Auklend Birøkt

About Auklend Birøkt (Auklend Beekeeping)

Auklend Birøkt is a small scale family enterprise which manage bees in the south-western part of Norway.

The district has a mild and humid climate influenced by frequent rain-showers during the blossom period for nectar-producing plants. Hence, the yield of honey is unpredictable, but with good management, the bees are ready to collect ample nectar during sunny days and convert it to the most delicious honey.

We typically harvest twice: after the May-June blossom of different wild flowers, and after the heather blossom period in August. We keep bees from the original European "black" bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, because of its fitness to the climate, as well as a bee which is clever to harvest from a diversity of wild flowers. We handle the honey with care and devotion to the quality of the end product, and we endeavour to present the delicious and healthy product with an attractive labelling.

The Honey

A bee can collect approximately 50 mg of nectar during a work session in the heather fields. A full teaspoon of honey would require around 500 such trips.

The bees seal the heather honey with a thin but dense layer of pure wax. Carefully, we remove this wax and run the frames through a centrifuge before a sieve separates the wax from the honey, which is clear and transparent, tasting of the best memories of a wonderful summer.

Pure honey must be handled hygienically. The water content is measured in the honey before extraction. Highland Honey has less than 21% water, while summer honey has less than 20%. If the refractometer shows a higher value, the frames are dried before extraction.

We extract the honey directly from the wax frames and filter it in two stages through conical sieves without the use of mechanical pumps. Then, the honey is poured into containers, where we add a bit of finely crystallized honey from the previous year. These crystals "shape" in the new honey while we daily stir with a large beechwood spatula. Just before the honey is completely crystallized and while it can still flow slightly, we pour it into glass containers for sale. No heating during the process, only the force of gravity at every step.