Honey, set?

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Honey, set?

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Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 08 10:58 am Post subject: Honey, set?

Have been offered Honey at 4.50 euros a kilo (3.60 sterling) which seems a great buy - ordered a lot.

Questions though - the bee keeper (a vet) tells me it will be from the second batch as he has sold out by pre-order of the the first - not sure what that means in retrospect....is it likely to be just his second batch of processing or do bees have a second batch he says it will be darker in colour (hangs head in shame

)?

The honey is set honey - had some last year from him and it was v tasty - why is honey set or runny?

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 08 11:03 am Post subject:

Er, I guess it could be either. But ... if it's a different colour, it implies that there will be slightly different pollens and nectar in it, so it's likely to be from later in the year (not that late honey is dark, necessarily just that in your area that might be what happens).

Basically, you can keep on taking honey off as long as they keep on producing it - some people like to leave them some stores to see them through the winter, other people nick all the honey and feed them sugar solution instead.

I think the set honey / runny honey thing is also to do with the pollen and nectar that's gone in to it, but I'm not sure.

If it's set and you want it runny, stand it on top of the stove or by the fire or in a bowl of hot water for a bit. If it's runny and you want it set, put it in the fridge for a bit.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 08 2:17 pm Post subject:

All honey sets eventually apart from heather honey.
Some set quicker than others.
Mine usually takes 6-12 months to set.
I imagine where you are there are two seasons or flows, a spring flow & a late summer/autumn flow as your climate is much warmer than the UK.
The late summer/autumn flow will have a fair amount of sunflower nectar if its grown in any quantity in your area?
�3.60 a kilo is cheap considering UK mixed flower honey is anything from �3.50 to �5.00 a lb.

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 08 4:21 pm Post subject:
Thanks.....thought it was very well priced - we have reserved 75 kilos for us and some neighbours but he wouldn't offer any discount say it was a good price..........didn't haggle as it is very reasonably priced.

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