How to Eat Honeycomb the Right Way, According to Beekeepers

Honeycomb is a delightful culinary treat that combines waxy hexagonal cells filled with sweet raw honey. For those who enjoy the unique flavors of honey, venturing into the world of honeycomb opens up a new taste experience. While it should be consumed in moderation, honeycomb pairs wonderfully with various foods. Expert beekeepers share their insights on how to best savor this delicacy’s texture and flavors.

What Is Honeycomb?

Honeycomb is unique in every way, shape, and form, and at the same time, it's a fundamental part of honey bees' home base. "Honeycomb is simply beeswax that is formed into sheets of hexagonal cells and forms the interior of the beehive," explains Charlotte Anderson, master beekeeper and author of Buzz Into Beekeeping, who teaches online beekeeping classes via her site, Carolina Honeybees.

How It's Made

Honey bees gather nectar from flowers, stow it in their stomachs, and share the wealth with other bees. The female worker bees fan their wings to rid the nectar of extra water, which dries into honey, forming honeycomb cells. They build the honeycomb structure to store their honey, pollen, and larvae.

Fresh batch: "The honeycomb we like to eat is typically newly made, and has only ever been used to store honey," says Hilary Kearney, beekeeper, founder of Girl Next Door Honey, a bee-centric business, and author of several bee-related books, including, Heart of the Hive. 

Waxy exterior: Those edible pieces are filled with bee honey, says Anderson, and capped with a thin layer of wax for protection.

Bee Nursery

Honeycomb is more than a locker room for honey. "In the main section of the hive, honeycomb is used as a space to rear their young," says Anderson.

Bee Talk

Additionally, it's a vehicle for communication. "They send vibratory messages through it,” says Kearney. According to research from the University of California, honey bees also use honeycomb to do the waggle dance, forming figure-eight patterns to transmit particulars about the quality of the food source.

Where to Find Honeycomb

In the past, all honey was sold in the comb, a clear indication to consumers that the product was real honey, explains Anderson. But that was before federal agencies initiated food labeling oversight. 

• Neighborhood sources: Today, you'll find honeycomb at local beekeepers, specialty grocery stores, or farmers' markets. "It's usually sold in small plastic squares, or you may purchase a jar of liquid honey with two to three chunks of comb floating inside," says Anderson.
• It's seasonal: Honeycomb is usually available in spring and summer.
• Buying honeycomb benefiting the bees: "By purchasing honey, honeycomb, or other honey-based products, you're supporting beekeepers and contributing to the health of honey bees, who play a crucial role in pollinating a third of our food ecosystem," says Kearney.

How to Eat Honeycomb

Honeycomb may appear intimidating, but it's simple to master the art of preparation. And while it's not essential to cut honeycomb into bite-size chunks, it does make eating it easier. "This is normally done to make the sweet, sticky process a little less, well, sticky," says Anderson.

Here's how to go about it:

• Use a warm (not hot) cheese or paring knife to cut the honeycomb into the desired pieces, suggests Anderson. 
• Begin at the outer edge and cut inward, creating small squares or slices.
• The liquid honey will drip out because you are opening new hexagon cells as you cut.
• "For best presentation, you can place the small pieces of comb on a baker's cooling rack or small strainer to let the exposed liquid drip away," Anderson says.

What to Pair With Honeycomb

Honeycomb chunks can be served with a variety of flavor-compatible foods.

• Grazing boards: "Comb honey fits right in on a charcuterie board and pairs well with cheese, fruit, crackers, bread, even cured meats,” says Kearney. (A glass of wine is optional.)
  
• Cheese and fruit: "The tangy flavors of goat cheese, brie, blue cheese, and sharp cheddar blend well with the sweetness of honey," says Anderson. Fresh fruit, including berries, apples, and grapes also complement honeycomb.
• Toast time: When warm, you can spread honeycomb on a firm bread surface such as toast, says Anderson.
• Sweet finish: Kearney suggests using honeycomb as a topper for desserts. "You can add a chunk of comb honey to a slice of cheesecake, a cupcake, or even an ice cream cone," she says.
  

Is Honeycomb Healthy?

Honeycomb is rich in polyphenols and other antioxidants. The beeswax contains fatty acids. It's filled with raw honey which comes from the hive, is made of water and natural sugars, and has trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

Don't Swap It for Honey

Though honeycomb contains raw honey, it shouldn't be substituted for honey in recipes. "You've got to consider the chewy effect the comb will have on a dish," says Kearney. "It won't blend well—it's better as a topping in my opinion."  The waxy texture could negatively impact your recipe—and there's another deterrent: "It is very difficult to accurately measure honey for a recipe that is still in the comb," says Anderson.