet? Click here Foodservice Daily Newsletter to sign up today and start receiving these recipes on Monday!
 Calling All Culinary Educators and Professional Chefs
Come join the Food Service Educators Network, (FENI), for three and a half days of "hands on culinary continuing education" in sunny Orlando, Florida. The dates are February 23-26, 2006 and there is still plenty of time to register, but don’t wait too long because classes are filling up quickly.
Reasons to join FENI in Orlando in February:
• World class culinary continuing education
• Networking with educators, chefs, and purveyors
• The opportunity to work hands on with master chefs
• Taking new teaching techniques from other educators back to utilize in your classroom
FENI brings together culinary educators, chefs and purveyors in a conference that has been called, “An outstanding educational culinary experience”. By working with the best chefs and educators in the business we have developed a program that you will be able to use everyday in your classrooms and kitchens.
We would love to have you attend the 2006 Educators Summit and are offering the readers of Chef2Chef the Culinary Portals newsletter a special chance to receive 20% off our low attendance rate. Just go to our website www.feni.org and review our program. When signing up online, via fax or snail mail just make sure to use code FENI06 to receive your 20% discount.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me directly,
Morgan Holzman
FENI Director
954-345-5507
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Today's Recipe: Herbed Honey Lime Sauce
Makes 8 (1/4 cup) servings
Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon water Preparation:
Sauté onion in olive oil. Add wine, honey, lime juice, mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper, bring mixture to boil. Combine cornstarch and water; mix well and add to sauce. Cook and stir until sauce thickens.
Serving Suggestions: Serve over cooked turkey, chicken, fish or pork.
Honey.com
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