Preparing for October : 23 Other Classes
As well as classes for honey, most shows have classes for wax, cosmetics and honey cookery. So, even if you don’t want to enter classes for honey in the jar, there are plenty of other categories to try. Like preparing honey, showing wax can involve lengthy preparations. You need to use wax (from cappings) and filter it to clean it. However, once you master this preparation, you can be confident that your candles will burn cleanly with a lovely aroma.
Honey shows demonstrate the wide variety of different colours of honey
show prizes, it is an essential part of the hygiene requirements which consumers should expect for purchased honey.
Set Honey
Perhaps the most difficult area for new beekeepers to master is what to do with honey that has set. Honey is a supersaturated solution of sugars and water. Over time, some of the sugars form crystals. Looking at the base of jars in honey shows, you often see rejected jars which are starting to crystallise. Most consumers wouldn’t buy it like that, so beekeepers normally use heat or cold to reduce crystallisation.
Warming Honey
Freezing is one option, but isn’t practical for large quantities, so most beekeepers use heat to clear the granulation from honey. You can do this in the microwave if you have just a few jars (don’t forget to remove any metal lids altogether and loosen plastic lids) but be careful as this method can quickly overheat the honey. Overheated honey
September 2016 Vol 98 No 9
can still be sold, but should be labelled as baker’s honey. Honey sales are subject to honey regulations which ensure the product sold adheres to a number of defined rules. As an example, honey contains various enzymes and one of these, diastase, can be measured by Trading Standards to ensure the honey has not been excessively heated or stored for a long period of time. Heating up honey to remove crystals can alter its aroma and flavour. Perfecting your honey for a honey show, including ensuring it is crystal clear, is a true measure of your abilities. Poorly presented honey does not sell well and shops may ask you to replace jars which have granulated. I tend to follow the heating advice in Ted Hooper’s book Guide to Bees and Honey when it comes to temperatures and durations. If you are heating large buckets of honey which have granulated, you need a warming cabinet. These can be made easily with just a tungsten light
bulb, or alternative suitable heat source, in an old fridge or wooden cabinet, although you can improve them by including a thermostat. There are plans on the Internet on how to build honey warming cabinets and Bee Craft sells a useful booklet, How to make a Warming Cabinet for Two Honey Buckets (
https://www.bee-craft.com/bee- craft-shop/product-category/ beekeeping-booklets/). In my first year of beekeeping, I didn’t have a warming cabinet and found (by accident) that leaving jars of honey in my conservatory on a sunny day provided the same effect!
Honey shows also offer a great opportunity to interact with the general public. You may still feel like a beginner, but to someone who has dropped in to a honey show, you will already be an expert. Spending time talking about bees and beekeeping is a lovely way to pass on some of your knowledge.
October Key Tasks
• Check the colony has enough food for winter by hefting.
• Make sure rodents cannot get in.
• Check that woodpeckers cannot peck and make holes in the hives.
• Clean and store spare equipment.
Apimondia Gold Medal for Popular Beekeeping Journals, 2007, 2013 and 2015
www.bee-craft.com
Claire Waring
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