 |
Iowa Honey Producers Association |
The Buzz Newsletter September 2005 |
 |
|
Harvesting & Processing Honey Thousands of colonies are utilized each year throughout the United States for pollination purposes. Many of that number are eventually moved to various areas for the production of honey during the later months of the season. Others are moved several times to other areas strictly for pollination services. Such colonies are likely not to produce any surplus honey but may store sufficient amounts for their own survival during months of dormancy.
NOW IS THE TIME as late Summer approaches that the beekeepers heavy work of beekeeping begins as the task of removing the surplus honey from each colony begins. The heavier each honey super the more the beekeeper enjoys the task as this means a bountiful crop. Such work can be a difficult and unpleasant task unless steps are taken to make it a bit easier and enjoyable. As the season comes to an end and there is little or no nectar available for the bees to forage the most any maneuver with colonies will create bees robbing. This leads to all colonies becoming temperamental and the beekeeper in turn will be the same as robber bees begin delivering stings. TO AVOID THIS situation, and it is possible, if there are no other bees in the near vicinity simply upon entering the apiary- remove all covers and innercovers from all colonies. To make it even more efficient- place all surplus honey supers on the lids beside each hive. If there is time to spare the longer the time waited to blow the bees from the surplus honey the better. A lot of the bees will leave the honey and return to the hive. Then comes the process of blowing the bees from the honey combs and loading them to be transported from the apiary. A few seconds of time is all that is required to remove the bees from each super of honey. As soon as the honey is all ready to move out then is the time to smoke the bees off the top combs and replace the covers. If there are some partly filled combs, leave those supers with the bees.Using this system you will find there is NO robbing and there will be not more than a few dozen bees in the supers of honey. Many beekeepers use fume boards to drive the bees from the honey supers. That can be quite successful but often there are gobs of bees still within the supers and they will be carried into the processing plant where they are not wanted. Using this system often leads to a robbing situation IF there is no nectar available for the bees at that time.
NOW THAT THE HONEY HAS BEEN COLLECTED the next move is the processing of one of our most healthful foods. A very small percentage of honey is produced as COMB HONEY. The major crop is for liquid honey and care must be taken to preserve the quality.
The removal of the capping is easy and simple with a steam or electrical heated knife. About 20 percent of the honey is cut away along with the cappings so it should be drained from the wax caps and handled like the rest of the honey. Should the honey be of high moisture as it I is taken from the bees it is possible to dry it to some extent while still in the comb. It can be placed in a room along with a dehumidifier along with a circulating fan and that will do the job. If the room is small and tight make sure the temperature doesn’t rise above 90 degrees or the combs will drop the honey in a melt-down. If honey is reasonably warm as it is being extracted it can be strained to eliminate wax particles then it can be stored in the containers of your choice or buckets or barrels. All should be food use containers. Having applied no heat during the extracting process means that such honey will be beginning to granulate probably within a short time. All good honeys granulate with the exception of the Tupilo honey.
The best honey on the market is honey that has NEVER been subjected to high temperatures. We found that high temperatures were not necessary to make honey marketable and by not using the high temperatures the honey retained most of its original color and flavor and the yeast and enzymes were not destroyed. So if you have honey that has granulated just place the containers in a small room or box (depending on the quantity) keep the temperature at 118 degrees along with a circulating fan until the honey is completely liquid. As soon as all is liquid, place it in a container where the temperature can be maintained at 118-120 degrees and agitated for about four hours. This assures you that all the honey is of equal temperature. The straining should have been done when the honey was placed in the agitating container so no more straining will be necessary. Now the honey is ready for the marketing containers. Using this method will provide your customers with as neat and healthful product as possible. It will cause you no trouble in granulating before it is sold and used. Granulated containers of honey when placed in a warming room of 118-120 degrees should be placed on strips to hold the bottoms off the floor. The circulating fan then can get the air all around the containers. For large amounts of honey a stainless steel milk tank is ideal. It has an agitator and can be kept warm with warm water around it. A temperature control should ALWAYS be in the honey when dealing with liquid honey and in the warm room when liquefying the honey.
You will be surprised at the difference in you product as you begin to process by warming honey instead of really heating it to the extreme. Seeing is believing. As soon as the honey has completely turned to liquid form in plastic containers, it is best to pour it into stainless steel or tinned containers to hold the required time at 120 degrees. The Kelly Co, Clarkson, Kentucky has an ideal tank for small amounts of honey. It is a double jacketed tank with heat control and an agitator. The emersion type heater. In all cases a temperature control should be used. By the way, when warming each and every container of honey make sure to first remove all the lids whether it is barrels or buckets. When storing honey make sure all lids are air tight. Forty years of handling honey in this manner told us
It sold itself!
|
NO
ADVERTIZING WAS NECESSARY. |
|
 |