Hi it’s Kirk Jones from Sleeping Bear Farms! I’m back at our Florida farm once again to make the annual pilgrimage. Every year before we start the season, we go and look at all of our bees, and pick out the best hives. The hives with big populations of bees that are gentle, and then we can take that stock and make new bees.

Let’s take a look at some hives today, some of the breeders at sleeping bear farms. We’ve brought in some really good hives, ones that were really brooded up well with nice full cones of brood. That queen is really laying well, let’s take a look. There’s a few cells that aren’t laid, but there are always a few.

When we pick out breeders for making queen bees to re-sell or re-queen our own hives, we pick out the best house we can find out of all of our hives. And these particular bees are really light gold nice bees, prolific layers.

We’re peeking in another hive here, and very nice looking bee. The stock came from David last year, and we’re not sure of the lineage. She’s a little agitated because we just opened the hives up. She’s a really good layer, and the bees are quite gentle. The brood nest is layed up very good, so this is another one that we’re going to keep. I’ll probably name this one Lady Gaga. Can you see the similarity?

Sleeping Bear Farms – Bringing Just a Bit More Sweetness

Today Kirk is making gourmet honey mustard at Sleeping Bear Farms with real honey. No sugar added!

Tupelo Honey Production

There is a tangible excitement in the air as the honeybees are loaded on sleeping bear farms trucks for their annual trip to the Tupelo river bottoms of the Florida panhandle.

The beekeeper arrives at dawn to load the honeybees on the truck before the day’s first flight. We wait until the Tupelo starts to bloom before the exodus begins so the bees are in the midst of millions of blooms on the river bottoms and direct all their energy into harvesting this one special nectar.

Bees will gather nectar from the nearest source with the highest sugar concentration and timing is crucial to get the purest Tupelo possible with the best flavor unique to Tupelo honey.

Other honey plants and trees bloom right before and after Tupelo trees. High bush Gallberry blooms right before Tupelo but has a different flavor and crystallizes very fast. After the Tupelo trees stop secreting nectar the Low Bush Gallberry will yield a nice light honey, but it also has a different flavor.

There is more than one species of Tupelo. The most delectable is Nyssa Ogeche, commonly called white Tupelo or Ogeechee Tupelo. That is the prize we are after to put in our jars.

Honey Bees

Black Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) blooms right before Ogeechee Tupelo and yields a nice light honey, but it crystallizes quickly. We manage the bees to avoid mixing the Ogeechee Tupelo with the Black Gum, but there is usually a small amount mixed in as the bees are always flying to the most ready source of nectar.

Every year we are excited with electric anticipation of the new bloom of Tupelo in April. We watch for the signs of the impending approach, such as the appearance of Kite birds in the gulf region. We watch for the signs and the move is on to capture the flow. It is a cultural tradition we are proud to be part of.

Every year Sleeping Bear Farms send hives to Florida to take advantage of the early warm weather and the flowering plants that produce bee pollen. At the winter solstice the days get longer and the queen will start laying eggs. When the flowers and trees in Florida begin to flower, the pollen increases the queens egg laying and the hives begin to build up large populations of bees.

In February Sharon and the queen yard staff begin to search for hives that exhibit traits desirable for breeding new queens. We hand pick the best hives and use their queens as breeding stock. Very small newly hatched larvae about 18 hours old are selected and carefully placed in special cups with royal jelly.

Special hives are prepared to accept the “grafted`’ larvae and tricked into thinking they are queenless and the worker bees fill the special cups with copious amounts of royal jelly. It is the generous amounts of royal jelly that make the young female larvae magically develop into much larger queens with fully developed ovaries.

The queen yard staff provide our crew with up to 300 queen cells per day that we place into new hives made from existing stock. We wait about 18 days and then return to the beeyard to see if the queens have successfully mated.

The virgins generally begin mating flights on warm mornings when the wind is laying low and may make over a dozen matings with drones. The more matings the better, as the queen will have a large reserve of sperm.

Royal jelly is eaten by all bees in varying degrees and is essentially the “currency” of the hive. Without adequate protein, young workers will not be able to make enough royal jelly to fed the young larvae to develop into “fat” bees. Bees without enough body fat cannot make abundant royal jelly. The saying goes, “skinny bees make skinny bees”

Bee bread is actually pollen stored with some honey added that is fermented by LAB (lactic acid bacteria) that partially breaks down the pollen cell walls rendering the pollen more digestible. Think yogurt and other fermented foods. It keeps well too.

The Cherries are not only good for you, but they’re also on trend as a homegrown “Super Fruit.” According to recent data, more than 9 out of 10 Americans want to know where their food comes from, nearly 80 percent say they’re purchasing “locally produced” products, and the majority is defining “local” as grown in America.1,2 And cherries deliver.

A growing body of science reveals tart cherries, enjoyed as either dried, frozen cherries or cherry juice have among the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, when compared to other fruits. They also contain other important nutrients such as beta carotene (19 times more than blueberries or strawberries) vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate.

Emerging evidence links cherries to many important health benefits – from helping to ease the pain of arthritis and gout, to reducing risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Cherries also contain melatonin, which has been found to help regulate the body’s natural sleep patterns, aid with jet lag, prevent memory loss and delay the aging process.

A recent study from the University of Michigan reveals new evidence linking cherries to heart health benefits. The study found that a cherry-enriched diet lowered total weight, body fat (especially the important “belly” fat), inflammation and cholesterol-all risk factors associated with heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, being overweight or obese, in particular when the weight is concentrated in the middle, is a major risk factor for heart disease. As nearly two out of three Americans are overweight, emerging studies like this are important in examining the role diet may play in disease management and prevention.

Excerpt from Choosecherries.com

Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate

Add 2 Tablespoons to:
Lemonade, Orange Juice, Apple Juice or Water
Regular or herbal tea (hot or cold)
Carbonated beverages, such as Ginger ale or lemon-lime soda
Smoothies or Shakes
Milk, Soy Milk, Rice Milk

Frozen Tart Cherries

Add 1/2 Cup or more, thawed and drained, to Smoothies or Shakes
Fruit Crisp and Cobbler Recipes
Fruit Salsas (great for fish and poultry)
Chop and mix with 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef for burgers or meatloaf

Dried Tart Cherries

Add1/4 Cup or more to:Green Garden Salads
Vinaigrette Coleslaw
Trail Mix Snacks
Oatmeal or Dry Cereal
Muffin and Cookie recipes

Cherry-Oat Cookies

A healthy and tasty treat that even the kids will love!

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt and oats. Set aside.

Mix butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in dried cherries and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet (or line cookie sheets with parchment baking paper). Bake in a preheated 350º oven 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand 1 minute, then transfer cookies to wire baking racks to cool.

Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Nutrition Facts per Cookie: 98 Calories, 4.5 g Total Fat (2 g Saturated Fat), 13 mg Cholesterol, 67 mg Sodium, 14 g Carbohydrates, 1 g Fiber, 1 g Protein.

Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1/2 fat Cherry-Oat Cookies
A healthy and tasty treat that even the kids will love!

Cherry Tofu Smoothie

This smoothie makes a great quick and easy breakfast or other meal replacement or snack.

2 cups frozen tart cherries, thawed and drained, or 1 (16-ounce) can tart cherries, drained
1 (12.3-ounce) package light silken tofu, cut up
3/4 cup 100% ready-to-drink tart cherry juice
2 tablespoons honey
9 frozen or canned tart cherries, for garnish (optional)

In a blender container, combine 2 cups cherries, tofu, cherry juice and honey. Cover; blend until smooth. Pour into 3 glasses. If desired, thread 3 cherries on each of three 6-inch bamboo skewers. Use to garnish beverages. Serve immediately.

Makes 3 (1 cup) servings.

Nutrition Facts per Serving: 187 Calories, 1 g Total Fat (0 g Saturated Fat), 0 mg Cholesterol, 132 mg Sodium, 36 g Carbohydrate, 1.5 g Fiber, 9 g Protein.

Exchanges: 2 fruit, 1 1/2 very lean meat

Caramelized Salmon with Cherry Salsa

This recipe combines tart cherries with omega-3 rich salmon; a winning combination for reducing pain related to inflammation.

1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen salmon with skin
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 ripe mango or papaya, seeded, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen tart cherries, thawed, drained, and halved (or 1/2 cup dried tart cherries)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, basil or cilantro
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Thaw fish, if frozen. Stir together brown sugar, orange peel and pepper. Place fish, skin side down, in a shallow pan. Rub sugar mixture over fish. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 8 hours.

Remove fish from pan, draining off any juices. Place salmon, skin-side down, on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium-hot coals. Grill for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Do not turn fish.

Meanwhile, toss together mango or papaya, cherries, mint, vinegar and red pepper. Spoon fruit salsa over warm fish. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts per Serving: 326 Calories, 11 g Total Fat (2 g Saturated Fat), 93 mg Cholesterol, 87 mg Sodium, 21 g Carbohydrates, 1.5 g Fiber, 34.5 g Protein.

Exchanges: 4 lean meat, 1 1/2 fruit