Honey may be packed for use or sale either as crystallized, or 'set' honey, or as clear honey, and these varieties will require different warming temperatures to prepare them for bottling. A fairly low temperature of 32°C (90°F) applied for 2-5 days will warm crystallized honey through with very little melting of the crystals but will bring it to a consistency which will allow it to be easily and quickly bottled using the normal tap or honey gate in a small tank. The time suggested above is for honey stored in 28 lb. lots, and will have to be increased for larger volumes and decreased for smaller ones. The variation in time is also dependent upon the hardness of the honey, which will itself depend upon its origin. A good white clover honey can seem to be almost as hard as glass, and will still be solid at the end of 4 days warming. It is, however, warm throughout and can be stirred to break up the crystals. Once this has been done it will flow readily. Other honeys such as red clover, crucifer and tree honey will only take 3 days, and will not usually need stirring. Honeydew and some dark honeys will be ready in 2 days. The beekeeper has to get to know the honeys of his area and treat them accordingly, putting the hard ones in to warm before the soft ones if he is producing a blend.
This method is dependent upon having honey which has crystallized with an acceptable texture when it first sets. If the beekeeper has honey which is coarse, and of a gravel-like texture, this can be brought right back to a fluid using the temperature suggested for clear honey, and then seeded with some honey of the right texture. If the beekeeper studies his honey and sees coarse honey turning up regularly, and can identify the source, this should be 'seeded' when it is taken from the settling tank into the cans for storage. In this way he can avoid coarse honey and the problems it may cause at bottling time.
For the production of clear honey the crystallized crop has to be rendered back to fluid. This is done by heating to 52°C (125°F) for 2 days. Again adjustment will be needed for the size of storage container and hardness of the honey. When the honey is taken from the warming cabinet it can be strained very easily and quickly through a nylon cloth to remove from settled honey the last few bits of wax and aggregated lumps of pollen that otherwise give the final honey a cloudy appearance instead of a bright sparkle. A temperature of 52°C will still leave a considerable number of crystals small enough to get through the straining cloth, so that the honey will rapidly recrystallize, and there would hardly be time to get it to the shops and sell it before it was half set again. To avoid this, it should be heated again after bottling, this time to 62°C (145°F) for an hour in a waterbath. This heating is done with the lids on and screwed down; there is no danger of the bottles bursting, as the lids are not totally airtight. This process will give a shelf life of about 6-9 months before the honey begins to regranulate.
