Comb honey is honey in its most natural form: the beekeeper does not process it after harvesting. Comb honey has a particularly intense taste due to the pollen it contains. When buying, it is worth taking a closer look at the quality.
Comb honey is honey that is harvested, sold and consumed in the comb. The honeycomb is made of wax that bees produce in the hive. They sweat it out of the wax gland in their abdomen and shape it with their mouthparts until the hexagonal combs are formed. The bee colony incubates part of the honeycomb. The other part serves as a honey store: the bees fill it with pollen and nectar. When the honey is ripe, they seal the honeycomb with wax. The honeycomb is then “capped”.
Comb honey: Valuable natural product
Comb honey is a purely natural product. The bees store it as a reserve for the bee colony and only close the honeycomb when the honey is really ripe.
During the harvest, the beekeeper removes the closed combs and honey from the beehive and packs them without opening the combs. All the substances that the bees store in the comb remain in the honeycomb. These substances include:
flower nectar
pollen
honey bread
Together they ensure an extremely fine taste profile and also contain a valuable mixture of nutrients and vitamins. In order to protect their honey supply from pests and diseases, the bees also store propolis in the honeycomb. The natural composition of these substances makes comb honey a high-quality and healthy food.
Comb honey: differences to conventional honey
Beekeepers harvest conventional honey before it is ripe – usually when 30 to 50 percent of the combs are covered. It is then thrown out of the honeycomb, possibly filtered and bottled.
As a result, the finished honey contains fewer nutrients than comb honey. By the time centrifuged honey ends up in the supermarket, it is often mixed with other types of honey or even diluted with sugar syrup.
This cannot happen with comb honey: the comb stays tightly closed until you open it at home. Since the bees sealed it themselves, comb honey is also guaranteed to be ripe.
Comb honey from the beekeeper
Comb honey is easy to harvest: once the comb is closed, the beekeeper takes it out of the hive and packs it. He no longer has to centrifuge or filter the honey afterwards. Although comb honey is easier to harvest, it often yields less for the beekeeper. There are several reasons for this:
The beekeeper waits until the honey is ripe before harvesting. For extracting honey he can already use combs that are only partially covered. So he can harvest more honey more often.
The removed combs are missing in the hive. The bees first have to build new walls before they can produce and store honey again. With conventional honey, the beekeeper usually puts the ejected honeycomb back into the hive. This allows the bees to produce fresh honey directly.
With comb honey, the beekeeper has to wait longer overall before he can harvest. There are also special costs:
Only a few beekeepers let their bees build the hive themselves. A wildly built beehive can become quite confusing. To keep the beehive tidy, the beekeepers build beeswax foundation into the hive. The walls already contain honeycombs in the typical form. The bees can use them directly and fill them with honey. Since the beekeeper has to buy new foundation regularly, additional costs are incurred.
So that the beekeeper can better harvest and pack the comb honey, he often also provides the beehive with special wooden frames. The beekeeper can take the combs out of the frame directly and pack them up for sale. The wooden frames are usually more expensive than a regular honey jar.
For these reasons, comb honey is usually sold at a higher price than conventional centrifugal honey.
Eat and enjoy comb honey
You can eat good quality honeycomb with the honeycomb without hesitation. The stored pollen make it a special taste experience. Like conventional honey, it tastes different depending on the type of honey.
You can enjoy comb honey in several ways:
You can chew the honeycomb so that the taste can fully develop. It’s best to spit them out afterwards. While honeycomb is not harmful to your health, it can cause stomach pain if you eat large amounts of it.
When you chew out the comb, wax can stick to your teeth. To avoid this, you can instead crush the honeycomb on your tongue and suck it like candy.
You can also cut the combs into small pieces and enjoy them with bread or in yoghurt. But be careful: If you put the comb honey in hot food or drinks, the wax will become liquid.
Store your comb honey in a cool, dry place. Like conventional honey, it can then be opened for at least two years.
