honey

Healthy Honey Snack from the Bees

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Honey bees put a lot of work into making one of the sweetest treats around and there are many ways to enjoy it. At the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association we love to hear how our members make use of the excess honey their bees have produced each year ahead of the winter season. We love it even more when our members bring some to share with the group at our monthly meetings.

Below you can find the recipe used by a member at the March, 2026, meeting of the club. If you have an instant pot or even access to a slow cooker you can enjoy this at home and it’s great to share with friends.

Homemade granola

Ingredients

•             4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

•             1 ½ cup puffed brown rice and/or raw nuts and/or seeds

•             1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

•             ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

•             1/4 cup melted coconut oil

•             1/4  cup olive oil

•             ½ cup maple syrup or honey

•             1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1.           Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.           In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, stirring to blend.

3.           Mix the oil (melt if necesssary) maple syrup and/or honey, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.

4.           Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and mix well, until everything is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.

5.           Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.

6.           Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola.

7.           Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Instant Pot Yogurt

Ingredients

•             1 gallon milk

•             1/4 cup plain yogurt with active cultures

Instructions

1.           Heat milk to 180-200 degrees.  Add milk to the instant pot and place the lid on it (it doesn’t matter if the vent is sealed or not). Press the “yogurt” button and then press “adjust” until the screen says “BOIL”.

2.           When the Instant Pot beeps, the milk is hot and ready. Remove the lid and check the temperature with a thermometer to make sure it has reached 180-200 degreed F.

3.           Allow milk to cool to down to 110°F -115°F degrees F. This will take 1-2 hours if left alone, or speed up the process by placing the pot into a bowl of ice water for about 10-15 minutes. Check often with a thermometer. Spoon off any milk skin that has formed on top.

4.           Remove a ladleful of the warm milk into a bowl and whisk the yogurt starter into it. Then pour the mixture into the pot and whisk to combine.

5.           Set Yogurt Timer:  Place the inner pot back in the instant pot and secure the lid (again, it doesn’t matter if the vent is sealed or not). Press the “Yogurt” button and adjust until it reads 8:00 to 12:00 hours (less time for looser, milder yogurt and more time for thicker, tangier yogurt).

6.           When the time is up, check the yogurt. You will know it’s ready when it has thickened and jiggles only slightly, like jello. (After refrigerating for a few hours it will set up even more.)

7.           Refrigerate.  Remove the yogurt to a container or cover the inner instant pot bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, before serving. This allows the yogurt to thicken and set up more. Stir well before serving.

8.           (Optional: for greek yogurt, strain off some of the whey)

9.           Store in containers in the fridge and enjoy within 10 days.

The Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association meets each month on the fourth Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with an educational presentation at 7 p.m., at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village in Cooperstown.

We enjoy snacks, learn about the bees, and share stories from our apiaries so we can all take good care of our favorite ladies.

We’ll Bee seeing you there.

Honey Harvest and Winter Prep

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The heat wave has broken, rain has returned, and fall is approaching. For us that brings anticipation of cozy sweaters and autumn colors though we know that’s really several weeks away.

If your bees have had a good year we can expect a honey harvest.

The bees, for their part are already thinking about winter. The bees being raised now will be the bees you go into winter with and so this is a crucial time of year. The best way to help the bees is to manage the mite population and make sure they have a good population with lots of resources going into winter. The best way to do that is to have an up-to-date mite count so you can know what you need to do next.

The next meeting will be all about these season closing activities.

To start the meeting we will be having refreshments courtesy of our Secretary, Emma Wallace. Providing the honey tasting this month will be member Michael Murphy whose ‘water white’ honey took the blue ribbon at the Delaware County Fair.

We will be adding a new question to the introductions regarding mite counts so Bee prepared.

The educational section of the evening will be kicked off by Richard Lercari presenting on how to extract honey at the end of the season. He will be followed by Steven Davis presenting on winter preparations and what you can do now and in the coming weeks to get your ladies through the winter.

The eductational presentations will be followed by the business meeting.

The monthly meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will be held at 7 p.m., snacks begin at 6:30 p.m., at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village, 5775 State highway 80, Cooperstown.

We’ll Bee seeing you there.

Summer, Bees, and everything bee-tween

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The Dog Days of Summer are here and the bees love them. This is the season of honey production, sometimes splitting the hives, and sweaty beekeepers. This is when some of the bees most important work is done from filling the hive with resources to us beekeepers keeping the mite numbers in check ahead of autumn and the dark days of winter.

But that’s way in the future.

This month the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ are meeting up to discuss, review monthly activities and learn about the industry and craft of beekeeping. We will be welcoming Lindsey Moroch of Kutick’s Everything Bees located in Oxford, NY, to present about commercial beekeeping in the year of 2025. Some of us know her from picking up nucleus colonies, her beginners classes, and from picking up equipment from her beekeeping store.

This month, we will be changing the schedule of events. Lindsey will be speaking at 7 p.m., doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for social time and to taste the honey from the forests of Germany provided by your Vice President, Stephanie Wardwell.

After the educational portion we will hold the business meeting and a Q&A where we will be passing around sign ups for the Open Apiary.

Mike Hoyt will be opening his apiary for visitors to observe and assist with an inspection. This is a good opportunity for beginning and prospective beekeepers to get a look inside the hive and what an inspection involves. The event is free but registration is required. A limited number of veils will be available.

Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-apiary-day-tickets-1466539652579?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

We’ll Bee seeing you there!

The next meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will be held Thursday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the classroom of the main building at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village (formerly the Farmers’ Museum) at 5775 State Highway 80, Cooperstown.