Nihilists courtesy of Goldberg
Despite setbacks in the Valley, our Nob Hill hives are jamming. This weekend, we harvested 5 gallons of honey, rendering our kitchen a veritable storage unit for the Apocalypse (In case of peak oil or Doomsday, you now know where to find a cache of sweetener.)
It’s a gorgeous toasted-butter hue with flavors of backyard fruit trees and honey locust. You’ll find our Spring 2010 vintage on the menu this month at the James Beard-nominated restaurant, Jennifer James 101, and at the Pollinator Celebration on June 26. Ooh la la! I’m so excited.
So angry pesticide-spraying farmers be damned! I’m spreading a thick layer of honey on my toast this morning like a miniature revolution.
Or as they say, in the parlance of our times, “Sometimes you eat the bar, sometimes the bar eats you.”
Vintage Spring 2010, Albuquerque
mistress beek 
How many hives did you harvest to get 5 gallons? Also, how are you extracting these days?
Hey there. 5 gallons = about 2 deeps and a medium. From 2 hives total (we put deep supers on one of our mad, mad hives).
We’re using a stainless honey extractor of the centrifuge variety. They’re a bit pricey but someone fabulous gave us his recently and it works like a dream.
They are rather pricey. I think I’m going with a good old 5 gallon pail this year and see how I do. If I end up starting a few more hives next year, I may invest in a more fancy extractor. Either that, or meet a fabulous person who will give me theirs 🙂
Thanks for the laugh this morning. Starting my day of right with a little Lebowski and the triumph of bees over pesticidal maniacs.
Hey Tee, thanks for stopping by! Lebowski never fails to pull us through, man 😉