All the Honey You Can Buy

 You may be thinking that honey is honey.  Honey comes in many forms.  There are all kinds of honey.  We offer varietal honey and flavored honey on a regular basis to our customers.  We even get requests or additional types of honey.  Here are some of the most popular types of honey sold: 

Comb Honey

Comb honey is honey in its original form; that is, honey inside of the honeycomb.  The beeswax comb is all natural, soft and edible.  About 50 years ago, more people at comb honey than bottled honey.

Cut Comb

Cut comb honey is liquid honey that has added chunks of the honey comb in the jar. This is also known as a liquid-cut comb combination. Some beekeepers will call this crushed honey.  They simple smash it up so that the consumer gets a little wax in their teaspoon full of honey. 

Liquid Honey

Most honey is sold as liquid honey.  Free of visible crystals, liquid honey is extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force, gravity or straining. People put it in bottles for easy pouring and usage 

Naturally Crystallized Honey

Naturally crystallized honey is honey in which part of the glucose content has spontaneously crystallized.  Its honey in a solid state.  Natural crystals are bigger than creamed honey crystals so it feels like sugar on the tongue.  So many people believe it "turns into sugar" it does not.  It's just crystallized honey. 

Whipped (or Creamed) Honey

While all honey will crystallize in time, whipped honey (also known as creamed honey) is brought to market in a crystallized state. The crystallization is controlled so that, at room temperature, the honey can be spread like butter or jelly. The old timers call this spun honey.

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Washington Park Quincy's Farmer's Market

June 4th is the official opening of the Washington Park Farmer's Market.   May has many other functions in the park so this market gets a bit later of a start.  We plan to be part of all four June markets.  This is a new venue for us. We've often been at the Quincy Mall market on Thursdays, and we still will!  We also participate in the Saturday morning Hannibal Central Park Farmer's Market.

Adding Saturdays in Quincy should be fun this year.  The market is back in the park.  Yeah!  So many of you have wanted to back in a town square type of setting with strolling sidewalks and shade trees.  Guess what?  We wanted that too. It's very nice for a quick Saturday morning activity with the kids. Just being able to pop up on Saturday morning and pick up some strawberries, or tomatoes, honey and a cup of open air coffee is a good way to start the weekend. 

There are quite a few new vendors joining us this year. I think the grass setting has a lot to do with the increase in vendor participation.  The very first market looks very promising.  The market will have strawberries-local, tomatoes-local, honey-local, kale and greens-local, onions-local, radishes-local, and much more.  LOCAL is the key, it's fresh and not trucked in for days from our friends in California.

We tend to sell out of honey by July, so we'll plan to be there all June then play it by ear in the first weeks of July.  We will harvest again in August.  Hope we see you on Saturday mornings. 



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Beeswax and Humectant Products

Honeybees produce a natural wax, secreting it from glands on the sides of their bodies. They then scrape the wax off, chew it up and secret it to the inside of the honeycomb. The comb cells are used to rear new brood, or baby bees, and to store honey.  The material has to keep both moist and not allow the bees or the honey to dry out.  

The cosmetics industry loves beeswax because not only is it natural and non-toxic, it provides benefits to the skin and to various types of formulas.  Guess what?  We love it too.  It’s the key ingredient in every spa item we make.   

The Humectant property is the main reason our lip balms, salves, and cuticle butter work so well. 

Wiki defines a Humectant  (or moisturizers) “are important cosmetic ingredients allowing to prevent loss of moisture thereby retaining the skin's natural moisture. Some compounds also have the ability to actively attract moisture.”   Beeswax attracts moisture.  

 There are lots of humectants like aloe, cocoa butter, etc  but beeswax is the one that attracts moisture, not just keep it.  So think about your skin.  If you’re dry, you don’t want to lose any of your moisture.  Wouldn’t it be great if your skin could draw moisture to you?  Yes! In addition to being a humectant, here are other reasons why beeswax is good for you:

1.       Protective: When applied to the skin, beeswax forms a protective barrier that helps protect it from environmental assaults, while also holding in moisture and reducing dryness. This is one of the reasons beeswax is often used in lip balms. Unlike ingredients made from petroleum, however, beeswax doesn’t “suffocate” the skin, and won’t clog pores.


2.       Antibacterial: Like honey, beeswax has antibacterial properties, helping keep skin clean and reducing the risks of contamination in the formula itself. In fact, a 2005 study found that a honey/beeswax mixture inhibited the growth of bacteria and fungus, making it a potential treatment for diaper rash and other bacterial skin conditions.



4.       Vitamin A: A good source of this vitamin, beeswax helps support cell turnover and reconstruction.


5.       Fragrance: We always say there’s no reason to use harsh chemicals to make products smell good. Natural ingredients work so much better! Beeswax has a natural honey fragrance, and is a favorite in soaps and perfumes because of its pleasant, light aroma.


6.       Wound healing: Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, beeswax has been found to help encourage the healing of wounds.


7.       Itching: If you suffer from dry skin itching, dermatitis, eczema, or any type of itching related to a skin condition, beeswax is for you. A study published in 2012 found that those patients who suffered serious burns, and later went through “post-burn itch” when the burns were healing, experienced relief with an herbal oil cream and beeswax combination, so much so that they were able to cut back on their use of medications for the itch. Because beeswax is anti-allergenic, it is also easily tolerated by even those with reactive skin.

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20 Home Remedy Uses for Raw Honey

I was searching for a listing of all the uses of Honey for health.  I ran across a website by Dr. Axe and this article:  

 20 Uses For Honey in Natural Remedies

1. Improve digestion – Use a tablespoon or two to counteract indigestion since it doesn’t ferment in the stomach.
2. Relieve nausea – Mix honey with ginger and lemon juice to help counteract nausea.
3. Acne cure – It can be used as an affordable face cleanser to fight off acne, gentle on sensitive/all skin types. Take half a teaspoon, warm between hands and spread on face gently, leave on for 10 minutes then rinse with warm water and pat dry.
4. Exfoliator – Honey makes a great exfoliator! Use honey on dry winter skin by adding two cups of honey to a bath, soak for 15 minutes, then add one cup of baking soda for the final 15 minutes.
5. Improve diabetes – Consumption of raw honey can reduce risk of developing diabetes and help aid medication used to treat diabetes. Raw honey increases insulin and decreases hyperglycemia. Add a little at a time and see how your blood sugar reacts to it.
6. Lower cholesterol – It can help reduce cholesterol and therefore decrease your risk for coronary artery disease.
7. Improve circulation – Raw honey makes your brain function optimally by strengthening the heart and improving blood circulation.
8. Antioxidant support – Consumption of raw honey increases plaque-fighting antioxidants.
9. Restore Sleep – Raw honey promotes restorative sleep. Add a tablespoon to warm milk to help increase melatonin and help you sleep.
10. Pro-biotic support – Raw honey is full of natural probiotics which promote the growth of good bacteria in the intestine.
11. Improve allergies – If sourced locally, raw honey can help reduce seasonal allergies.
12. Lose weight – Substituting raw honey for white sugar can help in weight management
13. Moisturize – A spoonful of raw honey mixed with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon can be used as a hydrating lotion.
14. Hair mask – Raw honey hair mask can help boost shine, mix 1 tsp of raw honey with 5 cups of warm water, rinse thoroughly , air dry and style as usual.
15. Eczema relief – Use to treat mild eczema. Use it as a topical mixture of equal parts of honey and cinnamon.
16. Reduce inflammation – Raw honey has anti-inflammatory agents that can treat respiratory conditions such as asthma.
17. Heal wounds – Raw honey used topically can help quicken healing time for mild burns, wounds, rashes, and abrasions.
18. Cure UTI – Honey can help improve urinary tract infections due to its antibacterial properties.
19. Shampoo – Raw honey can cleanse and restore the health of your hair and scalp. Try this homemade shampoo recipe.
20. Relieve sore throat – Honey uses for sore throats is another fantastic remedy.  Simply mix it with lemon essential oil and peppermint oil for fast acting benefits.

They pretty much sum up all the reasons why you should be including raw honey in your diet on a daily basis.  Good luck!  


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Honey Tasting at Twain on Main

We had a mini tasting last weekend in Hannibal.  We offered free samples of  Cat's Claw varietal honey.  It was quite good.  Our customers thought it was good too, to the tune of a 32 to 2 vote.  Nice results for something brand new to us.  This has us planning another honey tasting, a really big honey tasting open to the public. 

We will be offering samples of  Mesquite Honey, Cat's Claw, Orange Blossom, Sunflower and our signature JAK's Wildflower at the Twain On Main event in Hannibal over Memorial Day weekend. Honey tasting is free, we welcome all our regular customers and new folks too.   It's a great event, lots of people come out for the spring festival.  It's on Main Street in Hannibal on May 28 and 29 from 10am to 6pm.  You can see the details on the events facebook page. 

Since we only have some of these varietals in the spring we tend to sell them fast.  Plan to try them all.  We will have each in a single serving honey stix for you.  You'll love some, maybe not love another but each is very unique in flavor, texture, and color. Varietal Honey is a nice healthy way to introduce more florals, amino acids, trace minerals and pollen into your diet.   We'll have samples until we run out of honey! 

Bring your kids to our booth.  We offer a free honey stix of choice to any child under 18 years of age. This a great way to introduce kids to honey.  When they can pick Blueberry or Strawberry, they like to try something new.  Many kids today have not had raw local honey, and yet they all seem to know what sugar tastes like. Allow us to open their tastes to something healthier. 

Some other items we'll have at Twain on Main include Creamed Honey, Honey Stix, and Honey Soaps.  We hope you'll drop by and try some new honey. 



Contact us at Jak's Bee Farm
We ship products by request.  Payments through Paypal.
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Saturday May 7th-- Markets Kick Off Our Season-- Links to area markets

Starting this week!   Here is our anticipated schedule. We're a "Sunshine only" vendor, if it's raining we will not be attending. 

Click links to follow each market for weekly specials, weather updates and pics of goods available.  Plus, it's just a good idea to Like some good local producers!

• May 7th is our first day at the Saturday AM-Hannibal Central Park Farmer's Market, 8am to noon.  450 Broadway, Hannibal  
• May 7th is our first day at the  Saturday AM-Washington Park Farmer's Market, 7:30am to Noon, Quincy IL NEW for us this year.
• May 10th is our first day at the AM- Adams County Health Department Farmer's Market  8am-noon  Quincy IL
•  May 26th is our first day at the Thursday PM-Quincy Mall Farmer's Market 3300 Broadway, behind mall.  3pm (2pm) to 6pm
• May 31st is our first day at the Tuesday PM-Quincy Mall Farmer's Market 3300 Broadway, behind mall.  3pm (2pm) to 6pm.  This market we attend every other week.

We're looking forward to seeing you soon.


Contact us at Jak's Bee Farm
We ship products by request.  Payments through Paypal.
Our Facebook Page

Types of Honey

You may be thinking that honey is honey.  Honey comes in many forms.  There are all kinds of honey.  We offer varietal honey and flavored honey on a regular basis to our customers.  We even get requests or additional types of honey.  Here are some of the most popular types of honey sold: 

Comb Honey

Comb honey is honey in its original form; that is, honey inside of the honeycomb.  The beeswax comb is all natural, soft and edible.  About 50 years ago, more people at comb honey than bottled honey. 

Cut Comb

Cut comb honey is liquid honey that has added chunks of the honey comb in the jar. This is also known as a liquid-cut comb combination. Some beekeepers will call this crushed honey.  They simple smash it up so that the consumer gets a little wax in their teaspoon full of honey. 

Liquid Honey

Most honey is sold as liquid honey.  Free of visible crystals, liquid honey is extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force, gravity or straining. People put it in bottles for easy pouring and usage 

Naturally Crystallized Honey

Naturally crystallized honey is honey in which part of the glucose content has spontaneously crystallized.  Its honey in a solid state.  Natural crystals are bigger than creamed honey crystals so it feels like sugar on the tongue.  So many people believe it "turns into sugar" it does not.  It's just crystallized honey. 

Whipped (or Creamed) Honey

While all honey will crystallize in time, whipped honey (also known as creamed honey) is brought to market in a crystallized state. The crystallization is controlled so that, at room temperature, the honey can be spread like butter or jelly. The old timers call this spun honey.