There's a buzz about beebread
Bybi also sells beebread – bee pollen with added honey and bee secretions that is stored in the brood cells - and propolis to chefs in high-end restaurants and cocktail bar mixologists who add it to ice cream, desserts and drinks, Maxwell said.
Traditionally used as a health supplement, beebread has a sweet, sourdough flavour and is slightly chewy while propolis has a resin flavour.
“Commercial interest in the beebread is really starting up,” said Hansen.
However, the volumes of both beebread and propolis produced in the hive are not big enough to rival honey as a commercial, consumer-facing product.
Maxwell said: “On a good year, we produce around 50,000 kilos of honey and a few hundred grams of bee bread, so even though it’s not something that’s consumed in big quantities, it’s more an interesting, specialist ingredient for foodie types.”