Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst ... 234
Results 31 to 36 of 36

Thread: Solid rape honey

  1. #31
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Nr Stranraer
    Posts
    668

    Default

    I inadvertantly let my bees completely cap 4 complete supers of rape this year. To my amazement I found the honey to be still liquid - certainly enough to extract and not solid as I expected. After extraction I put it in buckets in my warming cabinet with the temperature set at 40 degrees. I left it in the cabinet for 2 days and then put it thro' the coarse and fine filters fitted to my settling tank with a 400 mesh filter cloth backing the fine filter. the whole lot rapidly filtered as it was still quite warm from the heating cabinet. I ran it into clean buckets to store and with one lot into a bottling bucket fitted with a tap. The bottled honey set but was a buttery creamy colour instead of the usual stark white you get with normal rape. I guess they must have been working the hawthorn plus some other things. The flavour is quite distinct - certainly different from previous years rape honey.

  2. #32
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Aberdeenshire, on top of a wind-swept and exposed hill.
    Posts
    1,190

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by fatshark View Post
    If it's already crystallised in the frame you'll need to melt it out Kitta. ...
    I've only just got round to melting out the crystallised frames. I cut the combs out of the frames and put them in a tub with a tap so that I can draw off the liquid honey as Rosie had suggested. It was still a struggle and I had to keep clearing the bottom filter that got clogged up really quickly. I don't know whether it was getting clogged with honey crystals or bits of wax.

    My question now is, is it safe to give the honey/wax that remained behind in the filters to the bees? It's been in the warming cabinet at about 40 degrees Celsius. Or should I just put the lot in the low oven and then use the honey for mead or something? (I've never made mead.)

    Kitta

  3. #33

    Default

    Hi kitta is your giving it back yo the same hive that should be OK
    I think chalk brood sometimes gets spread by feeding cappings back

  4. #34
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Aberdeenshire, on top of a wind-swept and exposed hill.
    Posts
    1,190

    Default

    Thanks, DR. No, all the cappings are mixed. It did not occur to me to worry about chalk brood - but I don't think any of my colonies suffer particularly from chalk brood to be a problem ...

    What I'm uncertain about is the heat I've used in the warming cabinet - will the honey that's been subjected to heat of about 40 degree Celsius for a day or two be harmful to the bees?

    Kitta

  5. #35

    Default

    Should be fine I think to feed back but the mead sounds good to me

  6. #36
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Aberdeenshire, on top of a wind-swept and exposed hill.
    Posts
    1,190

    Default

    Thanks again, DR. I'll give the bees some, and make mead with the rest. Kitta

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •