On Food and Cooking

Transforming Nectar into Honey In the hive,
the bees concentrate the nectar to the point
that it will resist bacteria and molds and so
keep until it is needed. “House bees” pump
the nectar in and out of themselves for 15 or
20 minutes, repeatedly forming a thin droplet
under their proboscises from which water can
evaporate, until the water content of the nectar
has dropped to 50 or 40%. The bees then
deposit the concentrated nectar in a thin film
on the honeycomb, which is a waxy network
of hexagonal cylinders about 0.20 inch/5 mm
across, built up from the secretions of the wax
glands of young workers. Here, with workers
keeping the hive air in continuous motion by
fanning their wings, the nectar loses more
moisture, until it’s less than 20% water. This
process, known as “ripening,” takes about
three weeks. The bees then fill the honeycomb
cells to capacity with fully ripe honey and cap
them with a layer of wax.
The ripening of honey involves both