Clear runny honey?

[Tomo]

Clear runny honey? Do you process it in any way? Probably a daft question from a first year beekeeper. I was talking to the chap that supplies me with bee stuff. He said: 95% of the honey that he gets, he leaves in buckets, waits until it starts to crystallise then adds ground OSR as seed then produces creamed honey. Surely what I call clear runny honey is not treated in any way? I assume that all honey will crystallise eventually? So how do you get clear runny honey that doesn't crystallise? Thanks...I'm confused.

 

[itma]

Commercially, you flash heat it to about 70C, and filter it through Fuller's Earth under high pressure to remove pollen and such.
Of course you also start with honey from appropriate floral sources. As you know, OSR sets fast and hard. Many other floral sources don't.
Largely, it depends on your local forage.

If you grow grapes in Bordeaux, don't try to make Champagne!

Much "runny honey" will stay runny for a year or so without special processing or storage.
If it granulates, it can be reverted by holding it at about 45C until the crystals redissolve (couple of days for a bucket) aided by occasional gentle stirring. You will see forum discussions about "warming cabinets" for this job. Holding it in small buckets.

More careful processing in the warming cabinet, and 'seeding', are required to reliably produce "soft set" (creamy) honey from such as OSR …

 

[Tomo]

So how do I know if I have good lasting runny honey that will not crystallise? Just wait I suppose?

 

[Swarm]

It doesn't matter. Whatever surplus you have in buckets is warmed until liquid for jarring.

 

[Duchy]

I thought I had runny honey, after 2 weeks it was soft set.....

 

[Dishmop]

I thought I had runny honey, after 2 weeks it was soft set.....

I warm it up in a slow cooker.

 

[enrico]

I too believed that all honey sets .... Until I got a lime crop, it stays golden and clear and runny as the day you extracted it, it is truly amazing! No heating or anything, two normal sieves, it is perfect for chunk honey.
However I do believe that if you sieve honey finely enough to get rid of every grain of pollen there is nothing for it to crystallise round and therefore stays runny.
If I am wrong RAB will put me right!
E

 

[Tomo]

Still confused.....surely heating and gently stirring the honey just delays the inevitable frosting and eventual crystallising? If you go to one of the honey shows and see the rows and rows of clear honey will they not all crystallise (apart from lime of course)? If not how do I get my honey to that stage?

 

[BeeJayBee]

If you go to one of the honey shows and see the rows and rows of clear honey will they not all crystallise (apart from lime of course)? If not how do I get my honey to that stage?

There are guidance notes on this page, they make interesting reading http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/free_files.shtml

A lot of people keep a pair of winning jars from one year, or from one show, to the next. If it crystallises they warm it gently until it goes clear again.

 

[Tomo]

That's great Beejoyful. Thanks.

 

[Davelin]

The thing with it is is that if there are even a very small number of crystals it triggers the crystallization of the rest.

If you can completely clear it of any solids then the onset of crystallization is greatly delayed.

 

[masterBK]

Honies with a higher proportion of fructose than glucose are reluctant to granulate eg Acacia but honies with a greater proportion of glucose than fructose granulate very fast eg OSR and Ivy honey. It is true that if you remove the pollen grains which form the nucleus of the crystals then honey stays liquid for a very long time but you should not do that as it is against the 2003 honey regs.

 

[Putnamsmif]

I warm it up in a slow cooker.

That sounds cheaper than a warming cabinet. Quite a good idea, do you do it with OSR honey after it's set in buckets?

 

[itma]

Slow cookers tend to operate at closer to 75C than 45C.
And few are big enough to take a bucket.

A warming cabinet can be as simple as a spare polyhive with a lightbulb inside …

 

[masterBK]

Poly hive with a light bulb inside: What is the surface temperature of an incandescent light bulb? How well do polyhives catch fire?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Poly hive with a light bulb inside: What is the surface temperature of an incandescent light bulb? How well do polyhives catch fire?

Old fridge, 60 watt tubular heater or two, stc1000 thermostat - job done

 

[Tonych224]

I warm it up in a slow cooker.

Would like to know more about how you do this... Sounds like a perfect solution?

 

[Dishmop]

That sounds cheaper than a warming cabinet. Quite a good idea, do you do it with OSR honey after it's set in buckets?

I dont have OSR here.

 

[Dishmop]

Would like to know more about how you do this... Sounds like a perfect solution?

I put the honey into a container and stand it in the slow cooker.

Top up the slow cooker with hot water and switch it on... I have a high and low setting on the one I use.
Keep stiring when you remember...

Be carefull about forgetting about it because the water will evaporate and I dont know what there is in the way of cut-outs or thermostats..

 

[Ely]

I take it you don't get much honey? Can't see very much fitting in a slow cooker