The Sweet (and Sticky) Truth About Extraction Day

Extraction Day is one of those events we both look forward to and brace ourselves for. Around here, we call it “the sticky season” — and for good reason.

By the time the honey is ready, the bees have been hard at work for months. Their frames are full, capped with wax, and humming with energy. When the timing’s right, we gently remove the frames — carefully brushing bees off and making sure not to disrupt the rhythm of the hive too much.

Then comes the real work.

In our honey house, we uncap the frames with a hot knife, revealing the gold inside. This can be done by hand, this year we have a new piece of equipment to help with this process. From there, they go into the extractor — basically a big spinning barrel that uses centrifugal force (fancy words for “real fast spinning”) to fling the honey out. It’s mesmerizing. And messy. There’s always someone with honey on their elbow and someone else trying to sneak a taste.

We filter lightly, just enough to catch wax bits, and then bottle it all by hand — jar after jar, sticky finger after sticky finger.

It’s a marathon, but it’s worth it. There’s something magical about seeing all that wild Missouri sunshine spun into something you can pour on toast.

So yes — Extraction Day is a little wild. But it’s also our favorite tradition each July. And if you ever wondered what makes O’Honey so special, now you know: it’s the bees, the land, and a whole lot of love (and elbow grease) from our family to yours.

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Glimpse of our bottles waiting to be filled. Each label is put on by hand!