Land of Milk and Honey

Each day in Jerusalem, our breakfast included a frame from a beehive with marvelous tasting honey and honeycomb. The Bible says that Canaan is a land filled with "milk and honey", and this was proven true at our breakfast. The milk referred to is not from cows but from figs.

A few years ago a friend kept bees for a hobby. He invited me when it was time for the harvest. After smoking the bees to settle them down, the frames were removed from the hive, looking much like the one in this photo. The honey is sealed in the frame with beeswax that is removed with an electric knife to expose the honeycomb and the honey. Then 2 to 4 frames are inserted into a metal cylinder that enables spinning the frames inside. Turning the handle and spinning the frames forces all the honey from the frames to the sides of the container, where it drips down and can be drained with a spigot into a container. Quite a fascinating and fun process. And there is nothing like honey directly from the hive, raw and fresh.