Honey is not, as somepeople think, bee poo. Quite the opposite, in fact. In the hive, female workerbees ingest and process nectar in their “honey stomachs” multiple times. Aftera final regurgitation, the bees store the processed nectar in the honeycomb, astructure also created by the worker bees (bees of a certain age secrete waxfrom glands on their abdomen, and this forms the walls and caps of thehoneycomb). Bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draftacross the honeycomb that encourages evaporation of the water remaining in thenectar. The reduction of the water content raises sugar concentration andprevents fermentation of the natural yeast in the nectar.
Kallas Honey Farm beganin 1941 when John Kallas developed an interest in beekeeping while helping aneighbor in Fox Point tend to his hobby hive. As payment for Kallas’ effort,the neighbor gave him a hive. In only a few years, Kallas had close to 100hives and a small processing operation. He enlisted his sons James and Gerald tohelp him sell the family’s honey through door-to-door sales calls and atfarmers’ markets county fairs. Later, James and his dad expanded the businessby tapping into the retail market, first negotiating with tiny mom-and-popgrocers, then pairing up with bigger supermarkets, like Kohl’s.
By 1955, Kallas HoneyFarm had almost 1,000 hives scattered across Milwaukee,Ozaukee and Washingtoncounties. When demand for its honey increased, Kallas had to start buying honeyfrom other local producers in order to fill their own orders. In theearly-’70s, the family decided to abandon beekeeping completely to concentrateon the processing, packaging, marketing and distribution of their honey.
Kallas Honey Farm is nowsteered by the third generation of Kallas men: James’ sons Perry, who serves asvice president of operations, and Peter, who is currently vice president ofsales and distribution. According to Perry, Kallas Honey Farm packagesapproximately 2 million pounds of honey a year. They work from a 30,000-square-footfacility on Douglas Avenuethat houses the farm’s administrative offices, as well as the storage andpackaging areas.
Kallas Honey Farmreceives honey from producers all over the country, but mostly from Wisconsin and Minnesota.It arrives at the facility in bulk as a raw, naturally crystallized solid, andis immediately placed in long-term storage.
“Our customers here askus to handle the honey as gently as we can,” Perry explains. “So rather thanpasteurize or cook it, we simply heat the honey to help it move through theplant.”
Rather than addfiltering agents to make the honey clear like most major honey producers,Kallas allows the honey to pass through membranes that catch fine sediments.
“It’s just another setof processes that we choose not to do,” Perry adds. “That’s how we are able tolabel it unfiltered and uncooked.”
The color and flavor ofhoney differ depending on the source of bees’ nectar. In general,lighter-colored honey is delicate and mild, while darker honey is bolder andmore robust. Also, honey does not take on the flavor of the fruit from the sameplant. For example, honey derived from bees foraging from an orange blossomisn’t going to taste like orange. Kallas’ retail product line includes a widevariety of honey. From lightest to darkest, they are: alfalfa, clover, orangeblossom, sunflower, cranberry blossom, wildflower, buckwheat and blueberryblossom.
The largest percentageof Kallas honey goes to supplying commercial food manufacturers, restaurantsand bakeries. In addition to honey, consumers can purchase other Kallasproducts, such as honey mustard, honey barbecue sauce, dried bee pollen, purebeeswax, honeycomb, honey-flavored snacks and pure maple syrup from Outpost,Sendik’s and other area grocers.
Kallas Honey Farm is located at 5500 W. Douglas Ave.For more information, call 1-800-373-HONY (4669) or visit www.kallashoney.com.
