Editing Comb honey (section)

{{Short description|Food consisting of sweet honey still in its wax comb}}
[[File:Pure Honey.jpg|thumb|A plate of comb honey]]
'''Comb honey''' is [[honey]] intended for consumption by humans, which is still contained within its original hexagonal-shaped [[beeswax]] cells, called [[honeycomb]]. It has received no processing, filtering, or manipulation, and is in the state that [[honey bees]] have produced it.

[[Image:comb honey.jpg|thumb|Comb honey production using Ross Round style equipment: center comb is complete, right in progress]]
Before the invention of the [[honey extractor]] almost all honey produced was in the form of comb honey.<ref>''The Hive and the Honeybee'', Chapter 16 The Production of Comb and Bulk Comb Honey by Carl E. Killion, 1975 published by Dadant & Sons</ref> Today, most honey is produced for extraction but comb honey remains popular among consumers both for eating 'as is' and for combining with extracted honey to make chunk honey.  Hobbyists and sideliners can develop their beekeeping skills by producing comb honey, which takes more rigorous attention to beekeeping than the production of extracted honey.<ref>''Honey in the Comb'' by Eugene Killion, 1981, Dadant & Sons</ref> Because of the more demanding labor involved, comb honey has greater retail value than extracted honey ($25-$35/pound compared to $10-$18/pound). Comb honey production is more suitable for areas with an intense prolonged honey flow from [[eucalyptus]], [[alfalfa]], [[alsike]], and [[yellow clover]].  Wooded areas are not as suitable for comb honey production, as bees tend to collect more [[propolis]], making the harvesting of comb honey more difficult. This problem has been largely circumvented with the adoption of specialized frames, such as the Ross Round frame, which prevent accumulation of propolis on saleable units.