Honey Comb, Comb in the Comb | Natural Apitherapy Research Centre

Comb Honey, Raw Honey for social Medicine / natural Apitherapy - introduction

Surely, most of you are aquainted with culinary delights of honey - at least of common extracted honey. But the real honey specialities are comb in the comb or honey comb and raw honey: they are the best prophylactic against a cold. Eating honey during engagement was considered in former times to be useful in order to have strong and well shaped children later.

Honey is known at least for 12.000 years. Especially in Egypt a honey culture was widespread. Honey was used for ritual and medical purposes. From Greece we know by Hippokrates about 300 diferent honey remedies.

Honey, especially raw honey, contains up to 30 different kinds of sugar like fructose and dextrose and nearly 200 recorded substances. For instance organic acids, ferments, vitamins, aromatic substances und minerals like phosphor, iron, calcium, copper, manganese, magnesium, sodium, potassium, as well as many antibacterial pharmacologically active ingredients (Inhibines with antibiotic effect).

If honey is correctly stored it is durable for many years. You should take care about a dry, dark and cold storage (12-18°C). Honeyjars need always to be closured propperly as honey adopts very quickly humidity and disturbing odours.

Crystallization has no influence on honeyquality; it is a natural process. Some kinds like clover honey crystallize immediately after honeyharvest. Others like fir honey, crystallize after years. It depends on different proportion of fructose and dextrose. Is the part of dextrose higher, the honey crystallizes faster and firmer. Honeyjar superscripts like „selection", „selected", „beekeeper’s honey" are only empty phrases.

But honey is not honey, especially raw honey and honey comb is not honey even if the process of production (in the honeybee) is always the same. The final product, which is yielded from honeycombs by running, extraction, or pressing, differ in several quality characteristics. The colour spectrum goes from nearly achromatic (white) to very dark colours. The consistency can be liquid, completely cristallized or beginning to cristallize. Differences in Taste and flavour depend mainly on botanical origin. According to the basic material one differs flowerhoney and honeydew honey. Flowerhoney comes completely or mainly from nectar of blossoms. Honeydew honey comes from honeydew of several tree species; excretions on plants from insects succing on plants. The bees collect these sugar containing excretions and converting it by combination with their own specific substances to honey. Honeydew honey is always dark, contains lots of mineral nutrients and has a spicy flavour; it is rather a specialty.

Comb Honey, Raw Honey for social Medicine / natural Apitherapy - honey science: Bee Hive Products differ also in respect of kinds of harvest:

1. Honey comb or comb in the comb is honey, which is still contained in caped combs built by the bees themselves - without broodcells. The combs are being cut and sold in portions to market. honey comb is a raw bee produce to which neither mechanical (extraction, stiring procedure) nor heat treatment ("melting") has occured and which consequently is an product of especially high quality (don't confuse with artificial honey comb). Thus there is an increase in popularity regarding honey comb. But always again checking turns out that in parts 90 percent of the comb honey is being criticized. For the most part it is imported honey which contains brood and artificial foundation and is sometimes contaminated with antibiotics and beerepellents. Also comb honey and organic honey comb from Germany is concerned, if it is not produced according standards of Centre for Ecological Apiculture / Natural Apitherapy Research Center. According EU-Rules even artificial foundation in honey comb (artificial honey comb) is allowed. More information and sources of supply for pure comb honey with natural cristalization (not heated) are availlable in the Centre for Ecological Apiculture or under phone: +49 5652 917899. More Info...

2. Honey with parts of combs (chunk-honey) contains one or more pieces of honey comb.

3. A delicacy for people who live according the sentence: „A healthy mind in a healthy body" may also try honey comb or chunk-honey with beesbread (pollen stored by the bees in newly built combs). More information and sources of supply availlable in the Centre for Ecological Apiculture. More Info...

4. Run-honey: this specialty is said to be the best honey directly after honey comb. The beekeeper lets drip the honey out of the uncaped combs. This method is nowadays only practiced by very few beekeers; in Germany and Europe mainly beekeepers of the Centre for Ecological Apiculture practice production of this specialty. Useful for raw honey production. More Info...

5. The „bestseller" among all honey kinds is extracted honey or organic honey; this kind of honey or organic honey is being extracted from uncaped combs in a an extractor (centrifugal machine). This kind of honey and mainstream organic honey are offered in most apiaries, organic beekeeping enterprises and can be found in supermarkets. This method is not useful for raw honey production / natural Apitherapy.

6. Regarding presshoney the combs are being pressed or the honey is harvested by heating the combs up to 45°C. This method is rarely used nowadays and not useful for raw honey production / natural Apitherapy.

7. Nowadays honey is being ultrafiltrated - and withit somehow adulterated; honey is being heated and pressed through ceramic filters. This kind of honey needs to be labled as filter-honey as he contains almost no typical components of honey like pollen. Mainly used by Countries who are known as famous honeyexporters and mass producers of genetically modified seeds; they are able to filter out genetical engineered pollen. (This kind of honey usually can be found in supermarkets)

8. Artificial honey: It is no honey, only similar to honey and an artificially produced substitute. It is allowed to mix honey with artificial honey. But this product needs to be labled as artificial honey. (very inexpensive and offered only in supermarkets)

9. Artificial honey comb: many varieties of honey comb nowadays need to be called artificial - even organic honey comb with certein negative side-effects on healh; that is the reason why it can't be used in M.Thiele Beetherapy. More Info...

Honey Comb, Raw Honey for social Medicine / Natural Apitherapy - Learn more on how to produce Honey Comb, Raw Honey or Comb honey with Beesbread

Even organic and bio-dynamic apiaries are allowed to use artificial parts of the combs, to feed sugar and siropes, to make full use of travelling with beecolonies, to use heat treatment for bee hive products. Thats the reason why it is useful purchasing apitherapeutical beehive products from beekeeping considering the character of bees (certified according standards of Centre for ecological Apiculture); these beekeepers support a "longlasting fertility in beekeeping" in contrast to success in artificial beekeeping for a short time. These products cannot be found in organic shops or supermarkets; they can only be ordered directly in special apiaries. More Info...

Those beekeepers who want more than producing mainstream extracted honey or organic honey and artificial honey comb, who want to stop "traditional" framehive beekeeping and start with organic / ecological top bar hive beekeeping in order to produce beeproducts used in M.Thiele Beetherapy, should register for distance course No 19 organic / ecological top bar hive beekeeping in the Centre for ecological Apiculture.

Honey Comb, Comb in the Comb, Raw Honey and Social Medicine / Natural Apitherapy

Comb Honey, Raw Honey for social Medicine / natural Apitherapy - introduction

Comb Honey, Raw Honey for social Medicine / natural Apitherapy - honey science: Bee Hive Products differ also in respect of kinds of harvest:

Honey Comb, Raw Honey for social Medicine / Natural Apitherapy - Learn more on how to produce Honey Comb, Raw Honey or Comb honey with Beesbread

Further Reading and References