Honey from the Beehive to the Bottle

 Most people only ever see honey once it is in the bottle ready for you to purchase, but how does it get there? 

Honeybees on a frame of honey

The process starts from the beehive. When the beekeeper is ready to harvest the honey they will start the honey harvesting process. First the beekeeper will get as many of the honeybees off of the frames of honey as they can. Then the beekeeper will transport the frames of honey to the honey house. This is an area that is specifically set up to harvest the honey. 

Opening the honey

After all the frames of honey are moved into the honey house, the beekeeper will remove the cappings. When the honeybees make honey they put a layer of beeswax over the honey to protect the honey. To harvest the honey, that wax layer needs to be removed, this is usually done by a knife that is heated or a tool that looks like a comb that has sharp ends on it. 

Honey extractor from above

Once the honey is opened the frames are placed into a machine that is called an extractor. The extractor will spin very quickly causing the honey to be forced out of the honeycomb and onto the walls of the extractor. The honey will then flow to the bottom of the extractor where there is a valve to get the honey out. 

Bottling the honey

From the bottom of the extractor the honey will be placed into buckets. The buckets are then placed into the bottling bucket. This bucket has a valve at the bottom that can be placed over a bottle to fill it. After the bottle is filled with honey, it then is ready for to be purchased and used in your house!