Our journey begins with the tireless work of honeybees. A single worker bee will visit between 50-100 flowers during each collection trip, using its long, tube-shaped tongue to extract nectar from flowers. This nectar is stored in the bee's "honey stomach," separate from its digestive stomach.

The type of flowers visited determines the honey's ultimate flavor profile. Our partner beekeepers strategically place their hives near specific flowering plants to produce distinctive honey varieties:

• Lavender fields in Provence - For our aromatic lavender honey
• Acacia groves in the Loire Valley - For delicate, clear acacia honey
• Chestnut forests in Burgundy - For robust, amber-colored chestnut honey
• Alpine wildflower meadows - For complex, floral mountain honey

A foraging bee may travel up to 5 kilometers from the hive and must collect nectar from approximately 1,000 flowers to fill its honey stomach. When full, the bee returns to the hive to pass its nectar to house bees.

Inside the hive, house bees take the nectar from foraging bees and begin an extraordinary transformation process. They pass the nectar from bee to bee, adding enzymes that break down complex sugars into simpler ones. This process, called inversion, transforms sucrose into glucose and fructose, making honey more digestible and less likely to crystallize.

Next, the bees deposit the processed nectar into honeycomb cells. At this stage, the nectar still contains about 70% water—too much for stable honey. The bees create airflow through the hive by fanning their wings, evaporating excess moisture until the water content reaches about 17-18%.

When the honey reaches the proper consistency, the bees cap each cell with beeswax, creating a perfect natural preservation system. This capping indicates to beekeepers that the honey is mature and ready for harvest.

This entire process—from flower to capped honey—can take 1-3 weeks, depending on flower nectar availability, colony strength, and weather conditions.

Our partner beekeepers practice sustainable harvesting methods that prioritize bee health. Here's how they collect honey while respecting the needs of the colony:

Timing the Harvest

Harvesting occurs only when honey flows are abundant and after bees have stored sufficient honey for their own needs. In France, this typically means major harvests in late spring, summer, and early autumn, depending on the region and floral sources.

Selective Frame Removal

Rather than harvesting all frames, beekeepers selectively remove only fully capped frames from the honey supers (upper hive boxes), leaving the brood boxes untouched. This ensures bees retain enough honey for sustenance.

Bee-Friendly Techniques

To remove bees from frames prior to harvesting, our beekeepers use gentle methods:

• Bee escape boards that allow bees to move down into the brood box but not back up
• Gentle brushing with soft-bristled brushes
• Air blowers on low settings

These methods minimize stress and prevent bee injury during frame removal.

Leaving Winter Stores

Perhaps most importantly, our beekeepers leave significant honey stores for winter—approximately 20-25kg per hive in temperate regions of France. This practice avoids the need to feed sugar syrup as a honey substitute, which can compromise bee health.

Once frames are collected, the honey extraction process begins. Our beekeepers use methods that preserve honey's natural enzymes, antioxidants, and flavor compounds:

Uncapping

First, the wax cappings that seal each honeycomb cell are carefully removed using specialized uncapping knives or automated uncapping machines. The beeswax cappings are collected for separate processing into candles, food wraps, and cosmetic ingredients—nothing is wasted.

Extraction

The uncapped frames are placed in a centrifugal extractor—a drum that spins the frames, using centrifugal force to draw honey out of the cells without damaging the honeycomb structure. This allows frames to be returned to the hive for refilling, reducing the energy bees must expend to rebuild comb.

Filtering

Unlike commercial operations that ultra-filter honey (removing pollen and altering composition), our partners use only minimal filtering through stainless steel sieves. This removes large particles like wax pieces while retaining beneficial pollen, enzymes, and the honey's natural character.

No Heat Processing

Most importantly, our honey is never heated above 40°C (104°F). High heat can destroy enzymes, alter flavor, and degrade nutritional properties. Our partners use only gentle warming when necessary for bottling or creaming.

This minimal processing approach ensures that the honey reaching our pastry kitchen retains all its natural goodness—essentially the same as it was in the hive.

Before any honey enters our pastry kitchen, it undergoes rigorous quality assessment to ensure it meets our exacting standards:

Sensory Evaluation

Each batch undergoes professional tasting to assess:

• Color - Ranging from water-white (acacia) to dark amber (chestnut)
• Aroma - Evaluating floral notes, intensity, and varietal characteristics
• Flavor - Assessing sweetness, acidity, and distinctive flavor markers
• Texture - Examining viscosity, crystallization patterns, and mouthfeel

Laboratory Analysis

Independent laboratories verify key parameters, including:

• Moisture content (must be below 18.5% to prevent fermentation)
• HMF levels (an indicator of freshness and proper handling)
• Enzyme activity (confirms honey hasn't been overheated)
• Pollen analysis (verifies botanical and geographical origin)
• Absence of contaminants, antibiotics, and adulterants

Complete Traceability

We maintain complete traceability records for every batch of honey, including:

• Apiary location and beekeeper information
• Harvest date and floral sources
• Processing methods and dates
• Test results and quality assessments

This comprehensive approach ensures that we know the precise origin and characteristics of every drop of honey used in our pastries.

Once honey passes our quality checks, it makes its way to our pastry kitchen. We receive honey in food-grade buckets or glass containers rather than plastic, maintaining both quality and environmental responsibility.

The Honey Library

At Berachairn, we maintain what we call our "honey library"—a temperature-controlled storage area where we keep our collection of different honey varieties. Each is labeled with its floral source, harvest date, and flavor profile notes.

This library currently includes more than 20 different honey varieties, each selected for specific pastry applications:

• Delicate acacia honey for subtle applications
• Aromatic lavender honey for fruit-forward pastries
• Robust chestnut honey for chocolate pairings
• Complex wildflower honeys for distinctive seasonal offerings

Just-in-Time Supply

While honey has an excellent shelf life, we follow a just-in-time approach to ensure maximum freshness. We maintain approximately a three-month supply of each variety, working directly with beekeepers to plan deliveries according to our production schedule and their harvest calendar.

Incorporating honey into pastries requires more than simply substituting it for sugar. Our pastry team has developed specific techniques to showcase honey's unique properties:

Technical Considerations

Working with honey presents several technical challenges that our chefs have mastered:

• Moisture Balance - Honey's hygroscopic nature means recipes must be adjusted to account for additional moisture
• Browning Control - Honey promotes browning through the Maillard reaction, requiring temperature and timing adjustments
• Flavor Harmony - Each honey variety must be matched with complementary ingredients
• Crystallization Management - Some applications require liquid honey, others benefit from creamed or crystallized forms

Recipe Testing

Each of our signature recipes undergoes extensive testing with different honey varieties. For example, our honey madeleines were tested with 12 different honey types before we determined that a blend of acacia and wildflower honey created the perfect balance of flavor and texture.

Seasonal Adjustments

As different honey varieties become available throughout the year, our pastry team adjusts recipes to showcase seasonal honeys, creating limited-edition offerings that reflect the changing seasons and flowering patterns.

Finally, honey becomes part of our signature pastries through careful incorporation at precisely the right moment in the preparation process. Here's how we handle honey in three of our most popular creations:

Honey Madeleines

For our madeleines, we warm acacia honey with butter to create a honey-butter mixture that's incorporated into the batter. This method ensures even distribution of honey throughout the batter while allowing the honey's aroma to bloom in the warm butter.

Honey Éclairs

Our honey éclairs feature a honey-infused crème pâtissière. We incorporate lavender honey at precisely 40°C (104°F)—warm enough to blend smoothly but not so hot as to damage the honey's delicate aromatic compounds. The filling is then chilled overnight to allow the flavors to mature and develop complexity.

Honey Tarte Tatin

For our signature honey tarte tatin, chestnut honey is carefully caramelized with butter to create a complex base that complements the caramelized apples. The stronger character of chestnut honey stands up beautifully to the cooking process while adding distinctive depth to this classic dessert.

Quality Control

Throughout production, our pastry chefs conduct regular tastings to ensure the honey flavor comes through properly in each creation. We believe the journey of the honey should be evident in the final product—a testament to both the bees that produced it and the beekeepers who stewarded it.