Beekeeping Vocabulary – “U” is for…

Tags

beekeeping, honey bees, Tupelo, tupelo honey, Van Morrison

Above: Uncapping with an electric hot knife on an uncapping tub by Ben pcc

Today’s beekeeping vocabulary word is, “Uncapping Knife.”

From Wikipedia:

The first step in the extraction process is to break or remove all of the cappings. This may be accomplished using an automated uncapper machine or with a manually-operated uncapping knife. Usually, these tools are used together, along with a pronged cappings fork. To facilitate cutting off these wax cappings, the knife is often heated. The removed bits of wax, called cappings, are rich in honey which can be slowly drained off with the help of some heating. This ‘cappings wax’ is very valuable and often used to make candles or other products. Automated uncapping machines normally work by abrading the surface of the wax with moving chains or bristles or hot knives. This, while messy, makes the process easier than doing this task manually.

Source and to read more: Wikipedia

Beekeeping Vocabulary – “T” is for…

Tags

beekeeping, honey bees, Tupelo, tupelo honey, Van Morrison

Above: For your entertainment, Van Morrison singing Tupelo Honey

Today’s beekeeping vocabulary word is, “Tupelo.”

Tupelo Honey is the gold standard by which all other honey varieties are measured. For two weeks every spring, White (Ogeche) Tupelo Trees in the Southeastern swamps bloom with fine sunburst-shaped flowers that glisten with nectar.

From Wikipedia:

Tupelo /ˈtuːpɪloʊ/, genus Nyssa /ˈnɪsə/,^[3] is a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves.^[1][4] It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the dogwood family, Cornaceae, but is placed by other authorities in the family Nyssaceae.^[5] In the APG IV system, it is placed in Nyssaceae.^[6]

Most Nyssa species are highly tolerant of wet soils and flooding, and some need such environments as habitat.^[7] Some of the species are native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada through the Eastern United States to Mexico and Central America.^[1] Other species are found in eastern and southeastern Asia from China south through Indochina to Java and southwest to the Himalayas.^[2][4]

Honey

Tupelos of the species Nyssa ogeche are valued as honey plants in the southeastern United States, particularly in the Gulf Coast region.^[17] They produce a very light, mild-tasting honey. In Florida, beekeepers keep beehives along the river swamps on platforms or floats during tupelo bloom to produce certified tupelo honey, which commands a high price on the market because of its flavor.^[17] Monofloral honey made from the nectar of Nyssa ogeche has such a high ratio of fructose to glucose that it does not crystallize.^[18]

The Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle is the center for tupelo honey. The honey is produced wherever tupelo trees (three species) bloom in southeastern USA, but the purest and most expensive version (which is certified by pollen analysis) is produced in this valley. In a good harvest year, the tupelo honey crop produced by a group of specialized Florida beekeepers has a value approaching $1,000,000.^[19]

Source and to read more: Wikipedia

Tupelo Honey is also the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to Marin County, California, except for “You’re My Woman”, which he wrote during the recording sessions. Recording began at the beginning of the second quarter of 1971 at the Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco. Morrison moved to the Columbia Studios in May 1971 to complete the album.