Advice on putting in a jar of honey to a horticultural show

[Speybee]

Any experienced beekeepers with any advice on what judges are looking for in a jar of honey?
Also regarding the label.....do you use in your usual honey label as per the regulations?
Or in a show do you just label it Blossom Honey and date extracted ( nothing else)?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Any experienced beekeepers with any advice on what judges are looking for in a jar of honey?
Also regarding the label.....do you use in your usual honey label as per the regulations?
Or in a show do you just label it Blossom Honey and date extracted ( nothing else)?

Depends what the entry asks for, Usually honey for showing has no label apart from the exhibit number unless it's in the commercial class, in which case it must have all the mandatory details on it, also, most shows stipulate the honey must be shown in a standard 1lb 'squat' (or ministry) jar.
Liquid honey should be as clear as possible, no excessive pollen, bits of bee legs etc. and must not show any signs of crystalization, the jat must be sufficiently full - in the ministry jars that means that you should see no daylight between the bottom of the lid and the honey.
Don't make the classic mistake of changing the lids on arriving at the show (a few travel splashes are allowed) as this means all the honey aromas that have built up under the lid will disappear, and you want that to hit the judges nose.
Make sure there are no bubbles or scum gathered around the meniscus of the honey.

 

[Pembroke]

I was always told the paramount rule is to to actually read the rules of the competition. They will tell you what the judges are looking for and how you should go about preparing your entry. For instance there might be a specification at to where the entry number labels should be stuck.

Generally the first thing the judges will do if there are a lot of entries is to look at all the jars and make sure the entry matches the rules, if they can eliminate some of the entries without too much work then they will. You may well find that each entry is actually two matching jars.

Try to enter as many categories as you can. You may hit on one that has very few entries.

Most of all enjoy the competition, good luck.

 

[Speybee]

Thanks for advice.
It is a local Horticultural show that stipulates Honey 1jar in the same section as jams, jellies, marmalade, lemon curd, chutney ( any size jar, labelled with name of product and date made). Section is called commercial section.

 

[philkhor]

One problem is that honey should be labelled with sufficient detail to identify the producer and this might contravene show rules requiring anonymity to prevent possible bias by the judges.

 

[Speybee]

One problem is that honey should be labelled with sufficient detail to identify the producer and this might contravene show rules requiring anonymity to prevent possible bias by the judges.
I will phone up horticultural show seccy and ask what the labelling requirements are for this local show

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks for advice.
It is a local Horticultural show that stipulates Honey 1jar in the same section as jams, jellies, marmalade, lemon curd, chutney ( any size jar, labelled with name of product and date made). Section is called commercial section.

OK, so you don't need your standard commercial honey label by the sounds of it - just a plain label with 'honey' and the extraction date, although I would contact the show steward to confirm

 

[Pembroke]

OK, so you don't need your standard commercial honey label by the sounds of it - just a plain label with 'honey' and the extraction date, although I would contact the show steward to confirm

I'd take a blank jar with two labels with you, one label the standard one you use when you sell your honey and one that just says 'Honey' or better still 'Local Honey'. If the show covers a large area I'd even be tempted to narrow down the locality further if possible.

The organisers should then give you a further label that identifies you to their system.

Take a few extra jars with you there might be an opportunity to sell a few jars.

 

[Speybee]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.