Honey question...

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Honey question...

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arvo

Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 3:51 pm Post subject: Honey question...
Anyone got any ideas/experience of what to do with the first honey you've spun off a frame (ie the stuff thats not capped)? Or have you just got to sling it?

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 4:14 pm Post subject:
eat it first, make mead? I always understood the only real issue is that it might not be fully 'ripe' and so not keep well if stored

arvo

Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 4:21 pm Post subject:
how can i tell if it's 'iffy'?# don't want to be giving us botulism

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 4:42 pm Post subject:
hmm, prob best not to give it to the kids, but then honey isnt usually recommended for very little ones anyway. I think I'd probably ferment it, but wait a bit, maybe one of our science bods can advise further on the actual risks.

Dee J

Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 342
Location: West Devon

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 4:45 pm Post subject:
Too low a sugar content (i.e. not enough water evapourated out)and it just starts to ferment. Don't know of any issue beyond that. Freeze or fridge it to stop fermenting. Or eat it before fermentation starts. Or dilute it , add yeast and make mead. Or send it to me Dee

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 4:50 pm Post subject:

A percentage of uncapped honey wont spoil your crop.
The only way to tell for sure if it will keep is to use a refractometer to assess the amount of moisture but most beekeepers only use one if they are big on showing.
https://secure.thorne.co.uk/popup/1086.htm
If about a quarter of a frame is uncapped I don't worry as long as there are some good full frames from the centre of the supers to mix in.
Any frames that are largely uncapped I feed back to the bees or you can as already been stated make mead, use in baking, beer making etc.

chez

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

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 08 5:18 pm Post subject:
He's spun all the uncapped stuff off - he says it smells a bit funny, but it looks okay. It's been in the shed in a plastic bin bag since we took it off in July before our world imploded. I don't really have a sense of smell so I can't help. Maybe mead would be a good idea, because the alcohol would kill any germs? And obviously we wouldn't be feeding the mead to the children .

arvo

Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 08 11:37 am Post subject:
May I make a mental note to self at this point that spinning honey off frames this late in the season is b*****d hard work. Gah!

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 08 7:51 pm Post subject:
Did you take the supers off before or after the Ivy blossom? Ivy honey smells & tastes off IMO although some claim to like it.

arvo

Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 08 8:35 pm Post subject:
Ages before, but with the 'hell that has been 2008' (tm), it just sat in the shed waiting for a chance for us to do it. That chance was today, about 4 months too late and 10 degrees too cold.

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 08 7:55 am Post subject:
If there has been uncapped honey for 4 months I would say it will have fermented for sure. You need a warming cabinet to recrystalise as well?

arvo

Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 3321
Location: Somerset

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 08 8:49 am Post subject:

TAVASCAROW wrote:

If there has been uncapped honey for 4 months I would say it will have fermented for sure.

Yep, I'm thinking thats the case. Since we're all brewed out this year, is there any reason that we can't feed it back to them or will that just result in leary p****d bees?

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 08 12:23 pm Post subject:
If it was fresh uncapped honey then no problem but once its started to ferment your likely to set off a lot of intestinal problems. If it was me I would use it for brewing mead or beer it wont matter that its part fermented & heating it will kill any nasties.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 08 12:30 pm Post subject:
why not heat it through, stop any current fermentation and kill off some bacteria assuming there is some there, and bottle it for later brewing. Effectively pasteurise it I suppose

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