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Back in medieval times, says Verberg, “They weren’t extracting the honey, they were crushing it.” In addition to bits of wax, the medieval meadmakers also had p
by egypturnash 3y ago
Back in medieval times, says Verberg, “They weren’t extracting the honey, they were crushing it.” In addition to bits of wax, the medieval meadmakers also had pollen and the occasional squished bee in their raw material—components missing from modern honey that would have added more flavor. For example, propolis, a sticky, antibacterial compound that bees produce for colony health, has a zingy taste, and beeswax itself can impart a fuller mouthfeel. “I found that that contamination is really good, and we’re really missing it,” says Verberg, a beekeeper who has made traditional meads.
- sandworm101 3y ago>> beeswax itself can impart a fuller mouthfeel. Yup. Eating wax will do that. It probably had other interesting impacts throughout the digestive process.
- Filligree 3y agoAren’t American chocolates mostly wax?
- CapitalistCartr 3y agoThe cheap stuff, such as Hersheys. And not mostly, just enough to taste like crap.
- fuzztester 3y agoSometimes I knowingly eat some of the wax that is used to coat some cheeses like Gouda, and I have not felt any digestive issues.
- miriam_catira 3y ago...when you spin out your own combs, it's actually quite difficult to avoid some contamination. I do try to prevent bits of bees however, because very few people seem to appreciate finding legs in their gifted jars of honey. ;)
- hinkley 3y agoI wonder if just that little bit of trace of bee venom did anything to prevent bee allergies.
- masklinn 3y agoNot much. Venoms are usually not poisons.
- frogulis 3y agoCan you elaborate on that?
- masklinn 3y agoThe usual saying is along the lines that a poison is something that harms when you ingest, while a venom harms when you inject. The normal application of a venom is to go from the venom gland to the bloodstream pretty directly (possibly via the mouth). The evolution of venom has thus usually prioritised efficacy, with little need for resilience. So venoms are not resilient to environmental factors (stomach acid, digestive enzymes, they often denature quickly just in air), nor will they be adapted to going through epithelial tissue (skin, gut lining, ...). The odds that they would be able to enter the bloodstream through the digestive system are limited to non-existent. There's a caveat if you suffer from ulcers or open wounds in your digestive tract (or on your skin for contact), as those are openings into the organism which would allow venom through much more easily, but barring that you can literally drink venom and suffer no significant effects (well the gut flora might be affected which is not great). Though don't go and try it obviously, even if the risk is nigh non-existent, it's also 100% not worth it. Now it should be noted that some products are both e.g. a few snakes will "spit", and their venom can affect mucous membranes or go through them (so it's poisonous). Also injecting a poison into your bloodstream directly is generally a very bad idea, if something burns / breaks down skin on contact, it's not going to be milder if it starts inside the organism.
- hinkley 3y agoAnaphylaxis doesn't care if it's a poison or peanut butter. For allergy reactions, substances in the digestive tract get a different immune response from ones in the bloodstream. In some cases you can desensitize people to allergens through trace exposures in food. I think that stops working once you experience an anaphylactic response but the scenario I proposed would happen long before for most people.
- fuzztester 3y agoHow is honey extracted from honeycombs nowadays?
- samus 3y agoCentrifuges. Before, all the bees are shooed away to avoid the extra protein.
- fuzztester 3y agoThanks.
- masklinn 3y agoIIRC combs are removed, any bee on the comb is shooed away, the comb is uncapped, put into a centrifuge, the honey is extracted, then it’s filtered to remove more contaminants.
- fuzztester 3y agoThanks.