California Honey Harvest Virtual Festival 2020

California Honey Harvest Virtual Festival 2020

virtual celebration of honey and resource for all to enjoy during 2020. We hope to bring this festival back in a big way for 2021! Bee safe and stay healthy.

Buzz on over to the Honey Harvest Virtual Festival for exciting Virtual Fun!
We look forward to seeing you in 2021!

California Honey Harvest Virtual Festival
Bennett's Honey Farm


The Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association

Until 2020, the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association has participated in the California Honey Harvest Festival. Following are some images from previous years! We look forward to returning for the 2021 California Honey Harvest Festival.

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The LACBA provides experienced beekeepers from our membership to act as docents on the Fillmore & Western Railway from Fillmore to Bennett’s Honey Farm.

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Our Honey Bee Observation Hives gives festival goers an up close look at what goes on inside a beehive.

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Volunteer members from the LACBA offer education, information, and answer questions about honey bees: their history, behavior, and the importance they play in our lives.

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Our Honey Bee Table provides information and displays about honey bees and beekeeping.

We look forward to seeing you in 2021 at the California Honey Harvest Festival.

In the meantime:

Enjoy the wonderful California Honey Harvest Virtual Festival 2020 online!

Visit the LACBA website and learn about honey bees, beekeeping, and what you can do to help the bees.

Consider becoming a beekeeper and sign up for
Beekeeping Classes 101.

Become a Member of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association.

Bee-Happy!

Beekeeping Class 101 - Class #6: Honey Extracting and More About Bees

Next Beekeeping Class 101 is Sunday, August 21, 2016, 9AM-Noon at Bill's Bees Bee Yard. BEE SUITS REQUIRED. We may do some honey extracting during this class. If you have honey frames to extract, let Bill Lewis know in advance and we will arrange to extract YOUR HONEY as part of our bee class. Send Bill an email at billsbees@wildblue.net or call 818-312-1691 to get on the bee class extracting schedule. We can provide a bucket for extracted honey or bring your own. Look forward to seeing you. For more info on our Beekeeping Class 101 go to: /beekeeping-classes-losangeles

The Valley Hive Celebrates National Honeybee Day

The Valley Hive - 1st Honey Tasting and Recipe Contest in Celebration of National Honeybee Day.

When: Saturday, August 20th 4-7pm  

Where: The West End Tavern
21356 Devonshire Street
Chatsworth, CA 



Our friends at The West End Tavern in Chatsworth have generously offered their location for this event. Beatrice, the bartender extraordinaire, will be on hand to make her amazing Honey Cocktail creations. 

WHAT: Beekeepers from the Los Angeles area will have an opportunity to showcase their Backyard Honey. Each entry will be judged by our panel of Honey Experts from all over Southern California. After a winner is chosen, the honey will be available for public tasting.

 Why: It’s National Honeybee Day and that’s something to celebrate!

Guidelines to Enter: Is your honey the best in town? Do you have a favorite honey recipe? Entering our contest couldn’t be easier!!

1. Fill out the form

2. We need two 1 pound jars of your honey: one in an unmarked jar for the contest; the other jar should be labeled, and will be sold at the event. All proceeds will be donated to a charity dedicated to helping to Save the Buzz!  

3. Bring your honey to The Valley Hive or bring it to The West End Tavern by 3:30pm on August 20th. Be sure to fill out the form above so that we know to include your honey in the competition!

4. If you are entering a honey recipe, simply let us know what you are making and bring it to The West End Tavern by 3:30pm on August 20th.

 The Valley Hive Shipping Address is: 9633 Baden Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311

The Valley Hive
The Valley Hive Event on Website
The Valley Hive Event on Facebook

  

 

LA County Fair - Bee Booth (Raw Local Honey)

Visit the Bee Booth at the LA County Fair - Now Thru Sept. 30 (Wed - Sun) 

Watch the bees bring in nectar to make Honey!!!

How Do Bees Make Honey?

Honey is the sweet fluid produced by honey bees from the nectar of flowers. Worker honey bees transform the floral nectar that they gather into honey by adding enzymes to the nectar and reducing the moisture.

What is Raw Honey?

While there is no official definition of raw honey, it generally means honey that has not been heated or filtered. 

Why is most honey filtered?

According to USDA Grading Standards for extracted honey, filtered honey is honey that has been filtered to the extent that all or most of the fine particles, pollen grains, air bubbles, or other materials normally found in suspension, have been removed.

Honey that is filtered by packers is filtered for various reasons:

1. Many consumers prefer honey that is liquid and stays liquid for a long time.

All honey crystallizes eventually. Suspended particles and fine air bubbles in honey contribute to faster crystallization. Filtering helps delay crystallization, helping the honey to remain liquid for a much longer period than unfiltered honey.

2. Many consumers prefer honey to be clear and brilliantly transparent.

  • The presence of fine, suspended material (pollen grains, wax, etc.) and air bubbles results in a cloudy appearance that can detract from the appearance. Filtering is done to give a clear brilliant product desired by consumers. For the filtered style of honey, USDA Grading Standards for Extracted Honey give higher grades for honey that has good clarity. 
     
  • Honey is filtered to remove extraneous solids that remain after the initial raw processing by the beekeeper. 

Various filtration methods are used by the food industry throughout the world. Ultrafiltration, a specific kind of filtration used in the food industry, should not be confused with other filtration methods generally used in the honey industry.  When applied to honey, ultrafiltration involves adding water to honey and filtering it under high pressure at the molecular level, then removing the water.  It is a much more involved and expensive process which results in a colorless sweetener product that is derived from honey but is not considered “honey” in the U.S. 

Honey that is filtered through more traditional methods is still “honey,” even if pollen has been removed along with other fine particles. 

For more information on filtration and pollen’s role in honey, click here.

Why does my honey look/taste different than I'm used to?

Honey comes in many colors and flavors - these are called honey varietals and they are determined by the type of flowers the bees visited for nectar. Some are light and sweet; others are dark and bold. Pick the honey you like and enjoy!

Honey’s Nutritional Profile!

Honey is composed primarily of carbohydrates (natural sugars) and water, as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. Providing 17 grams of carbohydrates and 64 calories per tablespoon, honey is an all-natural sweetener without any added ingredients.

Generally, darker honeys have higher antioxidant content than lighter honeys.

For a complete nutrient listing, please visit USDA’s National Nutrient Database at: 
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/.

For more information on filtration and pollen’s role in honey, click here.

Why can’t I feed honey to my baby less than 1 year of age?

Honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores that can cause infant botulism - a rare but serious disease that affects the nervous system of young babies (under one year of age). C. botulinum spores are present throughout the environment and may be found in dust, soil and improperly canned foods. Adults and children over one year of age are routinely exposed to, but not normally affected by, C. botulinum spores. Honey is safe to consume during pregnancy and lactation. While infants are susceptible to the infant botulism, adults, including pregnant females, are not. The concern for babies stems from the fact that infants lack the fully developed gastrointestinal tract of older humans. Since the mother is not in danger of developing this condition, the unborn baby is protected. Spores are inactivated when manufactured food products (such as cereals or nuts) receive a roasting heat treatment. Graham crackers or cereal, for example, would not contain any viable microbial spores.

The above information is from the National Honey Board: http://www.honey.com

Photography by Kodua Galieti

Visit the LA County Fair!!!!  BUZZ BY - SAY HI!!!  Pick up some LOCAL RAW HONEY!!!