Straining honey

[pargyle]

I worked in the slaughterhouse at Doncaster market as a teenager ... wasn't allowed to get involved in the actual killing - I just had to sweep and clean ... not the best job in the world but it was good pay for a Saturday job ...

Then, whilst at College, I worked in Borthwicks Meat wholesalers in Portsmouth meat market.. my lectures were all afternoons so I did mornings in the meat market. We ate very well whilst I was there ... The other porter was Norman .. five foot six of solid muscle who had a twisted sense of humour ... on the day he dumped a 300lb hindquarter off the lorry hook onto my shoulder to carry to the chiller and re-hook .. I could not lift my feet off the ground to move and he just stood there laughing. Mind you .. I went into the cold store one morning and screamed when he peered round the corner with an ox tongue gripped in his teeth and two ox eyes in gripped in front of his eyes ... if I stood still too long he would grab me and I'd be on his shoulder and carried round the market ... £18 a week in 1967 ! Plus the perks of free meat ...

 

[Garry R]

Have always been irritated by the time and effort it takes to get rid of the scum after settling and then bottling. However have what seems to be a solution. I use a bucket which can take about 90lbs honey but I only use 60lbs total as find it difficult to lift it up if there is more. I use two conical filters but tie a knot in the end of them to shorten them. One of them I jam into the bottom of the settling tank at an angle with one edge above the tap and the other side at the bottom of the bucket. The circular frame of the filter makes a tight fit against the bucket, The other one is at the top of the bucket on a frame I made with a circular hole. I pour 30lbs through this filter and when it is through pour the second 30lbs through. Then let it all settle. The main particles are removed by the first filter and you will see all the scum on the top surface of the honey. Start jarring and as the level goes down the scum gets caught on the second lower filter when it hits it. Great thing is that the scum never reaches the top of the exit hole as it is trapped on the lower filter. Really works well and effectively double filtered although both filters are the same filter size.

 

[madasafish]

Have always been irritated by the time and effort it takes to get rid of the scum after settling and then bottling. However have what seems to be a solution. I use a bucket which can take about 90lbs honey but I only use 60lbs total as find it difficult to lift it up if there is more. I use two conical filters but tie a knot in the end of them to shorten them. One of them I jam into the bottom of the settling tank at an angle with one edge above the tap and the other side at the bottom of the bucket. The circular frame of the filter makes a tight fit against the bucket, The other one is at the top of the bucket on a frame I made with a circular hole. I pour 30lbs through this filter and when it is through pour the second 30lbs through. Then let it all settle. The main particles are removed by the first filter and you will see all the scum on the top surface of the honey. Start jarring and as the level goes down the scum gets caught on the second lower filter when it hits it. Great thing is that the scum never reaches the top of the exit hole as it is trapped on the lower filter. Really works well and effectively double filtered although both filters are the same filter size.

Scum removal? Easy with clingfilm rolled over the top and lifted off. I then place on a sieve , and jar the honey it for our own use

 

[Garry R]

Scum removal? Easy with clingfilm rolled over the top and lifted off. I then place on a sieve , and jar the honey it for our own use

Have never managed to get that to work in my hands and always ended up with a right sticky mess. This seemed to be easier. Each to their own,

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Have always been irritated by the time and effort it takes to get rid of the scum after settling and then bottling. However have what seems to be a solution. I use a bucket which can take about 90lbs honey but I only use 60lbs total as find it difficult to lift it up if there is more. I use two conical filters but tie a knot in the end of them to shorten them. One of them I jam into the bottom of the settling tank at an angle with one edge above the tap and the other side at the bottom of the bucket. The circular frame of the filter makes a tight fit against the bucket, The other one is at the top of the bucket on a frame I made with a circular hole. I pour 30lbs through this filter and when it is through pour the second 30lbs through. Then let it all settle. The main particles are removed by the first filter and you will see all the scum on the top surface of the honey. Start jarring and as the level goes down the scum gets caught on the second lower filter when it hits it. Great thing is that the scum never reaches the top of the exit hole as it is trapped on the lower filter. Really works well and effectively double filtered although both filters are the same filter size.

I find it much easier to monitor the contents of the bucket and when the scum starts to be drawn down into the valve simply use the remaining honey for friends and family. Saves a lot of farting about.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I strain through a large mesh when extracting and putting into a bucket. When I warm the honey for jarring I use cling film to get rid of most of the scum then put through a fine filter when pouring into the jarring machine.
Some of my jars have a few bubbles and possibly some very fine wax particles trapped in the shoulders of the jar but punters seem to be very positive about it saying it's nice to see it's not ultra filtered.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Some people must have exceedingly cruddy honey to generate so much scum, I find that a quick scoop with a large serving spoon as the level nears the top of the gate valve as you decant the honey from the large settling tank into buckets (most of it has by that time gathered near the aperture) gets the majority, the remainder easily removed with the cling film trick when you use the bottling tank.