Clear Honey (filtered?)

[JohnnyD]

Hi All

So i finally have my first 2 supers of honey in a tub, two questions i have.

1 I had to use a sieve to separate it from the wax, so there are a tiny bits of wax in the honey still so it looks a little cloudy, how best to second filter it before I jar it?

2 How long before i should jar it, will it start to go solid very soon ?

Many Thanks

JD

 

[Swarm]

Jar it when you are ready to sell or use it. It will set but that's where a warming cabinet is used to bring it back to liquid. Cut a template of grease proof paper and lay it on top of the honey in the tub and then remove. This will lift off the 'scum' on the surface. Pass the rest through a fine filter (200micron?) into a container with a tap and allow it to settle before pouring into jars.

 

[JohnnyD]

Many Thanks Swarm.....

Is there a recommended place to buy jars from here, i can get 24 1Lb jars for about 15 pound incliding postage?

Many Thanks

JD

 

[itma]

Is there a recommended place to buy jars from here, i can get 24 1Lb jars for about 15 pound incliding postage?

You might ask your local association. Mine was offering 3x as many for just £1 more (but collected at a meeting, not posted).

 

[RoofTops]

If you have only put it through a sieve it will probably have bits of bee in it as well - odd bits of leg and antenna for example. Some people don't mind or more likely simply don't see them - but if the honey has little black specks in it that is what they are.

You really need to warm it up to about 40C or 45C at which temperature it should flow through a bit of clean muslin, but ideally buy a straining cloth which you can get from a number of suppliers. They are usually nylon and anything around 300 micron should be enough. This is the pitch of the threads not the size of the holes. The cloth can line your sieve.

After filtering keep it somewhere warm for another 24 hours+ to allow the fine bubbles to escape - otherwise it will stay cloudy, which is probably the condition your honey is in now. It is the small bubbles making it cloudy.

Leave it for a good month or more in a cool place and see what happens to it (but see last paragraph below). If you are impatient you can bottle it (or perhaps only just some of it) but if it sets in the jars it is likely to be coarse in texture - but this coarseness can be reduced by keeping it as cool as possible - in a fridge for example. The low temperature will encourage the crystals to form quickly and therefore they will be smaller.

However, if the bulk honey sets then you will need to melt it - which will really need a warming cabinet - although there are expensive options such as heating elements which submerge into the honey. If you don't have a warming cabinet or can't borrow the use of one then you really need to bottle it now it is liquid. My late season honey normally does not set readily but things may be different where you are.