What Is Honeycomb, and Can You Eat It?

If you've ever seen a slab of golden honeycomb on a cheese board and wondered whether you're supposed to eat the wax, you're not alone. The short answer is yes. Honeycomb is honey in its most natural form, exactly as the bees made and stored it, and the whole thing is edible.

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What honeycomb is

Honeycomb is a network of six-sided wax cells that bees build inside the hive. Bees use it as a nursery for their young and as a pantry for pollen and honey. When a cell is full of ripened honey, the bees seal it with a thin wax cap to keep it fresh.

Bees make the wax themselves. Young worker bees have special glands on the underside of their abdomens that produce tiny, clear flakes of wax. They chew and shape those flakes into comb. It takes a lot of energy, since bees consume a large amount of honey to produce a small amount of wax, which is part of what makes comb so special.

Why the cells are hexagons

Hexagons fit together with no wasted space, and they hold the most honey for the least amount of wax. Mathematicians have admired the bees' efficiency for centuries.

Can you eat the wax?

Yes. Beeswax is safe to eat. It doesn't have much flavor on its own and your body doesn't really digest it, so it simply passes through. When you bite into comb, the cells burst and release the honey, leaving a soft, chewy wax a bit like natural gum. Some people swallow it; others chew until the honey is gone and discard the wax. Both are fine.

How honeycomb tastes

Comb honey has never been strained, heated, or processed in any way, so it holds every bit of the honey's aroma and flavor. Many people say it tastes fresher and more floral than jarred honey. The texture is part of the fun: crisp wax, then a rush of liquid honey. Like any raw honey, comb changes with whatever the bees are foraging on, which is why local honey tastes different every season.

Our favorite ways to eat it

• On a cheese or snack board with crackers, fruit, and nuts
• On warm toast or a biscuit, where it melts a little
• Over yogurt or oatmeal
• With sliced apples or pears
• Straight off the spoon, which is honestly our top pick

Building a board around it? A wooden cheese board and a small cheese knife set make honeycomb the star of the table. For more pairing ideas, see 10 Ways to Use Raw Honey.

How to store it

Keep honeycomb at room temperature in an airtight container, away from direct sun. Like honey, it keeps a very long time. Don't refrigerate it; the cold makes the honey crystallize faster. If it does crystallize, it's still perfectly good to eat. Buying honey or comb from somewhere new? Here's how to tell if your honey is real.

A note for families

As with all honey, honeycomb should never be given to babies under 12 months old.

Want to try it? Our raw cut honeycomb from our hives is coming soon. Check the listing for availability. In the meantime, our raw unfiltered honey is the next best thing, and if you like the crunch, try making homemade honeycomb candy.