Soft Set Consistency

[Ian Morton]

Try here. From an old forum member, Rooftops

Brilliant! Fortunately, I still have about 8kg of liquid honey un-jarred in a honey bucket. I now know what I'm going to do with that

 

[Erichalfbee]

Brilliant! Fortunately, I still have about 8kg of liquid honey un-jarred in a honey bucket. I now know what I'm going to do with that

Warm it though to make sure there aren’t any crystals in there at all.
I love making soft set. I’ve just done some fancy jars for hospital staff Christmas prezzie and I have a 15lb bucket of two year old heather mix in the freezer that’s destined the same way.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

At the Lincolnshire Show this year the judge found only one of the soft set entries was actually 'set' after a few hours in a hot marquee. So aim towards a more solid set perhaps.

My soft set from last year, kept in an unheated room, has a 1cm layer of clear honey on the top. Don't think it want to sell it so I'm eating it.

. . .. . Ben

 

[D&D]

Oilseed ****

what is 'raw'?

We don’t heat it and it’s only lightly strained.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

nothing to do with it being raw then

 

[Erichalfbee]

We don’t heat it and it’s only lightly strained.

It’s OK. You’ve only just joined. It’s a contentious issue. Raw isn’t a honey definition and there have been countless threads about it
Here’s one Poll: Should it be legal to use the word "Raw" on labels to describe unheated, non-pressure filtered honey

 

[JamezF]

Perhaps the situation regarding the use of "raw" is different in Maine, where the poster appears to be based? I have no idea what the US regulations say.

James

 

[D&D]

Perhaps the situation regarding the use of "raw" is different in Maine, where the poster appears to be based? I have no idea what the US regulations say.

James

I wasn’t aware that the use of the word ‘raw’ was a problem. The local beekeepers and organic farmers we know sell single source, unheated and only lightly strained honey and call it raw. I guess you live and learn!!! Even after reading the comments, I’m not exactly sure what the primary issue is and why the regulations are in place.

 

[Ian123]

I wasn’t aware that the use of the word ‘raw’ was a problem. The local beekeepers and organic farmers we know sell single source, unheated and only lightly strained honey and call it raw. I guess you live and learn!!! Even after reading the comments, I’m not exactly sure what the primary issue is and why the regulations are in place.

It’s only a problem in the UK, there’s no legal definition, it’s additional flim flammery or in your American terminology….BS

 

[JamezF]

I wasn’t aware that the use of the word ‘raw’ was a problem. The local beekeepers and organic farmers we know sell single source, unheated and only lightly strained honey and call it raw. I guess you live and learn!!! Even after reading the comments, I’m not exactly sure what the primary issue is and why the regulations are in place.

In the UK, the labelling for honey is quite restrictive and there are only a small number of terms that can be used to describe it. "Raw" is not one. I believe, though I am not certain, that when used in UK food labelling "raw" is understood to mean "uncooked", which is not very meaningful when applied to honey.

On the other hand, many UK beekeepers will warm their honey slightly for the purposes of extraction, straining and bottling, and this is not considered a problem or to affect the quality of the product in any way if done with appropriate care. Possibly this contrasts with areas of the US where ambient temperatures are suitable for such processing for much of the year. Honey that has been heated more than allowed can only be sold here as "baker's honey".

When used to describe honey therefore, it's not necessarily immediately clear what the term "raw" means. In the UK this can be irritating for beekeepers because the regulations on labelling are not very well-policed, allowing some people to get away with selling their product as "raw honey" with an implication that it's somehow better than anyone else's when in fact it's no significantly different at all.

James

 

[D&D]

In the UK, the labelling for honey is quite restrictive and there are only a small number of terms that can be used to describe it. "Raw" is not one. I believe, though I am not certain, that when used in UK food labelling "raw" is understood to mean "uncooked", which is not very meaningful when applied to honey.

On the other hand, many UK beekeepers will warm their honey slightly for the purposes of extraction, straining and bottling, and this is not considered a problem or to affect the quality of the product in any way if done with appropriate care. Possibly this contrasts with areas of the US where ambient temperatures are suitable for such processing for much of the year. Honey that has been heated more than allowed can only be sold here as "baker's honey".

When used to describe honey therefore, it's not necessarily immediately clear what the term "raw" means. In the UK this can be irritating for beekeepers because the regulations on labelling are not very well-policed, allowing some people to get away with selling their product as "raw honey" with an implication that it's somehow better than anyone else's when in fact it's no significantly different at all.

James

That is so helpful! And I do see that the term can mean many things. Here, it generally refers to honey that hasn’t been heated at all, or at least not above the hive temperature. And it implies that the honey is minimally strained and processed. But I’m not aware if regulations. I wonder if there are other beekeepers in the US that are aware of restrictions on using the term ‘raw’? There’s also no distinction that i know of for baker’s honey. That’s not to say that there aren’t abuses here, too. We know of sellers who sell their honey as organic, even though their bees forage far beyond their organic farms onto farms using non-organic measures. Thank you for such a great answer!