Leaving honey in extractor

[Lautarinho]

Can honey be left in an aluminium extractor? I'm out of storage space and not ready to jar them yet.

 

[sharonh]

I would filter it into a settling tank or food grade buckets until your ready to jar them. I wouldn't leave it in the extractor unless it is air- tight.

 

[VEG]

If you are selling you shouldn't be using an aluminium extractor.

 

[Lautarinho]

Actually, it's probably stainless steel. I was just wondering if the honey would spoil by reacting to the metal.

 

[Swarm]

How do you propose to remove it once it granulates?

 

[Lautarinho]

Right, this is my first year extracting, so I wouldn't know what to do if it granulates in a plastic bucket either. As well as having no alternative storage right at this minute, I thought the extractor tap would be great for jarring the honey, not so? Best stick my head in a book when I get home.

 

[Swarm]

First of all, how much honey are we talking here? Store your honey in food grade plastic buckets and when you want to jar it, it can be brought back to liquid state using gentle heat, generally in a warming cabinet of some sort. Is there a bakery nearby? You may be able to get some buckets off them.

 

[itma]

... I wouldn't know what to do if it granulates in a plastic bucket either. ...
... I thought the extractor tap would be great for jarring the honey, not so?

If it granulates in a (foodsafe plastic) bucket, it is reasonably possible to warm it back to a liquid.
Warming the extractor might not be quite so simple... !

After extracting, the honey needs to go through a strainer (or better two: a coarse then a fine mesh) to remove lumps of wax, bits of bee, etc.
It is conventional to strain it as it goes from extractor to bucket. (Really fine filtration - for showing - can come later.)
It then needs to sit awhile (minimum overnight) to settle ("ripen"). You'll expect to find a scum of pollen brought to the surface by the bubbles. You can skim the scum off for a beek's perk.

Usually people will let it sit in a bucket for a good while, to get some idea as to how keen it might be to granulate.

Nutshell upsum: Jarring a decent product does not follow immediately after extracting.


Regarding the honey 'reacting with the metal' - that kinda depends on what the metal actually is - and is why stainless matters.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Right, this is my first year extracting, so I wouldn't know what to do if it granulates in a plastic bucket either. As well as having no alternative storage right at this minute ...

If you haven't got much honey you could store it in ordinary plastic food containers until you're ready to deal with it. You might end up filling several, but it'll better than only a quarter or half filling a large bucket.

 

[Lautarinho]

Thanks everyone. There's about three and a half supers worth of honey, I've done the double filter thing, but was wondering whether a final pass through cheese cloth (or tights) would still be worthwhile. Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Arfermo]

Thanks everyone. There's about three and a half supers worth of honey, I've done the double filter thing, but was wondering whether a final pass through cheese cloth (or tights) would still be worthwhile. Anyway, thanks again.

A final filter essential if want to sell or show the results. I use the very finest nylon net curtaining from a local haberdasher (2 sm or so) which I secure, doubled, to the bucket with elastic while the honey runs through. Warmed first the honey goes through quite quickly leaving residues that, after the intial straining that you mention, goes very well on a piece of toast or in cooked rhubarb.

 

[Lautarinho]

Would a pair of tights do?

 

[Heather]

Not if they have been worn..and there may be colouring agents in the nylon. and anyway, shouldn't be necessary.
A thick sieve with a finer sieve underneath .. works fine for me.. up to honey competition standard.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Not if they have been worn..and there may be colouring agents in the nylon. and anyway, shouldn't be necessary.
A thick sieve with a finer sieve underneath .. works fine for me.. up to honey competition standard.

I got the Cheapy Kit from big T which has a paired set of sieves I believe they are sold separately as well. but then I wanted to refine further and used a fine tea strainer. Could only do a very slow stream so Painted my for sale sign while filtering the first lot. Hunted high and low for a fine mesh strainer to fit inside my Kilner jar funnel but all sieves were unbalanced with a handle. Yesterday I found a very large teapot tea holder with v fine mesh for leaf tea so I am going to try that and will let you know how I get on.

 

[Illo]

I got the Cheapy Kit from big T which has a paired set of sieves I believe they are sold separately as well. but then I wanted to refine further and used a fine tea strainer. Could only do a very slow stream so Painted my for sale sign while filtering the first lot. Hunted high and low for a fine mesh strainer to fit inside my Kilner jar funnel but all sieves were unbalanced with a handle. Yesterday I found a very large teapot tea holder with v fine mesh for leaf tea so I am going to try that and will let you know how I get on.

I use the standard double sieve for sale grade honey. For show grade I use a plastic and mesh coffee filter, which is probably much the same grade as the strainer bit from the teapot. It sits perfectly on the top of a honey jar, so I can strain straight into the jar, which avoids air bubbles. The clarity is great. The only down side is that each jar takes about an hour to go through because the mesh is so fine. A search on fleabay for 'single cup coffee filter' or mesh coffee filter' brings up things that are of the right sort.

LJ