The first Beekeeper

As most of you know, I support honey bee research. I subscribe to The Great Sunflower Project and learned something new from them today that I wanted to share with you. I think my beekeeper friends will find this especially interesting. The picture you see is L. L. Langstroth and he is considered the father of modern bee keeping. He actually invented the hives that we use today where there is a box that is filled with hanging frames. His important discovery was what he called “bee space”. This is a distance of 3/8-¼ inch or less that bees use as a passageway. If the space is less than that width, bees fill it with sticky bee sealant called propolis. If the space is larger than that width, they will fill it with honeycomb. Langstroth designed a hive where all the spaces were ¼ of an inch. He was a Congregationalist minister and took up beekeeping to keep his depression at bay. Next year will be his 200th birthday and Science Friday is celebrating it by developing a curriculum for schools to learn about bees. Now we know who we can thank for having sweet honey at our disposal anytime we want.

Did you know baked goods containing honey have a longer shelf life? This is due to honey's natural preserving qualities? (Honey does not require refrigeration.) Here's a recipe you can try using honey:

German Honey Bars Lebkuchen (makes about 6 dozen bars) Ingredients: 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/3 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup dark molasses 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 4 tablespoons butter (not margarine) sweet unsalted, melted 1 large egg 1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds (optional) Optional Glaze (recipe below) Preparation: 1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 15X10-inch jelly-roll pan; set aside. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom and ginger in medium bowl. Combine honey and molasses in medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, butter and egg. 2.Place brown sugar mixture in large bowl. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until dough forms. Stir in almonds with spoon, if desired. (Dough will be slightly sticky.) Spread dough evenly into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown and set. Remove pan to wire rack; cool completely. 3.Prepare Glaze. Spread over cooled bar cookies. Let stand until set, about 30 minutes. Cut into 2X1-inch bars. Store tightly covered at room temperature or freeze up to 3 months. Glaze Recipe 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (organic or very well washed) 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Preparation: 1.Place all ingredients in medium bowl; stir with spoon until smooth. (Find more recipes on How Stuff Works)