The Science of Honey (and the Bees Who Make It) | What's Eating Dan?

[@martindonald7613]

Having been a beekeeper for almost 4 decades, I love it that you are exposing people to the science of honey. I would like to warn people that supermarket honey from a huge industrial processor. Always buy raw honey from a local beekeeper. For maximum health benefits, never heat it above 98 degrees F because that kills off all of the valuable digestive enzymes found in real honey.

[@judyfeuerbach4199]

I never cared for honey until I bought some from a local beekeeper. Ever since then, I love it & never buy supermarket honey. It also feels good to support your local beekeeper & bees.

[@Rhodeygirl]

This! Studies have proven over the past 10 years that most grocery store honey is imported from China, and most of it has no pollen DNA. It's sugar syrup that's been flavored and colored to look like honey. The real stuff tastes amazing. The grocery store stuff just tastes like... sugar.

[@dwinterowd]

@@Rhodeygirl this really isn't true. While I agree to buy local as often as you can, most grocery store honey can be traced fairly easily. Costco even is true source certified. In most cases the honey has been heated and super filtered so pollen has been removed for clarity. It's still honey but it's missing all of the goodness you could be getting from a local beekeeper. Americans are obsessed with "clarity" unfortunately.

[@telegramsam]

Dark wildflower honey is still my favorite, and nothing you'll find at a chain supermarket. I buy it from a vendor at a farmer's market, great stuff

[@lovealwaysmom]

I like getting my honey from the farmers market. My favorite is lime infused honey. So delicious. Hopefully getting some this weekend. I have some honey that has gone bad. Forgot I had it. What is the best way to dispose of it?

[@davidhalldurham]

I love this series. I immediately click on "What's Eating Dan?" as soon as it shows up. Years ago I had some lavender honey from southern France. I still remember how delicious it was.

[@Muenni]

I wish I could subscribe to this series exclusively.

[@xHarmonious]

I agree! I love Dan.

[@firedrakon117]

I found out from the owner of a local-ish homebrewing suppy store, that honey is one of the most counterfeited food products. This is because some of the cheaper ones are mixed with corn syrup

[@jorgeconj]

Yes. The same happens with Maple Syrup.

[@3dstaco]

Having been a beekeeper for almost 4 decades, I can say that the dance at the the end was a 1 to 1 on how my bee's do it. Great work everyone 👍

[@blakegranquist481]

Shoutout to the native bees that always get forgotten!!! They are just as important for pollinating our food and are more important for the ecological health of countless environments!

[@MarySanchez-qk3hp]

Blake actually they're more important than honeybees. They belong on our continent, whereas honeybees are imports. They aren't suffering from colony collapse. They had a choice between making honey or using their energy to lay eggs and accidentally pollinate by crash-landing into flowers, and solitary bees, what you're calling native bees, just pollinate. They're workaholics. And they don't sting if you stand in front of their bee houses. Every solitary bee is a queen, a gentle creature. No wasted energy on honey. And you can make bee houses out of stuff you've alrewdy got, or buy a pretty house online from a group that wants everyone to know and love solitary bees. They're going to save our agriculture, if we will just create corridors for them and leave wild spots intact between farmed acreage.

[@LyonTheGreat]

Wow, a vintage Dubya reference! Nice one, Dan. Bringing back the classics.

[@rumpelstielzchen6359]

I once worked for a guy who had a beehive in central Berlin (Germany). Berlin is actually a very "green" city with lots of trees, parks and gardens. He never fed any sugar water. Instead he left some honey (or nectar?) for the bees every time he gathered honey. I have never tasted a more delicios honey! It wasn't nearly as overly sweet as regular honey. And it had a slightly bitter aftertaste which was absolutely amazing. I'm normally not a fan of honey, because it is much too sweet for my taste. But I absolutetly loved the honey his bees produced.

[@mattpitts3205]

I had a chance to do a side by side honey tasting of different origins around the u.s. was pretty cool to see how much variation there was.

[@FlyTyer1948]

Skip the dough. Just go for the frozen honey. Chewing honey. Omg. Our niece gave us honey from Hawaii. It is sooo good. I have no idea what flowers those bees visited but they do awesome work!

[@absalomdraconis]

I suggest you look for whipped/seeded honey. It's roughly equivalent to apple butter, but the heating is only done early in the process to produce predictable results; after that they add carefully sized crystalized honey, and keep at a carefully controlled temperature (I think while stirring?) to produce a honey that has crystalized _just right_ to act as a paste instead of a liquid.

[@narwhal004]

I brought back some wildflower honey from Hawaii that is delicious. It's mostly tropical flower and can differ slightly by island.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

deep fried cookie dough smothered in honey and nuts. Yeah!!

[@wildsheepc]

Dan W. Bush FTW! By far my favorite moment of this episode, aside of course from all the respect and cred given to our insect friends. 🐝

[@tomwallen7271]

I now appreciate the subtle cultural references that the zoomers can never understand.

[@TheYopogo]

I came here to say this. Very funny, yeah.

[@jimgsewell]

Damnit, I got fooled again.

[@karengamble5804]

That was fantastic- recipes, science, AND the waggle dance. One of my happiest experiences was having a bee swarm in my yard. We called the local extension service of our county who pointed us to a local beekeeper. He was a college student who said his prof would surely give him an A for rescuing the bees and rehoming (re-hiving?) them. I hope all those bees had a long and happy life. Thanks for the video, Dan & team!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

It’s always such fun watching a Dan Souza video.

[@bettytijerina9769]

We have a couple bee keepers who move their bees to certain fields for different flavors. Love real honey compared to most store honey.

[@80sforever3]

I have tiny patch of spice fennel growing, i heard the flowers are a delicacy. I was elated when my little patch bloomed but i can't taste the flower because a small group of stingless bee was "camping" on the flowers. They only left about a week later, when the flowers were wilting. Those tiny bees never fail to show up everytime my fennel flowers. Now i'm curious how would fennel honey taste like

[@absalomdraconis]

Store honey (at least in the US) _is_ real honey, and is so _by law._ It's usually heated, it's likely to be a mix of honeys for the sake of making the flavor predictable, it's been filtered to remove the pollen, wax, and propolis, but it _is_ still honey. It is _not_ some sort of artificially produced syrup or anything else, it's simply what it's labelled as.

[@yvettetellez5064]

The content of this video was so informative and intriguing, but watching Dan do the Waggle dance did it for me!! I love watching Dan on Pluto TV on ATK presents! His segments are my faves!!! Can't get enough!!

[@joemungenast5070]

I really do love this series and am so happy honey finally made the list. My personal favorite characteristic of honey must not have made the cut - hygroscopicity. Much like you might make an oleo saccharum with white sugar, give it a try with honey. Citrus peels in your favorite light honey for a few days, et voila - a syrupy honey that you can pour over a simple Bundt cake or mix in with your favorite cocktail. It’s extremely aromatic and floral and takes those honey flavors up a notch. You can replace citrus peels for a number of different adjuncts, and honey is quite forgiving with its antibacterial properties. Enjoy!

[@leightodd7335]

The problem with this one is the information about how important honey bees to agriculture is not true!

[@absalomdraconis]

@@leightodd7335 : Depends on the crop. The cereals (e.g. wheat) have no use for the bees, and the bees no use for them, but several of the flowering plants (one of the clovers, apples, blackberries, etc.) can greatly benefit from having extra pollinators for e.g. increased yields.

[@leightodd7335]

@@absalomdraconis all three of those are native to North America and got along just fine with out a honey bee with in 2000 miles. Sure who doesn’t need a little extra something something lol

[@NickWitzeman]

It is important to note that there are other, native bees that are capable of pollinating plants-in many cases, more effectively than invasive honeybees! Obviously, these native bees don't produce anything as delicious to humans as honey. But the environmental impact of honeybees is more often negative than positive because they out-compete and drive out native insects.

[@kirstenbarbera9672]

Thank you for mentioning this! While bees definitely deserve love, most people only focus on honeybees (because of what they provide for us), often at the detriment of native bees that do much of the pollinating. That being said, I still love Dan's videos.

[@leightodd7335]

Amen brother! This miss information has been spread by many of the so called journalist for several years now. The so called hive decline from a few years ago really went out. Even this was mostly made up. So the fake news stuff is not new.

[@marcelasoares3743]

In Brazil there are native bee species that produce little but delicious honey we call them jataí bees

[@kaylathehedgehog2005]

Like buzz pollination! There are some flowers that won't even release their pollen without the buzzing from bumblebees.

[@globalhikingcr]

Thank you for mentioning the importance of native bee ! To me, honey bees, are more akin to livestock. They can also propagate viruses to the native bumblebees are decimate their populations.

[@LoganDC100]

And...yet another reason I have a total crush on Dan Souza. LOL!!

[@ashotmm]

Thank you for the positive energy.

[@teresaroberts7376]

Dan, you're just delightful!

[@gerardjohnson2106]

There's more honey chemistry. Hard crystallized vs seeded "whipped" honey. I love the stuff. And how about the invert process?

[@KenS1267]

Crystallized honey is just that. Heat it up and it will go back to "normal." A warm water bath tends to work well for me. Whipped honey has just had very small honey sugar crystals, and air, whipped into honey. Invertase is an enzyme that breaks the bond holding sucrose together. Disaccharides are two simple sugars held together by a single chemical bond. Break that bond and you get the original simple sugars again. Invertase is the specific enzyme that does this to sucrose. You can actually buy invertase as people prefer fructose over sucrose in some kinds of jam and it is way easier to make fructose from sucrose.

[@ronalddevine9587]

Dan, you are a class act! My favorite honey comes from Greece, Attiki is the brand. If you have a Greek store near you, I strongly suggest that you try it. I find that it has a unique flavor 😋.

[@TheGreektrojan]

As an aside. Greek loukoumathes are a better take of the dessert mentioned here IMO (and a honey delivery vessel). Basically fried donut holes saturated in honey syrup with some cinnamon. Can't go wrong with either.

[@xandrios]

In Greece Attiki is considered relatively mass-produced 'typical' honey. It' s good, but not necessarily as great as the local honey made by small-scale farms/beekeepers which can be found all over. In terms of honey we are very spoiled in this country (And everyone has their favorite 'bee guy') :)

[@ronalddevine9587]

@@xandrios You are blessed to have such a wonderful selection of quality honeys. Greece is also blessed with excellent fruits and vegetables.

[@michealpersicko9531]

As someone who grew up making struffoli you want ot make them a lot bigger than what's shown in the video because otherwise they're almost too hard to really eat. We made them about the size of a 3/8ths in ball bearing and what this does is give you a crunchy outside with a slightly fluffier cakey inside they're great.

[@jackmcdaniel6535]

Bees are amazing. Dan, you barely scratch the service of all that they do.

[@juliebates8456]

My nana made struffoli with anise in the dough. She would also decorate with Jordan almonds and sprinkles. This made me so happy to see.

[@kristievanderzee8754]

My family makes struffoli every year for Christmas! Although we roll out the dough and use a pasta cutter to make small diamonds (parallelograms really). We add honey and nonpareils and give batches out to friends and family. 😊

[@delmariesnodgrass5038]

I loved this episode. Smiles throughout! Thank you for the great entertainment and informative video!

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

My grandfather was a melon grower. Arranging for the bee-keepers to come at the right time and hit the fields in the optimal order was hugely important. Chestnut honey, which is slightly bitter, is one of my favorites, especially on a really salty cheese.

[@hiyahandsome]

You are so smart and funny, and I always learn things watching you, Dan. Thanks so much!

[@steveg8322]

Very,very cool.My father kept bees in our native Greece,delectable due to thyme flowers and pine trees.

[@lalac1577]

lets all protect these beautiful creatures

[@jn651]

Great stuff. Bees are so important. I'm 99 pct sure you quoted GWB 43 in there. What a hidden gem! Great episode.

[@daveh7720]

I wondered where I heard that before. Thanks!

[@BK-vc9ik]

Fascinating! Thanks Dan! Those grilled chops-gotta try that. Been eating toasted peanut butter and honey sandwiches since I was a kid. Gotta smash it and let it sit to soak a bit in the bread. Makes a honeycomb like texture=so good! A+ for the waggle dance! Keep the great videos coming!

[@TheBushBeeMan]

Great video! It explains perfectly what my little ladies get up to.

[@ObservingtheObvious]

I worked one fall for a local bee keeper and it wasn’t until then that I realized how magnificent the taste is of unmolested Honey. He allowed us to have a scoop off of the combs whenever we felt like it while we were processing and the taste was utterly out of this world. At least compared to store-bought honey. He was a small supplier for a popular Honey producer, provider. But he allowed us to have some that only was warmed so it would flow better, so therefore we got natural honey and I’ve been spoiled ever since. I have lived multiple places and somewhere along the line someone discussed that it was best to buy locally where you live because the helpful properties of the honey are locally harvested and those are the nutrients you need for your immune system. Buying at the farmers market is an excellent idea but where I live now is in the same area where I learned these things initially and there are several local apiaries that you can still purchase honey from. And some of the local health food stores also carry local honey.

[@brettmoore6781]

love that Dank George W. Bush reference, Dan. This is what I'm here for!

[@adterpandrea]

1. Love you, Dan! 2. Just had honeydew honey for the first time. Light taste. Slight fruity flavor. Very enjoyable.

[@dorothycrowder8577]

Thanks for the information.

[@tonik9724]

Sourwood honey is the best! Thanks for science lesson, fascinating! And, of course, thank you to all those busy bees out there, working hard and providing us with this great sweetener!

[@scottnathanphoto]

I'm honey obsessed and have been hunting it for years. The best I've ever had is from a guy in Kauai. It's dark and the hives are surrounded by Java Plum & Mango trees. He refuses to use a centrifuge or even protective gear. He and his bees have a relationship and he hand scrapes the combs.

[@SpenserLi]

You can freeze up maple syrup too. In fact in winter you can just pour maple syrup right on top of ice and you have an amazing instant candy.

[@whitewave16]

Thanks for the wacky waggle dance! You guys are so awesome!

[@Daniel_s444]

My favorite way to eat honey? Why, thank you for asking! My favorite way is on ICE CREAM with WHEAT GERM! It's REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good!

[@RoqueSantosJunior]

What’s Eating Dan = Emmy of Best cooking show ever.

[@philhatfield2282]

That waggle dance. Flowers about 2 miles away, in a northerly direction. Got it!

[@insederec]

Yes, bees are extremely important. But honeybees are not the ones pollinating all our plants. It's a huge variety of local bees. Honeybees exist in apiaries to produce honey for us, that's it mostly

[@darrylmorrison6127]

Also totally snackable: that waggle dance at the end.

[@ChristinaMayoAR]

I love Dan more than honey. Facts.

[@EduardoLopez-qk9hk]

Thanks buddy great job

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I didn’t realise Dan eating refrigerated honey would be lovely to watch 😂

[@ALu-nq8rf]

I wish you had showcased sopaipillas. I grew up in a Mexican majority city, and this comes with every plate at the end of your meal. It's fried dough with a large air bubble like a pillow, and topped with honey.

[@slyfoxx2973]

Thank you worker bees!

[@marlenemcmillan8891]

This bee story is so well done....what amazing insects....i love honey and bees..😀😘

[@breinich2]

Yeah Dan, another great video.

[@name.terrie]

Great video! Very informative 👏 👏👏 AND I so enjoy Dan's sense of humor!!! Thanks.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

All kidding aside, Dan makes a really great presentation.

[@ginnyherman4430]

Thank you bees! I love my tub time with ATK & What's Eating Dan has become more addictive than wordle!

[@awirt7354]

Top vanilla ice cream with honey. Then some sprinkles. Best ever

[@andrewb9942]

Oooh, you should do torrone. That's my favorite honey application.

[@nikkiewhite476]

Fireweed honey is the most decadent delicate and delicious honey out there. It is thinner than most honeys and very pale, the flavor is floral and easily overwhelmed so you can't just slap it on anything. A little on plain crackers or toast and you will get to enjoy it.

[@divinebluesky]

Excellent waggle dance!

[@alexandercrosby4538]

Had to comment that I loved the GWB quote

[@pwp8737]

Just the part at the end with Dan doing the waggle dance was priceless

[@christopherbrand5360]

Thanks Dan! Bees are awesome :)

[@thedivide3688]

I love Dan LOL

[@delia_da]

The George Bush reference was masterful, thank you 🙏

[@maritsaltrones4298]

Yay! Lovin the waggle dance!

[@mddell58]

I prefer sour wood honey! It has a deep, rich flavor. Clover honey is much lighter than sour wood honey..... But, it also has a lighter flavor. Bees are very intelligent! They're so very important. (That 'honey at KFC isn't honey, it's funny honey.) Most plastic bears 🐻 at the grocery store isn't real honey, either.

[@c_rolla100]

this is so fun to watch! wish y'all well that waggle dance was a HOOT

[@dannyboyNS752]

amazing G.W. reference!/

[@colinmartin9797]

why the hell does youtube never recommend these damn episodes when they're released? I watch EVERY SINGLE ONE.

[@user-lz6dm5lk9y]

Informative and too funny! Thanks! 🤣

[@jamese.mambourg]

The Waggle Dance! Now I've lived, now I ca die !! Great show.

[@HowdIEvenGetHere]

Love the GW Bush quote

[@TrevorKeenAnimation]

There was this series on Netflix called 'Rotten', one episode of which was about the seamier side of the honey business.; how a lot of supermarket honey comes from China where they adulterate it with vegetable oils - how beekeepers make extra money trucking their hives around to pollinate farmer's fields and orchards, and how sometimes hives are stolen. Who knew? And, yes, honey doesn't go bad but it does go hard.

[@jesuslovesyou919]

That waggle dance was worth waiting for ! the guy on the R is the best dancer- U other 2 r 2 cautious 😆🤣

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I’m impressed by the GIF Collection in this series 😂

[@sketchur]

6:30 Missed an opportunity to play a clip from "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. ;)

[@mikecon7634]

I like this dude.

[@jeff__w]

My favorite invertase fact has nothing to do with honey (1:46). It’s the enzyme used to liquefy the fondant surrounding the cherry when making chocolate-covered cherries, resulting in that liquidy, gooey center. And the information about the bee waggle dance isn’t new (although it’s still worth reporting in the video). Karl von Frisch in his _The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees_ first reported it in 1967 and six years later, in 1973, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

[@fumblztv8979]

The Bush shade was worth it.

[@BigStarRealFamous]

Was that a Bush, Jr. joke? If so, I'm now swooning even harder over Dan

[@dudleydeplorable5307]

Well done, Mr. Dan...!

[@Justin-Trammell]

I was wondering how you were going to fit 2 recipes in the end of the video. Turns out the first one was pretty quick lol.

[@MindKontrolleProject]

Not quite Broadway but you did keep your word in the end. 🐝👯🐝

[@galerae947]

Star thistle honey is my favorite.

[@midnitepostman]

the g dub nod earned you this thumbs up sir

[@poetics231]

Gotta stick around for the waggle.

[@sweetpea6144]

I missed the recipe link - can you post? Thanks

[@glennzanotti3346]

Nice dubya reference in there, Dan. 😉

[@clarissat1725]

Bee's are the most interesting bugs out there! Once you get the gist of one species you'll want to know more🌻 🐝

[@Mark723]

What a coincidence: Dan is Fun, Beautiful, and Totally Snackable as well...the waggle dance is proof positive of these facts.

[@orffrocks5667]

Dan! You rock :)

[@anthonyfigueroa7869]

This was great ☆☆☆☆☆.thanks. now I know.

[@melisboekje3836]

I like it with T

[@jeffkendrick6726]

I live in California.Avocado honey is the best.

[@redcaphoney]

Great video! We've been keeping bees several years now and I knew about the tendency of the bees to repeatedly pollinate the same flowers where they've previously found nectar, but wans't familiar with the terms "monofloral" and "polyfloral." We're always learning! #RedCapHoney

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I didn’t realise that Dancing Dan (which is giving me Silent Movie Vaudeville vibes) would be something I’d want to see more of.

[@ricktice6821]

too cute!

[@DiamondGirl333]

#bushisms. LOL! Crazy how Bee's communicate! :)

[@Scott_Atlanta]

Is Lan back from her vacation yet? More Lan please.