It's always a good idea to buy local, and that's especially true when it comes to honey. Not only will it be more pure, and more likely to be fully natural, but it also helps to support your local community. It's always beneficial to know exactly where the things you buy come from--
--and also to know how they're made. For as much honey as we consume, how many of us know exactly what goes into the process of making it?
Older bees will go out from the hive, traveling as far as five whole miles, to collect pollen and nectar. What isn't used for their own food and nourishment gets stored in a second stomach, and brought back to the hive, where another bee will then extract that honey. This is where the idea that honey is "bee vomit" comes from.
Once the honey has made it safely back to the hive and been extracted, it's spread over a comb, which was constructed by other worker bees, somewhere within the time frame of just one week to a couple of months. (And if you were wondering why honeycomb is hexagonal, it's because it allows for maximum honey capacity! Circles leave empty spaces between, but the edges of a hexagon line up just right so more honey can be stored and none lost!)
Once the comb has been filled with honey, it goes through a dehydrating process. The water will evaporate and dry out, and the honey will be safe from spoiling. The bees will then create more wax to cap it all off and keep the honey safe, until it's ready to be eaten by the bees, or extracted by a beekeeper.
And when it comes to buying that honey for yourself, try to support local businesses, local beekeepers, and your local bees! It'll make for a healthier, happier you, and a happier, healthier community!