Does Chestnut honey.....

[Pete D]

Set real quick ?
I have a hive at my Mums house which is right next to a very large park with lots of mature trees. They are Chestnut (conker), Lime, Plane and Sycamore. There are also a lot of gardens as its in town although away from the shops / centre.
Both of my harvests from this hive have been light / medium in colour but both have set quite quickly although not a rock hard set.
The last harvest only 3 weeks ago has already set in the buckets.
This isnt a problem as will warm and filter before bottling but I was wondering if its the Chestnut and Lime that have made it set.........or something else. Nearest OSR would be 2 + miles away at least as the bee flies
any ides
thanks
Pete D

 

[Into the lions den]

Set real quick ?
I have a hive at my Mums house which is right next to a very large park with lots of mature trees. They are Chestnut (conker), Lime, Plane and Sycamore. There are also a lot of gardens as its in town although away from the shops / centre.
Both of my harvests from this hive have been light / medium in colour but both have set quite quickly although not a rock hard set.
The last harvest only 3 weeks ago has already set in the buckets.
This isnt a problem as will warm and filter before bottling but I was wondering if its the Chestnut and Lime that have made it set.........or something else. Nearest OSR would be 2 + miles away at least as the bee flies
any ides
thanks
Pete D

Horse Chestnut is an early spring plant, and although maybe some will disagree I have never seen any honey (though a lot of pollen) from it. Chestnut honey is a mid to late summer crop and comes from Castanea, the Sweet or Spanish Chestnut. Honey dark brown and earthy, slow to crystallise.
Acers, of which Maples, Sycamore, and Plane are essentialy types also from spring. Only familiar with sycamore as a serious honey source, honey brown, with a distictive somewhat cloying flavour, and again tends to be slower crytallising.

Lime is a candidate, mid summer flowerer, but main suspect to me would be clover mixed with misc other nectars.

 

[enrico]

I would suggest that it may be too cool where you are storing it! Or some rape has seeded it, I have had all those nectars to a lesser or greater degree in the past and although they set eventually they have never gone that quickly.
E

 

[Pete D]

Thanks for replies. Thought I had read somewhere about Chestnut giving nectar but I guess not. Also thought it may be the Lime but wasnt sure we had the temperatures when it was out to 'flow'.
Looks like probably clover it is then. Ruled out seeding by rape as the last super I took off went on as foundation although thats not too say the bees didnt move anything.
This is how I prepare my honey
I store my buckets in the garage untill I want them, then its in to the hot box, through the filters into the settling tank and ready for bottling next day.
I have an ex laboratory incubator which takes a bucket, I set it at 48c and leave it 24hrs. Its another 24hrs in the settling tank.
I use coarse, fine and then muslin for filters.
Is that OK or should it be hotter / cooler for longer or less. It has worked so far with some early honey still not set yet.
Many thanks
Pete D