Recipes
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Beetopia New Zealand - "All things Bees" is located just outside of Matakana, at 158 Omaha Flats Road where onsite you will find:
Our beekeeping supplies showroom
Ability to purchase equipment including everything you need to get setup as a new beekeeper (bees, hiveware, suits, tools etc.) or to grow your existing apiary. Order placement to secure bees from our local bee breeder
The Beetopia Apiary and classroom training facility
Accommodation options - for overnight stays at our "Bee & Bee" for anyone who may be travelling from out of town.
Our next beginners courses will be held from September 2019 with a local beekeeper. The course provides the basics required for hive management at an introductory level and includes:
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bee recognition (distinction between worker / nurse / drone / queen bees )
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distinction between honey / nectar / capped honey
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the all important "life cycle of the bee"
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understanding how to use bee hive equipment
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advice on how to register your beehives and mandatory requirements for beekeepers in New Zealand
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Hands-on-lesson in hives
The courses run in small numbers with a total of 5 students per course. We believe this adds value giving attendees plenty of hands on time in the hives and the ability to ask one on one
questions with our instructor.
2019 beginner’s beekeeping course dates
As my courses are weather dependant and spring in Aotearoa is notoriously unpredictable, therefore bear in mind please if the weather is wet and/or too windy we cannot open the hives and therefore are obliged to postpone course dates.
Courses are held on Saturday mornings from 9 am - 12.30 noon in Matakana. Tea & Coffee & Honey drinks provided during morning break. Honey Tasting and Equipment overview at end of course.
Protective Beekeeping Clothing & Gloves provided
Cost per person $150 plus GST
Payment required before commencing the course.
Payment details provided upon confirming course date.
Beginner Beekeeping Course Dates
September 28th
October 5th - 19th - 26th
November 9th -16th - 23rd -30th
December 7th 14th
January 18th - 25th
February 1st - 15th - 22nd - 29th
March 14th -28th
Stockroom
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Beekeeping protective clothing for adults and children all sizes
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Beekeeping gloves all sizes
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Smokers
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Hive tools
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Nuc boxes
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Frame holders
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Top feeders
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Wooden frames
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Plastic frames
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Wax foundation full depth & three quarters
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Supers
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Supers full depth
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Hive mats / lids / bases
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Queen excluders - plastic / metal
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Queen catchers
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Queen marking pens
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Queen rearing equipment
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Honey extraction equipment
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Bees for sale
The Worker
My daughter Michelle is a budding beekeeper and often helps me in our apiaries plus she’s great at taking meticulous notes on what’s happening in each hive and updating our apiary agenda after each inspection. Michelle also helps out in Beetopia’s beekeeping supplies store and holds beeswax wrap courses - in fact her Maori line of wax wraps are very popular. Her 4 year old son Perry Paolo is our youngest and most enthusiastic beekeeper and honey consumer!
The Worker
My daughter Michelle is a budding beekeeper and often helps me in our apiaries plus she’s great at taking meticulous notes on what’s happening in each hive and updating our apiary agenda after each inspection. Michelle also helps out in Beetopia’s beekeeping supplies store and holds beeswax wrap courses - in fact her Maori line of wax wraps are very popular. Her 4 year old son Perry Paolo is our youngest and most enthusiastic beekeeper and honey consumer!
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There are several advantages to cooking with honey:
Honey is "hygroscopic" (absorbs moisture), so that foods baked with it tend to be softer, more moist and keep their freshness longer. For the same sweetening power, honey has fewer calories than sugar.
Different honeys have different flavours - which chosen wisely, will complement and add an extra dimension to the dish.
Honey is ideal for oven and microwave baking as the fructose in honey increases the browning effect.
Honey will provide some special attributes to your favorite recipes – golden crust, colour, flavour, moistness and moisture retention.
Lemon & Honey Lamb Ribs
800g-1kg lamb ribs
Marinade
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 sticks fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon Manuka or Kanuka honey
1 teaspoon paprika
Zest of 2 lemons
Pinch of chilli flakes
To serve
Chopped fresh parsley
Sesame seeds
Marinade: Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl to combine. Place the lamb ribs in a container and add the marinade, mixing well to coat then cover. Leave to marinate for at
least an hour or overnight in the fridge.
Remove the ribs from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking and season. Preheat a barbecue grill or frying pan to a medium-high heat. Add the ribs and cook until browned and crunchy on all sides – around 15-20 minutes. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with fresh parsley and sesame seeds.
Crispy Roast Chicken
1 Chicken
3 tbsp Thyme honey
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp oregano stuffing of your choice
For a chicken with a golden glaze, superb eating and crispy skin:
Stuff a chicken with your favourite stuffing. Roast in your usual manner, but half an hour before the chicken is finished, spread honey all over it, sprinkle with paprika and oregano.
Return to oven until cooked and golden.
Honey Biscuits
150g butter, softened
1/3 cup Kamahi or Pohutukawa honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large free range egg
1 cup rice flour*
1/2 cup tapoica flour*
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
*Alternatively, you can use spelt flour, buckwheat flour or all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Heat oven to 180C, and line two baking trays with baking paper. Place butter, honey and egg into a bowl and beat until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract, sieve flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt over mixture and gently mix until well combined.
Using a teaspoon, place small mounds of mixture about 3cm apart on baking trays.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. They will be slightly soft in the centre but will firm up as they cool. Leave on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Ginger Spiced Honey Cake
400g Rye Flour
7g baking powder
1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger (or 1/2 Tbsp Chopped Crystallized Ginger)
3 Heaped Tsp Mixed Spices (Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Mace, Cloves, Coriander, Cardamom)
75g Castor Sugar
250g Honey dew or Honey
275ml water
Lodge a basin over a saucepan of hot water and melt the sugar with the honey. Dilute with water. Sift in remaining ingredients and stir well until mixture is smooth. Transfer to a greased
cake tin and bake on 160°C for about 1 1/2 hour
Honey & Rosemary Kumara
1 1/2 kgs Kumara, gold, peeled
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp Rosemary, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Butter
2 tsp Honey, thyme, lavender, clover or other single flora variety
Heat oven to 200C. Dice the kumara into 2cm chunks. Bring to the boil in a pot of salted water, gently simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the water off and place kumara on a roasting tray.
Drizzle with oil, season with salt, add the garlic cloves —unpeeled and squashed flat (they will be removed after roasting).
Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden and crisp, remove garlic cloves. Stir through the rosemary and butter so it melts and coats the kumara.
Place in a hot serving dish, then season with pepper and drizzle with honey to finish.
Rata Honey Ice Cream
1/2 cup (100gms) Rāta Honey
4 Tablespoons water
4 egg yolks
300 mls whipped cream
Melt the honey and water together slowly until the honey has dissolved. Stir, then bring the liquid to a rolling boil, until there are little even-sized bubbles all the way across the pot. Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl with an electric beater. With the beater running, slowly pour in the hot syrup. Continue whisking until the mixture has cooled and is double its volume, or as thick as whipped cream. Fold whipped cream into mixture, checking sweetness. Pour into a mold, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 8 hours.
To Serve
Leave at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften slightly. Run a knife around mold, sit mold momentarily in 2.5 cm of hot water and put ice-cream onto a serving platter. Garnish with Southern Rata flowers if possible.
Serves 6
Try the same recipe with Rewarewa, Thyme or Honeydew for a gourmet tasting treat!
Honey Fudge Sauce
385ml can evaporated milk
1/2 cup Vipers Bugloss or Clover honey
1/2 cup cocoa
Mix evaporated milk, honey and cocoa in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is smooth. Let it boil for three minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Serve hot or cold. Delicious sauce for ice-cream
Kiwifruit Muffins
1/4 cup Tawari Honey
1/4 cup sugar
50 grams butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup self-raising flour
Pinch salt
3 Kiwifruit- peeled, cored and diced
Melt honey, sugar and butter together in a microwave on high (100%) for 60 seconds. Beat in the egg then the soda until frothy. Add remaining ingredients and mix to just dampen dry
ingredients. 3/4 fill lightly greased muffin tins and bake in a preheated 200°C (390°F) oven for 15-20 minutes or until just cooked. Serve hot or cold split and buttered.
Rice Bubble Honey Crunch
100g Butter
75g sugar
2 Tablespoons Rewarewa Honey
5 cups Rice bubbles
Boil butter sugar and Honey till golden brown. Stir in Rice bubbles mix till combined. Press into a well greased cake tin and cut while hot; then place in fridge until hardened.
Try with different honey flavours for that extra special treat! e.g. Kāmahi, Rata, Tāwari etc.