Bees & Honey: River Cottage Handbook No.19

Bees are one of the strongest threads in nature’s complex web and if we don’t take care of them, things really will fall apart.

River Cottage Bees & Honey will guide you through a multitude of ways you can protect and attract our precious pollinators. Going beyond beekeeping, you’ll learn how to create a bee-friendly garden (or patio if you’re limited on space), ways to develop habitats if you don’t have space for a beehive, and why other species of bee are as important as honeybees, with a beautiful bee spotter’s guide that will inspire you look a more closely.

If you’re looking to set up a bee hive, this book will introduce you to different styles of hive and how manage them, with step-by-step instructions and a monthly beekeeping calendar. A tome with honey on the title, delicious detail about how to detect flower flavours in your honey is bound inside, as well as recipes that use this prized ingredient respectfully, treating it like gold where the flavour shines without needing lots of it. There are also creative ideas on how to use beeswax and propolis.

With an introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, clear step-by-step practical information by resident River Cottage beekeeper Steve Minshall, and ideas on how to protect our winged friends and engage with bees if you don’t space or time for a hive, as well as some astonishing honey recipes, this is an incredible handbook about bees that has something for everyone.

Rachel de Thample has worked in the kitchens of Marco Pierre White, Heston Blumenthal and Peter Gordon. She is the author of More Veg, Less Meat, FIVE, Tonics & Teas and Gifts from the Modern Larder. She’s served as Commissioning Editor of Waitrose Food Illustrated and Head of Food for the pioneering organic box scheme Abel & Cole. Rachel currently runs preserving and fermentation courses at River Cottage in Devon and is author of Fermentation and Bees & Honey in the River Cottage Handbook series. She lives in Crystal Palace, London, where she has helped set up numerous local food initiatives, including the award-winning Crystal Palace Food Market.