HONEY SHOW any tips

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Ok ,the Honey Show is not really my scene but having just taken off 15 x 15lb buckets of honey from my hives,the bees are resting, apiguard on and i am now BORED :D

so thought i would entry some honey in our BKA Honey Show

i normally only use a thornes stainless filter in the buckets and thornes filter cloth into the bottles and my Honey therefore has that Hazy Rustic look

Any ideas, veiw on how the "show" lot get that ultra clear look to their honey
what do the filter it through, they are very tight lipped when i ask how they do it

just want to entry a 1lb or two from my new site

what are the pitfails

MM
 
I got a reasonable clarity using kitchen paper - very slow and it clogs up easily though, honey must be warm to have any chance. I imagine that not all kitchen rolls are equal, but mine had bees on it so I figured that it was probably designed for such!

Also tried muslin, that was faster but not so clear - only had a single sheet mind, doubled up may be better.

Very interested to hear any secrets show pros are willing to share

EDIT: Also make sure that you have more than enough to start with, filtering seems to take a large quantity from the resulting honey ( I think 3 1/2 jars went down to 2 2/3 for me)
 
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For crystal clear honey use a 200 Micron rated mesh cloth. If your honey has lots of bits in it or is starting to granulate it can take a long time to filter through at room temps.

Enter it into the right class (light - medium - dark or other)
Check it's within the refractometer levels
Bang on weight of course

Jars
Keep the jar as level as possible on route to the show as a judge may mark down two equally good entries if one has a tide mark up the glass.
Take a fine cloth and polish the outside of the jar so there are no traces of honey, wax smears or finger prints on it and make sure your label is perfectly level and placed central on the jar and of course a brand new lid with no scratches or finger prints. Once you place your jars don't let anyone touch it other than the judge. You don't want one of your fellows picking it up knowing full well what he is doing.... bad form as they say.

That is all you can do, from there on its down to a bit of luck and hope your honey tastes better than every one else's.
 
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Almost forgot make sure your jar meets the show requirements. Several entries in our show last year were disqualified because they were not in the correct type or size of jar or didn't have the right type of screw on lid.
:)
 
remove any minute bubbles on the surface, use a piece of 'cling-film' (lay it on top of honey, then lift it iff, taking small air bubbles with it)
 
Ok ,the Honey Show is not really my scene but having just taken off 15 x 15lb buckets of honey from my hives,the bees are resting, apiguard on and i am now BORED :D

so thought i would entry some honey in our BKA Honey Show

i normally only use a thornes stainless filter in the buckets and thornes filter cloth into the bottles and my Honey therefore has that Hazy Rustic look

Any ideas, veiw on how the "show" lot get that ultra clear look to their honey
what do the filter it through, they are very tight lipped when i ask how they do it

just want to entry a 1lb or two from my new site

what are the pitfails

MM


Good luck MM!

That takes care of 2lbs of honey; what are you going to do with the other 223?

Would you be interested in selling some honey through a local farmer's market?
 
Good luck MM!

That takes care of 2lbs of honey; what are you going to do with the other 223?

Would you be interested in selling some honey through a local farmer's market?

thanks margo, our show is on 25th september, come along and see if iwin anything:party:

farmer market:not this year but maybe next as i hope to go to four + procductive hives rather than two , this year i have just been setting up the apriary so really just ran two for honey and the rest for increase

and by the time i have done friends and family either free or at near freebie prices i have so little to sell retail that i just sell in the local allotment show
 
Bang on weight of course

Bang on weight will almost certainly result in disqualification. Normally, their must be no gap between the top of the honey and the lid, so when looking through any light is visible. You can use (if allowed in the schedule) a plastic lid if their is a small glimmer as they have a slightly longer shoulder.

Filling the jars this full will almost certainly make them overweight, however if they are bang on weight they would normally be instantly disqualified for the reason above. That may be unfair, but that seems to be how it works.

You need to place them on a radiator, or a airing cupboard, or a warming cabinet a day or two before at a gentle heat to give the honey a real gleaming colour.

Also, try shining a torch through it to amaze yourself with how much grot is remaining. You can use a straw to suck out bubbles etc.

Cling film as described works very very well.

Match your jars, if it asks for two identical jars of honey. Look underneath and check the makers/mould marks are the same.

Get it in the right class (even I fell foul of this last year!).

Don't tip it over. Do the final surface clean days before the show, and place your lid on and don't check it again. This allows the aroma to build in the small air-gap.

Adam
 
Bang on weight will almost certainly result in disqualification.

Your association rules should clearly state the required weight so there is no way any judge can disqualify a jar for being the correct labelled weight. (Honey weight not including the jar) If your judge is disqualifying jars that are the correct weight I suggest you ask for another judge to replace him or ask him to read the rules.
 
Since I am sure none of us are likely to meet in a show any time soon! Top artwork photography tip No:27

MM, get hold of a hand driven salad spinner. Completely line it with multiple layers of large absorbent paper kitchen towels (take them off as more than one sheet. Fold the excess over the top of the honey. Bodge it up and spin away boy! (wait until the paper is fully wetted out before spinning)

No good for big quantities but you only need a pound! and its very wasteful on honey, but then you have honey to spare I sense!

We use the method when presenting certain prepared salad items (or where you want a surface sheen for photography purposes) and want to ensure absolute clarity on things like the olive oil used and cant be bothered to go as far as a bench centrifuge.

All I ask is 5p commission on every spinner bought from Lakeland in the next 2 weeks :biggrinjester:
 
Make sure the jar threads are clear of any honey. The lid should have no 'stickiness' when undone. Another trick I've seen is to use a short circle of cardboard to which you align the bottom of the label to make sure it's absolutely level.

Have fun ...

--
fatshark
 
After filtering through a 200 micron cloth into a bucket with a tap it is important to stand the honey somewhere warm (35C+)so the bubbles can rise up, otherwise the honey will continue to look hazy.

Select the jars with care, i.e. as few bubbles as possible in the glass. Ideally going for jars made from new not recycled glass, if you can get them. Re-cycled glass looks a bit green.

Ensure lids are not scratched.

Then bottle from the tap discarding the first and last jars and going for the ones in the middle as possible show entries.
 
Your association rules should clearly state the required weight so there is no way any judge can disqualify a jar for being the correct labelled weight. (Honey weight not including the jar) If your judge is disqualifying jars that are the correct weight I suggest you ask for another judge to replace him or ask him to read the rules.

We do specify the weight - 1lb (454g).

Our judges are normally BBKA Show Judges.

We have different (BBKA) judges every year. That (the filling them up overweight) is a standard rule. If you follow your train of though through, how exactly does the judge check for exact weight? Well, exactly the same as trading standards. First you weigh the jar (with contents), then you sample it (or judge it), then you wash the remainder out, (down the sink), carefully dry the jar, weigh it again, and then subtract the initial weight from the final weight to determine how much honey was in it. Perhaps you judges have a week or two for judging but our show only lasts a day and the judge has many classes. Not only that but post judging all their would be is some very sparkly but sadly empty jars.

So, back to the practical world, judging of full weight is deemed to be when no light is visible at the top of the jar. Really, I have no axe to grind on this - if you want to argue it out with the judge free.

These rules are top down, e.g. they apply at the National Honey Show, and most smaller/county shows follow those, and I'd suggest the vast majority of BBKA Show Judges would.

You can see the guidance here, from the National Honey Show website (see the picture of a jar).

http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/guidance-exhibitors.shtml

In fact, here is the exact wording from the National Honey Show "Weights
With the many makes of honey jar available and their varying weights (up to 20g in some cases) the only way of the judge being certain that the jar contains 454g(1lb) of honey is if there is no air gap visible between the surface of the honey and the lower edge of the lid."

So, if you want to not be disqualified at the very first examination, fill them up as described.

Adam
 
We do specify the weight - 1lb (454g).

Our judges are normally BBKA Show Judges.

We have different (BBKA) judges every year. That (the filling them up overweight) is a standard rule. If you follow your train of though through, how exactly does the judge check for exact weight? Well, exactly the same as trading standards. First you weigh the jar (with contents), then you sample it (or judge it), then you wash the remainder out, (down the sink), carefully dry the jar, weigh it again, and then subtract the initial weight from the final weight to determine how much honey was in it. Perhaps you judges have a week or two for judging but our show only lasts a day and the judge has many classes. Not only that but post judging all their would be is some very sparkly but sadly empty jars.

So, back to the practical world, judging of full weight is deemed to be when no light is visible at the top of the jar. Really, I have no axe to grind on this - if you want to argue it out with the judge free.

These rules are top down, e.g. they apply at the National Honey Show, and most smaller/county shows follow those, and I'd suggest the vast majority of BBKA Show Judges would.

You can see the guidance here, from the National Honey Show website (see the picture of a jar).

http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/guidance-exhibitors.shtml

In fact, here is the exact wording from the National Honey Show "Weights
With the many makes of honey jar available and their varying weights (up to 20g in some cases) the only way of the judge being certain that the jar contains 454g(1lb) of honey is if there is no air gap visible between the surface of the honey and the lower edge of the lid."

So, if you want to not be disqualified at the very first examination, fill them up as described.

Adam

Yep, agree. Although iv no honey yet i have been to a local group honey show where this was explained and honey judging lecture also. Both people were BBKA judges and didnt seem to phase anyone there. Not usually many jars used so shouldnt be a problem surely.
 
Yep, agree. Although iv no honey yet i have been to a local group honey show where this was explained and honey judging lecture also. Both people were BBKA judges and didnt seem to phase anyone there. Not usually many jars used so shouldnt be a problem surely.

I always overfill any jars I plan to show, (as set honey, soft set or runny) to give me options for cleaning up the top surface prior to judging. I never find adding a bit of honey in works. I don't ever subsequantly sell such jars, as they have been opened and sampled. The judges only use clean sampling glass dippers so I guess no reason really not to sell them after but I just somehow feel it's not right so eat them myself.



Adam
 
Give a very short burst in the microwave to clear any incipient granulation. I know this damages enzymes but this is show honey we are talking about.
An experienced exhibitor (world class prize winner) filters his honey through three layers of 200 micron cloth, filtering is very slow though.
Ruary
 
:hurray::hurray::hurray:excellent result MM, well done.
 

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