If there's one natural food (aka can be eaten raw) that I absolutely love, it's honey. Yes, there are countless varieties from around the world, but for this story, we'll talk about the kind that comes straight out of a hive, complete with honeycomb.

I'm not an expert on this topic, but every time I consume raw, unprocessed honey, it tastes a lot better compared to honey that comes in a jar. No squeeze-bottle honey for me, please.

Perhaps it's just my imagination, but raw honey doesn't leave me with that cloyingly sweet taste that seems to go on forever. I love it when it's paired with toast with slices of butter or with Greek yoghurt with granola on the side.

Admittedly, I get drawn to drinks with honey, too. Lots of bubble tea shops sell a version of 'green tea with honey', and I always find this hard to resist. I must constantly remind myself to save the calories for the actual honey with honeycomb that I prefer.

Now, apart from the lovely viscous food itself, I'm also fascinated (but only a little disturbed) by how it's produced by thousands of honeybees.

The process is intriguing. Each honeybee carries a little nectar back to its hive before digesting it to break it down into simple sugars and regurgitating the product into an individual honeycomb.

For the honey to become viscous and gooey, the bees use their wings to fan the honeycomb to heat it and reduce the moisture content. Yes, honey is regurgitated nectar (eww), yet it's delectable and delicious.

Another interesting fact is that honey is also food for the bees. So, when beekeepers harvest it, they ensure to leave enough so that the colony survives to make more honey. Fascinating.

– Jeremy

(Main image: Benyamin Bohlouli, Unsplash)