CRUSHED WHOLE HONEY COMB.
HONEY WITH ONLY THE WAX REMOVED - JUST AS NATURE INTENDED!
HONEY WITH ONLY THE WAX REMOVED - JUST AS NATURE INTENDED!
The conventional method of honey extraction for Manuka is known as ‘prick and spin’, this technique involves piercing the individual honey cells, then inserting the frame into a centrifugal spinner and forcing the liquid honey out. This process leaves the honey cells (wax) mostly intact on the bee frames but is wasteful in that it also leaves behind the nutritious bee bread, pollen and a higher percentage of honey.
In the Manuka Honey industry , the beekeepers, extraction facilities and brand of Manuka can often all be different companies. At Steens our family bee keeping operations, extraction and packing facilities are all based under the same roof at our modern facility based in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. Having full control over our product has allowed us to do things differently.
At Steens we saw an opportunity to improve on conventional honey extraction and handling techniques to deliver more of the whole honey in a pot. Over a period of several years we developed and tested different methods of harvesting using custom built equipment. The final proprietary method we settled on is one that maximises the nutritional properties of the entire honeycomb – thus the name Whole Comb™.
Using our proprietary Whole Comb Technology™ we minimally process once without the need for secondary processing. We scrape the honeycomb from our bee frames including; any crystallised honey, pollen, bee bread and wax. To separate out the wax we use only temperatures that would naturally occur in the beehive and centrifugal force. Then after a coarse filter, to remove any impurities, our honey is ready to pack and eat!
Bee Bread is among one of the oldest dietary supplements known to man. It is widely recognised as a nourishing and complete natural food. Steens honey is unique to other Manuka honeys because it contains the highest levels of a substance called bee bread. You may have already heard about bee pollen and how nutritious it is.
Bee bread is the result of plant pollen that is taken into the hive by the bees. The bees add extra enzymes, microbial secretions and honey to pollen stored within the honeycomb. It then undergoes a lactic acid fermentation process which breaks down the hard outer shell of plant pollen, making it easier for humans to digest. Bee bread is the food the worker bees use to make royal jelly.
At Steens our Whole Comb™ technology retains high levels of this precious substance within our honey.