Variations in honey quality

[ShinySideUp]

Do people blend all their honey together to get a standard product?

When I extracted my honey this year I tended to do it in batches as with a hand-cranked extractor it's rather hard work. So I thought I had two different varieties of honey but now I think I have three. The first lot I extracted was dark and extemely sweet and viscous but after that it all seemed the same but this morning I discovered a problem.

Ignoring the dark honey which is in smaller jars and quite distinctive, the other honey seems to be in two different stages in that one is clear and the other is cloudy. I thought it was because I kept it in a shed and it was rather chilly last night and so made it go cloudy but it has only happened to half the jars making me think that there are other factors here and that perhaps a later, or earlier, super was filled with different honey.

My problem is that I have sold a lot of honey and it was all clear and now half of it is cloudy and repeat buyers might notice the difference.

What might have caused half the jars to go cloudy? They were all kept together so there is no difference in light or temperature.

None of the dark honey is cloudy.

I have moved it all indoors but the cloudy honey is still cloudy and I'm not sure it is going to clear.

 

[Ian123]

Would think the cloudy lot is starting to set,it has nothing to do with quality if that is the case and yes in cooler conditions it will set faster

 

[ShinySideUp]

Would think the cloudy lot is starting to set,it has nothing to do with quality if that is the case and yes in cooler conditions it will set faster

Oh dear, now I'll have to remarket it. Just to clear it up, when I talked of quality I was talking in terms of the qualities or characteristics of the substance rather than it's goodness or otherwise.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Oh dear, now I'll have to remarket it. Just to clear it up, when I talked of quality I was talking in terms of the qualities or characteristics of the substance rather than it's goodness or otherwise.

Honey warmer.
I jarred 60lb half of which was sold as clear honey but in a month the rest has started to set. Just warm it ( overnight at 40 will do it) and put a granulation label on it. If you have any left in buckets soft set it.

 

[For want of a better word]

Honey warmer.
I jarred 60lb half of which was sold as clear honey but in a month the rest has started to set. Just warm it ( overnight at 40 will do it) and put a granulation label on it. If you have any left in buckets soft set it.

Despite the assurances from one particular master beekeeper in one of the association groups I occasionally attend that bottling up straight from the spinner ( via a filter) was the practice that was now the norm....

I follow the traditional way of allowing honey to ripen before bottling, and we are still small enough to batch bottle from single apiaries and times throughout the year.

7 or 14 kilo plastic food safe buckets are easy to stack and reheat ...
Honey "aficionados" that we meet at the local markets and foodie fares often ask if we blend our honey... and will buy two or three jars from different batches, as they like to appreciate the differences.

Leave the blending to Rowse et al who buy honey by the ton from the commercial factory farmers who even then can only meet 10% of the UK demands.

Personally I prefers a "single malt" !!

Yeghes da

 

[SDM]

Same here, when I have obviously different honeys people tend to buy 1 of each rather than 1.
Most customers know that honey is different month to month and site to site. They'd be sceptical of a uniform product all year round.

 

[Finman]

.
Many plants have so faint flavour in nectar that I mix the different honeys. Mostly they are mixed already in the hive.

 

[Ian123]

heres a bit of cut and paste that should give you an idea.

Honeys also vary in the size of the crystals formed. Some form fine crystals and others large, gritty ones. The more rapid honey crystallizes, the finer the texture will be. And crystallized honey tends to set a lighter/paler color than when liquid. This is due to the fact that glucose sugar tends to separate out in dehydrating crystals form, and that glucose crystals are naturally pure white. Darker honeys retain a brownish appearance.

Hungry for more chemistry? Honey is a highly concentrated sugar solution. It contains more than 70% sugars and less than 20% water. This means that the water in honey contains more sugar than it should naturally hold. The overabundance of sugar makes honey unstable. Thus, it is natural for honey to crystallize since it is an over-saturated sugar solution.

The two principal sugars in honey are fructose (fruit sugar) and glucose (grape sugar). The content of fructose and glucose in honey varies from one type of honey to the other. Generally, the fructose ranges from 30- 44% and glucose from 25- 40%. The balance of these two major sugars causes the crystallization of honey, and the relative percentage of each determines whether it crystallizes rapidly or slowly. What crystallizes is the glucose, due to its lower solubility. Fructose is more soluble in water than glucose and will remain fluid.

When glucose crystallizes, it separates from water and takes the form of tiny crystals. As the crystallization progresses and more glucose crystallizes, those crystals spread throughout the honey. The solution changes to a stable saturated form, and ultimately the honey becomes thick or crystallized.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Thanks for all your replies.

In trying to de-crystallise the honey I heated it a little and it made no difference which made me a little concerned, however it seems I was being over-cautious and heated it more by leaving it beside my multi-fuel stove and this has cleared most of the jars. I was careful to ensure that I only heated it enough to clear so I didn't taint the flavour.

Anyway, panic over and yet again I've learned something about beekeeping and it's associated products from this forum. I believe I can promote myself from the rank of 'beginner' to that of 'barely competent'.

 

[madasafish]

Thanks for all your replies.

In trying to de-crystallise the honey I heated it a little and it made no difference which made me a little concerned, however it seems I was being over-cautious and heated it more by leaving it beside my multi-fuel stove and this has cleared most of the jars. I was careful to ensure that I only heated it enough to clear so I didn't taint the flavour.

Anyway, panic over and yet again I've learned something about beekeeping and it's associated products from this forum. I believe I can promote myself from the rank of 'beginner' to that of 'barely competent'.

You may have pollen in your honey from extracting frames with stored pollen. That will give the characteristics you describe..


"Honey with extra pollen" is a selling point - it's a protein food - all the rage apparently (for the naive and easily lead)

 

[Finman]

.
Are you going to melt crystals and sell honey as liquid?

 

[Etton]

Can anyone tell me if you can seed honey (rape or other) straight after extraction to make soft set honey?

 

[Beefriendly]

Yes.
Far less work doing it that way as well.

 

[Ian123]

No need to seed rape honey unless i did not read the question correctly, rape is normaly used as the seed itself if you are adding it to a general honey. Or if its mainly rape then it sets itself. If you bottle rape directly from extractor it tends to set rock hard/concrete with a great deal of unsightly frosting on glass. I filter any rape inc fine filter and into buckets to set straight from extracetor. Once set you can remove any froth from top with a scrape and then heat to get a creamy thick consistancy, this goes into the bottling tank and if you then want add any additional general honey and mix or just use rape itself, i like the look of a (pure) rape honey as its almost white or a very pale cream and is a great contrast to my dark amber summer honey. Once in tank you need to keep it moving mixing in the general honey(no air) with paddle or creamer or just breaking up the rape as it starts to reset. Basicaly the longer you mix it and keep it moving the better, as it will blend better and set smoother.(COULD BE A DAY OR 3) I will then bottle just before point if its left any longer it will take an age to get into jars. The reason for straining rape before putting it into buckets is that its ready to bottle and you do not wish to totaly melt the crystals to strain as you will wait an age for it to reset or seed your general honey...Thats what i do am sure you can work it out with what equipment or the honey you have

 

[Beefriendly]

No need to seed rape honey unless i did not read the question correctly

Me thinks you didn't
If you want soft set from rape "straight from the extractor" you need to seed and mix. As you quite rightly say if you simply let rape set...it sets to a knife bending consistency.
Nice explanation of creaming....I use the abelo creamers...was taking 7-8 days in the hot spell. They need a cooling coil.

 

[Ian123]

Yes doing it in a warm workshop in summer before a show has caused problems and lots of swearing....filling the fridge up has caused domestic issues......turn your back in the winter and it sets.

 

[Finman]

Can anyone tell me if you can seed honey (rape or other) straight after extraction to make soft set honey?

Buy from Lidl soft multi flower honey. You get a good seed.

 

[Beefriendly]

But then you can't sell it as English Honey......

 

[fatshark]

I wouldn't want to ... no-one would buy it here

 

[user 819]

I always extract in small batches and give each a lot number.

My most common honey tends to be lime tinged.
Occasionally some early season dark Horse Chestnut is available.
Last couple of years 2 out apiaries have brought in Honeydew late in the season but not this year, very palatable thick dark strong flavoured honey, setting seems to take about 5 or 6 month at least.
Only once had a reasonable late Balsam honey about 6 year ago at least now.