Making soft set honey

[Etton]

Whenever I make soft set honey, I
1. Heat the bucket until 40c+ throughout to remove the crystals (its rape, starts as concrete…)
2. Then reduce to 35c and seed with 10% of my existing soft set at same temp.
3. After this I cool the bucket to below 14c for a few days for it to set.
4. Then re warm the bucket to 35c and jar.

Always done this! I follow a guide from ‘The Apiarist’. Any reason why I could not jar straight from step 2… I don’t see why not?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I jar straight from step 2 but I do get frosting in the jars
Maybe this is what steps 3 and 4 avoid?

 

[Etton]

Maybe that’s it, I never get frosting, but I do mix the seed very thoroughly but I presume you do too!

 

[Ian123]

Whenever I make soft set honey, I
1. Heat the bucket until 40c+ throughout to remove the crystals (its rape, starts as concrete…)
2. Then reduce to 35c and seed with 10% of my existing soft set at same temp.
3. After this I cool the bucket to below 14c for a few days for it to set.
4. Then re warm the bucket to 35c and jar.

Always done this! I follow a guide from ‘The Apiarist’. Any reason why I could not jar straight from step 2… I don’t see why not?

Yes you can go straight from step 1……I’d suggest straining honey at extraction so no need to completely melt crystals…..Rape is the seed for most peoples soft set so why add a seed at all. Realistically your only skipping step 2..three and four remain the same.

 

[Amari]

Whenever I make soft set honey, I
1. Heat the bucket until 40c+ throughout to remove the crystals (its rape, starts as concrete…)
2. Then reduce to 35c and seed with 10% of my existing soft set at same temp.
3. After this I cool the bucket to below 14c for a few days for it to set.
4. Then re warm the bucket to 35c and jar.
Always done this! I follow a guide from ‘The Apiarist’. Any reason why I could not jar straight from step 2… I don’t see why not?

I find making soft-set honey very unpredictable. I deploy the method described by Wilco in a recent post. Do you not stir? - all methods I have read advise stirring at least twice.
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/oul-seed-rape-extraction.53062/#post-827707
I made some soft set as per Wilco a week ago - OSR honey set hard in buckets, warmed, stirred, jarred etc but no seed. This thread caused me to check the outcome just now: damn, it's set hard again in the jars!! Previous years with identical method I got nice permanent soft set...........

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Always done this! I follow a guide from ‘The Apiarist’. Any reason why I could not jar straight from step 2… I don’t see why not?

No reason why not, I've only once gone through to step 4 and only because I forgot about it and it had set too firm to pour for bottling, but what I tend to do is, after cooling it to around 33°:
I seed it and get it down to about 14° as quickly as possible (warming cabinet turned off and a few ice blocks chucked in there with the honey bucket)
Then leave for a few days, giving it a good stir once or twice a day so it sets to a gloopy consistency before bottling

I jar straight from step 2 but I do get frosting in the jars

Never get that, but I leave it set for a few days before bottling