What’s in Season: A spring honey harvest

Andrew Krammer with honey bees at Out of the Hive apiary in Bedford Hills. Out of the Hive products at Sgaglio’s Marketplace; Some of the colorful beehives at Out of the Hive apiary. PHOTOS BY AMY SOWDER AND IOANA KRAMMER

Out of the Hive offers raw, unfiltered honey

By AMY SOWDER

When archeologists unearthed a clay jar from the tomb of Tutankhamun, a few brave souls tasted the 3,000-year-old sweet treat — spoiler alert — the honey from the 18th Dynasty, likely 1323 B.C., was still sweet and safe to eat.

So, you can bet that the honey harvested in the summer of 2024 by beekeeper Ioana Krammer of Bedford Hills is still well-preserved, fragrant, delicious and safe to enjoy now.

“Honey doesn’t expire,” says Krammer, who launched her Out of the Hive honey company in 2017 as an all-encompassing hobby. Her teenage boys, Andrew and Frank, help too. “Mine crystalizes because it’s raw; all the enzymes are there. That’s a sure way of telling if it’s unprocessed. You don’t want it heated up, that kills all the enzymes and nutrients.”

Out of the Hive raw, unfiltered honey is made from varroa sensitive hygiene bees that can keep mite populations below thresholds recommended for treatment with pesticides. The family-run company also makes creamed honey, mead, candles, and other beeswax products.

The handiwork of bees has been used as a medicinal remedy for centuries. Honey’s lack of moisture and its thick consistency rejects any kind of growth and contains hydrogen peroxide, which creates the perfect barrier against infection for wounds. The earliest recorded use of honey for medicinal purposes comes from Sumerian clay tablets, stating that honey was used in 30 percent of prescriptions, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Krammer’s honey is sold at Sgaglio’s Marketplace in Katonah and Rochambeau Farm in Mount Kisco, and sometimes at New Canaan Healthfare in Connecticut. She only drops off a box or two, a dozen or two jars, at a time.

“If customers request something, I’ll look at local farmers markets and trade shows,” says Michael Sgaglio, owner of the butcher, seafood, and specialized grocer in the heart of Katonah. “What we love, and what our customers love about this item, especially this time of year, is that it’s good for allergies, because it’s local honey.” (Studies have shown conflicting results on the role of local honey in alleviating allergy symptoms.)

Krammer remembers chewing on honeycombs she bought at the local market in Bucharest, Romania’s capital city, where she grew up. She couldn’t find that anywhere in northern Westchester, so Krammer started four hives on her 5-acre property in that summer of 2017. That same summer, the hives had multiplied to 12. These days, the family company also tends hives in Peekskill. 

“Each bee forages on only the exact same type of flower. They really are amazing, the bees, the more you learn,” Krammer says. 

Krammer learned some beekeeping basics from Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Penn State Extension and some local beekeeping clubs, including one in Wilton, Conn.

She can talk for hours on the types of bees, their habits, skills and reactions to situations — like bears! — and it’s clear this is a passion.

“Bees are very specialized when they’re born. They each have so many jobs in and out of hive. Some collect the nectar and some dry it. They regulate the temperature of the hive with their wings, creating air circulation. Some guard the hives, even sleeping in front of the hive entrances while some are foraging.

“It’s fascinating,” Krammer says. 

The spring season honey is lighter in color and has a fruity essence from the bees that forage on fruit-tree blossoms. The fall season honey is darker and has a deeper, richer flavor from her clover field and other wildflowers. The summer season honey falls somewhere in the middle, she says.

Most people don’t realize bees are alive in the winter, “or that crystalized honey is not only still good, it’s better honey,” Krammer says. “Sometimes I make creamed honey. It’s literally just spun honey, made in a mixer. My kids love that with toast and butter, like a spread.”