National Honey Month: When It Is and How to Celebrate

When National Honey Month is

National Honey Month runs through all of September every year. It was established by the National Honey Board, the industry board that promotes honey in the US, in 1989. September was chosen because in much of the country beekeepers are finishing their summer harvest and preparing hives for winter, so it is when the new season's honey is reaching markets.

Why September fits

In the Northeast and Midwest, the last big nectar flows of summer, from goldenrod, knotweed, buckwheat and asters, run from August into September. Beekeepers pull their final supers, extract honey and leave enough in the hive for the colony's winter. See when is honey harvested and goldenrod honey. It is a natural moment to celebrate the year's crop.

Ways to celebrate National Honey Month

• Host a honey tasting with three or four varieties, from light to dark.
• Visit a farmers market and talk with a local beekeeper.
• Bake a honey recipe, such as honey cake or honey cornbread.
• Plant fall-blooming flowers for bees, like asters and goldenrod.
• Read or teach kids about how bees make honey.
• Give a jar of honey to a teacher, neighbor or friend.

Host a simple honey tasting

A tasting shows how much honey varies with the flower. Set out three to five honeys from light to dark, with small spoons, water and plain crackers. Taste the lightest first. Notice color, aroma, sweetness, texture and finish. Our Pure Raw Honey Sampler is made for this: four small single-origin jars you choose. Our honey flavors guide is a handy tasting sheet, and honey and cheese pairing turns it into a party.

Cook with honey in September

September brings apples, pears, figs, squash and the Jewish New Year in some years, which makes it a good month for honey in the kitchen. Try apples and honey, honey cake, honey glazed carrots or honey roasted nuts. Dark fall honeys like Buckwheat are at their best with autumn foods.

Celebrate honey bees

Honey bees pollinate many crops and support beekeepers across the country. You can help bees by planting a mix of flowers that bloom from spring to fall, avoiding pesticide spraying on open blooms, leaving some clover in the lawn, and providing a shallow water dish with stones. See plants for honey bees and honey bee facts.

National Honey Month for schools and families

September is back-to-school month, which makes National Honey Month a natural classroom theme. Kids can learn how bees make honey, compare light and dark honeys, draw the parts of a bee, or plant fall flowers in a school garden. Many beekeeping clubs offer talks or observation hive visits for schools; contact a local beekeeping association to ask. Remember that honey is not safe for babies under 12 months, so keep tastings to older children; see why babies can't have honey.

For a family activity, visit a farm market or fall festival where a beekeeper sells honey and ask how this year's harvest went. Beekeepers are usually happy to talk about their bees, and you will taste honey you cannot find in stores. A jar of honey also makes a thoughtful back-to-school gift; see teacher gift ideas.