Methods & Acceptable levels of filtration ???

[Curley]

It might be starting to set, I assumed it might be traces of pollen.
.

Shine a bright torch through the honey and look at the other side (IYSWIM)
If it still looks cloudy its probably pollen. If the particles glitter, it's starting to crystalize. A warm water bath will resolve that if you want to.

The standard 2 part sieves are 1000 micron (1 millimeter) and
500 micron (0.5mm) so I don't see the point of re-filtering through a 400 micron filter. I always use the 200 micron for show but it won't take out
95% of pollens(note: “96.2% of all statistics are made up”. – Vic Reeves,). Your call of course

 

[Woodland bees]

Warming in a water bath will have no ill effects on the honey, you are not cooking it and a fine micron nylon mesh will in no way remove pollen or any other beneficial particles, more likely the odd grain of dirt!!

My latest few jars are from freshly drawn comb (used starter strips) and are only a month or two old - so not that much chance of dirt I would have thought.

Shine a bright torch through the honey and look at the other side (IYSWIM)
If it still looks cloudy its probably pollen. If the particles glitter, it's starting to crystalize. A warm water bath will resolve that if you want to.

Useful, thanks. 1st batch, no glittering. I'll assume pollen and I could have a look under a microscope.

2nd batch, glittering but they look like bubbles which makes sense as I didn't allow long for settling.

I suppose my question is do I actually want to filter it out the haze, probably not by the sounds of it.

 

[Poly Hive]

I would lean towards the 200 micron as I have been playing with 400 for wax and it clogs up very fast.

The wiring a plug was reassurance for Walrus.

PH

 

[Walrus]

The wiring a plug was reassurance for Walrus.

PH

 

[Beefriendly]

My latest few jars are from freshly drawn comb (used starter strips) and are only a month or two old - so not that much chance of dirt I would have thought.



Useful, thanks. 1st batch, no glittering. I'll assume pollen and I could have a look under a microscope.

2nd batch, glittering but they look like bubbles which makes sense as I didn't allow long for settling.

I suppose my question is do I actually want to you are not sure9 filter it out the haze, probably not by the sounds of it.

You should have clear runny honey. If you are not sure microwave a jar on medium power in 20 second bursts until hot...that will clear it.
All honey has pollen, but rare (In my experience) for it make the honey look cloudy. It's usually very small microcrystals forming.
Worth wasting 1 jar to find out for sure.
I'll bet it goes clear...

 

[Dodge]

If you put the bucket in a warming cabinet and get it warm and runny the bubbles etc rise to the top. Then you can run it into jars but leave the last bit that’s mucky. Warming cabinets are expensive to buy, like so much of beekeeping equipment. People with skills (not me sadly) make their own using an old fridge for example.

Also you could make soft set honey which increases the shelf life cos it doesn’t set rock hard

Other option to a warming cabinet is if you are having a new kitchen get a deep warming drawer, fine control of temperature, can use as a slow cooker, bread proving and so far for us excellent at melting set honey.

 

[pargyle]

You asked about showing.
Judges won’t look at cloudy honey
It has to be crystal clear.

Yes .. bonkers isn't it ? They are often more interested in whether there is a splash of honey on the underside of the lid than what it tastes like. Polishing honey to the nth degree in order to win prizes at the honey show is fine (and yes .. I've done and do it !) but I sold a few jars of 'polished' honeyto one of my regular customers as I'd run out of my 'normal' stock and he:

a) Asked if it was my honey.
b) Said it wasn't as tasty as my 'usual' honey (despite being the same batch !)
c) Told me he preferred 'Raw' honey ... his words not mine.

All that effort to get it clear and runny for the honey judges to check that there isn't a crystal of honey or a bee leg in the jar, there aren't any imperfections in the glass of the jar, that it's a fresh lid and it's filled to exactly the line that looks as though the weight is right ....

and the customer doesn't like it ? Makes you wonder what weight the judges actually put on the taste when they are marking ...

One comment I had from the judge a couple of years ago :'Lovely, floral honey - would have won if it had been allowed to settle in the jar' - I'd done the bottling the night before and there were a few tiny bubbles at the shoulder of the jar.

Honey shows are good fun but don't judge your own honey in the same way the judges will.

 

[Murox]

I have never ever been to a "honey show", but surely aren't there classes for the various honey types ?

 

[pargyle]

I have never ever been to a "honey show", but surely aren't there classes for the various honey types ?

Yes ...

http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/competitive-classes.php

Is the National Honey Show but they are all very similar.

But .. clear honey is CLEAR honey ... classes tend to be for light, medium & dark and then various 'matched' jars.

Set, soft set and crysytallised.

And here is some guidance:

http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/guidance-for-exhibitors.php

 

[Ian123]

I have never ever been to a "honey show", but surely aren't there classes for the various honey types ?

Yes but not sure there is a class for jar with a bee leg. Or maybe a class for honey with a splash of thymol

 

[Murox]

Yes but not sure there is a class for jar with a bee leg. Or maybe a class for honey with a splash of thymol

Ahh, the voice of experience.

 

[nantmoel]

I have approximately 70lb of honey that has been standing in a gate valved storage bucket for ten days.
When I extracted it, it went through the "standard" stainless steel double mesh strainer/filter.
I just wondered what acceptable levels of filtration subscribers would recommend for general sale to the public and friend, what methods do you use.
Many Thanks.

That's all I ever do, I leave it for at least 2 days in a heated settling/bottling tank, I remove the scum, then jar it.

 

[madasafish]

That's all I ever do, I leave it for at least 2 days in a heated settling/bottling tank, I remove the scum, then jar it.

+1

My customers adore it.. I have waiting lists ..and I keep jars that are cloudy with ppollen for customers who tell me "it's for my hayfever/allergy"

Appparently it works marvels for some..( not for me: I have no sense of smell in summer)

 

[masterBK]

Info for Pargyle: Judges (and I have been a senior judge for longer than most) don't worry about a splash of honey on the inside of the lid (known as travel splash as occurrs during transit to the show) these days and haven't done so for decades. Some misguided individuals change their jar lids thinking that we do when they get to the show and in doing so lose the aroma that you normally perceive when taking the lid off and which takes hours to build back up again. Aroma and taste and viscosity are the most important factors in deciding the winners of the liquid honey classes but the entry must first meet the schedule (ie colour of honey, correct jar and lid etc) and the checks for cleanliness, incipient granulation etc which often eliminates many before the point in the judging sequence where they get tasted.

I have never found a bees leg in a jar at a show (but plenty of eyelashes and eyebrow hairs, dog and cat hairs, fibres from tea towels and woolly jumpers, dandruff on surface, a blue bottle! a leg from a daddy long legs!) Also a varroa mite in jar of chunk honey and find loads of rusty and dirty lids. Most shows have a couple of underweight entries and a few jars of fermenting honey (often in the novice soft set class)
Also often find a film or flakes of wax on the surface of the honey indicating that the honey had been filtered above the melting point of wax(63C) so that the liquidised wax goes through the filter cloth and when it cools the wax solidifies and rises to the surface of the honey

 

[Ian123]

Ahh, the voice of experience.

Correct for the bee leg.....but have so far managed to avoid the thymol!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Judges (and I have been a senior judge for longer than most) don't worry about a splash of honey on the inside of the lid (known as travel splash as occurrs during transit to the show)

Hilarious..... sorry
Who would think honey on the inside of a lid would actually have a name?

 

[pargyle]

+ 1 ... but you can see the anal requirement to be able to collect one of those rosettes or a certificate... whether I have the patience to seek is doubtful but ... it's a bit of fun if you don't get despondent when your honey does not meet the exacting standards of honey judges ... I've seen a number of honey judges.. some are very informative.. some are somewhere to the colonic side of anal !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

+ 1 ... but you can see the anal requirement to be able to collect one of those rosettes or a certificate... whether I have the patience to seek is doubtful but ... it's a bit of fun if you don't get despondent when your honey does not meet the exacting standards of honey judges ... I've seen a number of honey judges.. some are very informative.. some are somewhere to the colonic side of anal !

Seen a judge a few years ago pull an exhibit because the mould mark number didn't match!! and this year one pulled because there seemed to be a slight difference in shade on the two gold lids.

Then from the other side of the coin, some of the entries for the National Honey show last year were so appalling the exhibitors should have been forced to withdraw them and deposit them in the nearest skip.

 

[Ian123]

To be fair to the judges they need to start some place to thin the numbers down so if it says 2 matching jars I would think that’s the place to start.

 

[shudderdun]

Can't get my head around how people can keep submitting the same past winning jars of honey season after season and still pick up a certificate, surely it should be based on that seasons produce.
Am I missing something here !!!