To Jar or not to Jar (rape honey) ?

[Etton]

Extracted honey on 6th June (a week ago) am surrounded by rape and and its not crystallised yet as most people say it will. How long should I wait before bottling? I have made a warming cabinet, old fridge, just in case. (Thanks to Linoleum Bonypart for advice and others using a 60w tube heater and an STC1000, thinking of incorporating a fan)

 

[Finman]

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Buy from supermarket soft crystallized honey. Mix it to your honey as a seed. Then do like soft honey procedure says. Mix it in under 20C as long as you can stir it.

If you jar your honey as running, you get a terrible product. Rape honey crystallized in few days when it begins. Idea is to break crystals and make much small crystals instead of few.

 

[Jonathan]

I wouldn’t wait at all. Bottle straight away or you will be in trouble.

 

[Jonathan]

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If you jar your honey as running, you get a terrible product.

I nearly always jar mine without any seeding. Ok it does set hard but it’s far from terrible. In fact it’s my Mrs favourite so all a matter of opinion.

 

[Finman]

I nearly always jar mine without any seeding. Ok it does set hard but it’s far from terrible. In fact it’s my Mrs favourite so all a matter of opinion.

I have harvested and sold 40 years rape honey, and very few would buy such stuff. It is like sand or gravel, and not very tasty alone.

 

[mintmoth]

I've just done mine this morning from my one productive hive. Only having a small amount I find it less faff to turn it into soft set before it starts to set by itself, then there's no messing about warming it up to the runny stage again.
I appreciate that if you have a lot of honey it's easier to store it in buckets than jars though, and soft set it as required.

 

[Finman]

I have made soft set honey over 50 years. You must only start and try, how to make it.

 

[Poly Hive]

What quantity are you talking about please as what I would say for 20 lbs is far from what I would say for a ton.

PH

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Wait till it sets then do the creamed process no rush

 

[bjosephd]

I have honey that crystallised in the buckets in storage slowly over winter. One spring harvested and the other summer/autumn harvested honey.

Any suggestions for getting it jar’d up without deteriorating it’s quality by over processing/heating it

We have no oilseed rape near us, although plenty of dandelions in spring, not sure about the ivy. But generally very diverse.

Thanks

 

[colinc]

You need a honey warmer or a big Bain-Marie with thermostat if it is in buckets autumn honey needs to be 35-40degC to liquify and OSR/spring a little over 40. Stir it when warm to mix the heat.


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[Millet]

I jarred some rape honey straight away in my first year, it was only around 20 jars of the stuff and it set like concrete fairly quick, what a time consuming nightmare i had soft setting each jar separately, i only have a chicken egg incubator at the time and i could only fit four jars in at a time, never again it will go into a bucket from now on and i can deal with it all in one go by doing a bucket at a time.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Warm to 35c then use a stainless paint stirrer to break down the crystals then jar
Be careful not to a braid the plastic bucket making bits

 

[Etton]

What quantity are you talking about please as what I would say for 20 lbs is far from what I would say for a ton.

PH

Around 70 llbs

 

[Etton]

Warm to 35c then use a stainless paint stirrer to break down the crystals then jar
Be careful not to a braid the plastic bucket making bits

But there are no crystals yet, thats my question how long to wait, is it inevitable whether remaining in buckets or jarred.

 

[drex]

My OSR honey was slow to set this year, I think there was a fair bit of hawthorn in it. But set it did. I always re melt and then seed for a soft set. My spring harvest is always mainly OSR.

 

[Etton]

You need a honey warmer or a big Bain-Marie with thermostat if it is in buckets autumn honey needs to be 35-40degC to liquify and OSR/spring a little over 40. Stir it when warm to mix the heat.


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Is that it then? Or maybe follow Finmans route of seeding with another creamed honey. How much creamed honey would i need for 75 llbs. Maybe I should do half & half!

 

[Millet]

Is that it then? Or maybe follow Finmans route of seeding with another creamed honey. How much creamed honey would i need for 75 llbs. Maybe I should do half & half!

10%.

 

[Millet]

My OSR honey was slow to set this year, I think there was a fair bit of hawthorn in it. But set it did. I always re melt and then seed for a soft set. My spring harvest is always mainly OSR.

Roughly 3wks for me..

 

[Jonathan]

I have harvested and sold 40 years rape honey, and very few would buy such stuff. It is like sand or gravel, and not very tasty alone.

Forty one years for me and mine has never been like sand or gravel. In fact my rape honey has always set with a very fine granulation. Always sets quickly and hard but a fine granulation nevertheless. Never had a single complaint.