Show me the honey

When the grand opening celebration of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the University of California, Davis, takes place on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this will also be a celebration of the honey bee.

The declining bee population, exacerbated by the mysterious disease called colony collapse disorder, makes us appreciate bees all the more. One-third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees.

Enter the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.

Planted last fall next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, the honey bee haven is a half-acre bee friendly garden designed to provide a year-around food source for bees, increase awareness of the plight of the honey bee, and offer educational experiences for human visitors.

Visitors can learn the importance of honey bees and glean ideas on what to plant in their own gardens to attract bees and other pollinators. Here’s the award-winning design created by a Sausalito team. (Be sure to check out the Häagen-Dazs educational website.)

At the Sept. 11 grand opening, visitors also will gain a deeper appreciation of honey, sometimes called “the soul of a field of flowers.” Honey tasting, coordinated by Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, is scheduled to be one of the activities at the celebration.

Of the more than 300 unique types of honey produced in the United States, among the most common floral sources are alfalfa, avocado, basswood, buckwheat, clover, eucalyptus, fireweed, orange blossom, safflower sages and tupelo.

A single bee can collect about 1/2 teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. To make a pound of honey, 560 worker bees must gather nectar from two million flowers, and fly a total of about 55,000 miles.

Like to cook with honey? Here are some recipes provided by the National Honey Board.

Applesauce Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
?1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or ginger
1 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Cream butter in large bowl. Gradually beat in honey until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl; reserve 2 tablespoons flour mixture. Combine dates, walnuts and reserved 2 tablespoons flour mixture in small bowl; set aside. Add remaining flour mixture and applesauce alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in date mixture. Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean.

Cranberry Oat Bread

3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda?
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped nuts

Combine honey, oil, eggs and milk in large bowl; mix well. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; mix well. Stir into honey mixture. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon into two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2-inch greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves.

Golden Cornbread

3 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk or low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs, beaten

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk, butter, honey and eggs in separate large bowl. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until moistened. Pour into greased 12x8x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 8.

Honey Bee

HONEY BEE (Apis mellifera) sipping honey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Beekeepers

SHOW ME THE HONEY--Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey (left), manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, and beekeeper Elizabeth Frost with samples of honey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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