Strolling through the grocery store and picking up a squeeze bottle of honey might be a routine task — but we don’t often stop to consider the incredible process that goes into making the sticky stuff. Honey is a small miracle of nature from bees to our bellies.
As Melanie Coates, head beekeeper at the Fairmont Royal York, says, honey is “liquid gold.” A member of the Toronto Beekeepers Collective, Coates works with the bees at the Fairmont’s rooftop apiaries, harvesting honey, honeycomb and even wax for the hotel’s guests.
Here, Coates buzzes about the tireless teamwork of the colony, creating the sweet substance we love in hot drinks, on charcuterie boards and baked into tasty treats.
How is honey made?
“Sometimes people will say to a beekeeper ‘How much honey do you make?’ And we have to say, ‘No, bees make the honey.’ They make honey from the nectar that they sip from the heart of flowers. The bee sucks it up, and then she puts it in the honey sack before she comes back to the hive, where there are other receiving bees. They help her unload her honey sack … Then they fan the nectar. Every transfer from bee to bee helps evaporate the water content. They'll put it into the honeycomb [and seal it with wax]. So, why does it take so long to make honey? They’ve got to do a lot of work. They’re busy bees! Then the beekeeper uncaps it, and that’s part of the extraction.”
What are the different types of honey?
Raw
Raw honey comes straight from the honeycomb. It's unpasteurized, but some beekeepers will filter it to remove debris. It’s the purest form of honey you can purchase.
Organic
Organic honey is produced by the honeybees in an area that has been designated organic.
Creamed honey
"A bit of crystallized honey is mixed right in, so right from the get-go, it has a creamy-looking texture, not like the liquid."
Farmed vs wild
"There’s honey that’s produced in farms, where they make it in boxes, and then there's wild honey, which is produced in natural beehives, in cliffs or in trees and forests. The wild honey gets its nectar from wildflowers in the forest."
What gives honey its flavour profile?
"The colour and the flavour profile reflect where the bees are foraging and when,” Coates explains. "If the hive is smoked during the extraction process, that can impart a smoky flavour. Different honeys can be woody, spicy or nutty."
Jeff Fitzgerald
What foods can we pair with honey?
“Honey is like wine … You have many different varietals, and you would pair them with certain kinds of food. Honey is just the same. It really depends on your palate — do you like a lighter honey in your yogurt? Or maybe you want to overpower it and put in the very dark buckwheat honey,” she says. “Cheese and honey are just a match that’s made in heaven, but you want to think about what kind of honey you’re pairing the cheese with.”
What is honeycomb?
Honeycomb is made from wax and is used to store honey and pollen, the latter of which the bees in the hive will eat, explains Coates. “People will eat the honeycomb, chew on it, and then spit out the wax," she adds. “We’ll cut out the honeycomb for jW Foster, the executive chef at the hotel. Then he can just take it and serve it with his charcuterie boards.”
How should we shop for honey?
“If it's pasteurized, then I would walk on,” she says. With pasteurized honey, “you’re taking all of the nutrients out of the honey.” And if you’re buying pasteurized honey, then you’re generally not supporting a local beekeeper, she adds. “We’re all about supporting farm-to-spoon.”
Where to get honey
The Fairmont
Royal York 100 Front St. W.
In partnership with the Toronto Beekeepers Collective, the Fairmont Royal York hosts six apiaries (and an accompanying garden) on its rooftop. The hives produce about 450 pounds of honey per year, much of which makes its way onto executive chef jW Foster's seasonally inspired menu.
Rosewood Estates Winery
4352 Mountainview Rd., Beamsville
With hundreds of hives across the Niagara Escarpment, Rosewood Estates Winery doesn’t just sell wine. The Roman family, who founded the winery in Niagara, has been harvesting raw, unpasteurized wildflower honey for three generations. Try their honey, beeswax candles and bar soap.
Gibbs Honey
501 MacCallum's Lane, Vankleek Hill
The experienced beekeepers at Ontario-based Gibbs Honey know that harvesting the best, most flavourful raw honey is all about hive location. They’ve hand-picked apiaries in meadows and organic farms, adding a depth of flavour to their honey, and they package it themselves to ensure it has the most nutrients and antioxidants.
