Mission

Honey Bee Suite is dedicated to honey bees, beekeeping, wild bees, other pollinators, and pollination ecology. It is designed to be informative and fun, but also to remind readers that pollinators throughout the world are endangered. Although they may seem small and insignificant, pollinators are vital to anyone who eats.

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Plants that Attract Pollinators

Popular Garden Plants:

Basil (Ocimum)
Bee balm (Monardia)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Borage (Borago)
Caltrop (Kallstroemia)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster)
English Lavendar (Lavandula)
Escallonia (Escallonia)
Globe thistle (Echinops)
Hyssop (Hyssopus)
Licorice Mint (Agastache)
Marjoram (Origanum)
Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)
Milkweed (Asclepias)
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus)
Russian Sage (Perovskia)
Sage (Salvia)
Wallflower (Erysimum)
Wild lilac (Ceanothus)
Zinnia (Zinnia)

Northwest Native Plants:

Aster (Aster)
California poppy (Eschscholzia)
Currant (Ribes)
Elder (Sambucus)
Fireweed (Epilobium)
Goldenrod (Solidago)
Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium)
Larkspur (Delphinium)
Lupine (Lupinus)
Madrone (Arbutus)
Mint (Mentha)
Oregon grape (Berberis)
Penstemon (Penstemon)
Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus)
Rhododendron (Rhododendron)
Saskatoon (Amalanchier)
Scorpion-weed (Phacelia)
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos)
Stonecrop (Sedum)
Sunflower (Helianthus)
Wild buckwheat (Eriogonum)
Willow (Salix)
Yarrow (Achillea)

Update on how to eat comb honey

Since my post on eating comb honey, I’ve been looking for additional suggestions. The following is just a variation on what I already wrote, but it is truly delicious.

I sliced whole grain artisan bread into half-inch slices and then cut squares about 1.5 inches (4 cm) on a side. I spread the squares with goat cheese (Chèvre), stuck a candied pecan into the cheese, and topped the whole thing with a small chunk of comb honey. I served these with a cold IPA. Perfection.

The chewy bread contrasts with the crunchy pecan, and the tartness of the cheese complements the sweetness of the honey. It’s definitely worth a try. If you’re in the states, Trader Joe’s candied pecans are lightly sweet—but very crunchy—and worked perfectly. Other types of nuts would work as well.

I’m looking for still more suggestions, so please let me know.

Rusty

Goat cheese, pecan, and honey comb

10 comments to Update on how to eat comb honey

  • Amy

    Rusty, this sounds delicious! I will have to try it soon. You and Anneke sound a lot alike with the food and beer combo…Imagine that! :)

  • Rusty

    I have no idea why we would sound alike. Clueless. But the comb honey and goat cheese is great! I’ve got all my friends munching away at it. Please tell me what you think.

  • Amy

    Took me awhile to post, but I finally tried it a week or so ago and can’t get enough of it! It’s SO good.

  • Rusty

    I’m glad you like it! I was surprised when I first tried it; it reminds me of cheesecake. In any case, it’s addictive.

  • sarah whit

    I love raw honey comb! I especially love the packaging of the honeycomb in the paper box with window to see the comb. Would love to gift this package. How do I buy your honey as packaged?
    Thank you!
    Sarah

  • So when you eat comb honey, can you just butter it on toast, beeswax and all?

    • Rusty

      Oh, absolutely yes! That is whole point of comb honey!! After you try it on toast, put a piece of comb atop your favorite cheese and cracker. As long as you eat the comb along with something else in the same bite, it won’t behave like chewing gum. I had no idea I was dealing with a virgin, here. What fun!

  • Oh man, that’s it. I’m doing it. I just have to figure out where to get the sections (the Bee-O-Pacs don’t feel right to me) and how to use them. The summer can’t come soon enough (there’s still 3 feet of snow in my backyard).

  • Kerri

    Where can I buy some raw comb honey?!?! I was at a farmers market yesterday and asked the gentleman who was selling his honey if it was raw, it didn’t look raw… What I really was looking for was proper comb honey. Thanks for all the information!

    • Rusty

      Kerri,

      Most beekeepers that you find at a farmer’s market sell raw honey. It is usually separated from the comb by centrifugal force (rapid spinning) and then strained through a fine mesh to take out any particles of honey comb, but it is still raw. Sometimes it is warmed slightly to aid the straining process, but it is seldom “cooked.” Cooking destroys a lot of flavor, so beekeepers are wary of it.

      Comb honey is always raw. Most beekeepers no longer sell comb honey because the wax combs are more valuable to the beekeeper intact or melted down and sold as candles or used in cosmetics. Also, comb honey can be tricky to produce. As a result comb honey is quite expensive and the market for it is limited, although it is gaining in popularity again.

      If you still want to buy comb honey, send me a message through the “contact me” tab, and I’ll try to come up with something.

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