A tale of 2 Honey's

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A tale of 2 Honey's
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dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 2:18 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

could the diference between supers be that the first one was filled first, ie earlier in the season, so the forage would be different pollen, then the second one so the frames were filled with the different colours.

Yep, I think its different "flows" at different times.
If you want to make a "specific variety" (like say lavender) then I think you'd change the super frames (even if incomplete) at the end of the flow.
Isn't lavender so strong that it gets diluted down with general purpose honey?

I believe oilseed rape makes for a very dark honey (and moody bees?)

Pilsbury wrote:

As i mentioned in an earlier thread I have 35lb of honey to pack off tomorrow at work but it has set so what is the best way to liquify it? I have big saucepans i can uses as a water boiler or a big steamer I can pop it into or will that make it to hot?

Dunno about 35 lb... but the way that I deal with individual jars of crystallised honey is as follows - add a teaspoonful of (boiled?) water (remember this for about a pound), then place in a really low oven (85C?) for a couple of hours, stir occasionally to get everything that is going to to dissolve, keep it hot, but then let it stand for a while, (so any bits, undissolved crystals, whatever, sink), then pour off into an equally hot (sterile clean) jar (to avoid cracking the glass or cooling the honey), but keep back the dregs with any bits, then put fresh jar(s) of honey back into the oven, turn off the oven and allow them to cool really slowly with the oven.
You want the honey to be a saturated (or slightly super-saturated) solution at room temp. So, you need to remove any crystallisation nuclei and cool it really really slowly.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 3:00 pm Post subject:

ok so if i scrape it out of the plastic bucket it is in and put it into a stainless steel tub with a splash of boiled water then into a cool oven for a while I should be able to skim off the clear and runny honey into jars.
Excellent thanks, it doesnt matter if it goes cloudy again but i need to get it out of its plastic honey bucket before EHO's come sniffing around so i picked up some honey jars and I plan to have a go tomorow.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 3:05 pm Post subject:

dougal wrote:

I believe oilseed rape makes for a very dark honey

I got some off a beekeeper round here last year, it was very pale and distinctly unrunny.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 3:06 pm Post subject:
Idea is to add as little water as possible, get everything to dissolve (or leave behind what won't) and then to avoid it crystallising immediately, cool it down just as slowly as you can...

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 4:02 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

dougal wrote:

I believe oilseed rape makes for a very dark honey

I got some off a beekeeper round here last year, it was very pale and distinctly unrunny.

oilseed rape honey isn't runny---you have to get it off pretty quickly or you can't spin it off the frames----I also think its flavourless stuff----but not everyone agrees----I'd rather get less of better tasting honey.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 4:04 pm Post subject:

lottie wrote:

Dunno about flavourless, I could definitely taste it was rape, not my cup of tea, was given 6 jars offloaded 4 of em.

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 4:20 pm Post subject:
that's what I meant and totally lacking in bouquet as well.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 4:21 pm Post subject:

lottie wrote:

that's what I meant and totally lacking in bouquet as well.

Yeah, a funny honey.

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 4:26 pm Post subject:
Actually I really blotted my copybook at the bee club where we used to live as the chairman lived next to rape fields so was able to produce gallons of the stuff and overheard me as describing rapeseed honey as like cabbage stewed in sweet lard

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 4:27 pm Post subject:

Vanessa

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8324

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 5:18 pm Post subject:
I'd love to keep bees, but the kit is so expensive

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 5:43 pm Post subject:
My mother keeps trying to buy me some for Christmas/birthdays, but himself is terrified of them, and we haven't enough room for them to give each other sufficient space (yet - I do have a cunning plan, and as the mortgage has been (almost) agreed, I might get away with it yet!)

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 6:02 pm Post subject:

dougal wrote:

Pilsbury wrote:

This is fine if you want to get the honey re-liquefied and you are going to use it straight away but adding water to honey that you are going to store long term is asking for trouble - It will begin to ferment due to the natural yeasts in the honey.

You need to reheat the honey very slowly using a bain marie - it will re-liquefy given enough time - don't whatever you do allow water to get into the honey

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 6:43 pm Post subject:

jocorless wrote:

dougal wrote:

Pilsbury wrote:

agreed. Are you going to re-sell the honey Pilsbury? As anything you do to it will change it slightly. So over heating it will remove some of its health giving properties (you risk turning it in to any old sweet product)

There is something about the water content of honey, - there is a gadget for measuring it, can't remember what it is right now - and its got to have a certain water content and not above to be legal I think.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 07 7:01 pm Post subject:

not going to sell it, it was brought in for a perticular residant and so its his personal property, I just have to store it in a clean safe way incase we get inspected by any of the health organisations or the company I work for so it cant stay in its plastic bucket. I have to split it down into manageable quantities and store it for him to have as and when he wants it.
so bain marie it is thenand I will leave the bucket sealed when I put it in the hot water but not put it on the stove, I will just change the water every hour or so and check as I go to fill up the jars as it gets runny

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