Next steps; grip-relaxing bimbling, and avoiding the temptations

KajiKita

All sounding positive and productive 😊

What’s baker’s honey?

KK

Suffolk_lass

KajiKita said:

All sounding positive and productive 😊

What’s baker’s honey?

KK

It can be starting to ferment or too high in moisture content. Although it is legal to sell honey up to 20% moisture, it is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the atmosphere) so if it is not in an airtight tub (and this wasn't, because I kept checking it), it can start to develop a sort of "honey foam" - it still tastes lovely but I can't jar and sell it so it is for cooking. There is legal description of "Bakers Honey" and it relaxes some of the controls around the legal content. It is perfect for cooking though, and I could sell it for that, if I am confident the person buying it knows it's not for selling on toast!

KajiKita

Suffolk_lass said:

KajiKita said:

All sounding positive and productive 😊

What’s baker’s honey?

KK

It can be starting to ferment or too high in moisture content. Although it is legal to sell honey up to 20% moisture, it is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the atmosphere) so if it is not in an airtight tub (and this wasn't, because I kept checking it), it can start to develop a sort of "honey foam" - it still tastes lovely but I can't jar and sell it so it is for cooking. There is legal description of "Bakers Honey" and it relaxes some of the controls around the legal content. It is perfect for cooking though, and I could sell it for that, if I am confident the person buying it knows it's not for selling on toast!

Thanks for the explanation 😊
This must be why my dad is always in such a rush to process and bottle his honey? (That, and the fact the process and its sheer STICKINESS drives my mum a bit batty! 😉)

KK

Suffolk_lass

If he uses the kitchen, it is likely the process attracts wasps. Over here, we jar a 30lb (14k, 10L) bucket at a time in winter (5L in summer as they fit in the summer oven, if they need softening in order to get out of the bucket!). It is monstrously sticky and a PITA for the hobby beekeeper!

KajiKita

My dad jars straight from the ripened into ‘1lb’ jars with new lids. He buys them brand new and I suspect that there is a a fair cost to them, but then all he has to do is stand them in a warm place for a while, if they have crystallised in the cellar, and then label them up. It’s straight off to the coffee shop with them then 😊 I think he gets £9 a jar and the coffee shop retails at £18. 

KK

Suffolk_lass

Wow, that's a good price. Honey that is going to crystallise, does so at 14c, but will not at 10c - I don't know anyone with a 10c environment. If your dad wants to dissolve all the crystals it is 50c and to condition in the jar (to avoid it re-crystallising too quickly, it is 60-65 and then chill it quickly). It's a bit nerdy, but worth knowing some of the key temperatures. Any more than 65c and any particles of wax in the honey will melt and detract from the flavour

KajiKita

My dad’s honey has quite a unique taste due to the huge row of sweet lime trees in the garden above the hives, and the great swathes of rosebay willow herb in the estuary nearby. He’s been producing it for a long time so it’s getting quite well known. I get six jars a year 😉

I will share the temperature information with him 😊

KK

foxgloves

So interesting reading about the honey. My favourite is borage honey. My Mum bought me a jar years ago from a posh deli in Suffolk when she & Dad went over for a day trip. It became an instant favourite & I was gutted when it ceased to be sold there as it had become an annual gift. Luckily more recently, I've been able to get it locally from a bee-keeping couple who often sell at artisan craft/food markets so I look out for them. Our local refill shop sells honey from a local bee keeper in both jars & on tap so customers can take their own jars in to fill. That's lovely too.
F

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, that's a good idea. I might have a word with the refills lady at the market. There is already a beekeeper there, selling her own products. I have stolen one idea from that stall already (charity shop small, decorative coffee cups and saucers with beeswax candles in for Christmas), but she is not happy to have a second (not actually her decision but in the interests of good relations, not for now).

I'm glad to hear you are both eating proper honey - always read the labels in SM - "A blend of EU and non EU honeys" is the label to avoid. Investigations always identify a high percentage of honey fraud - syrup containing no pollens, fed in closed sheds is the classic - honey syrup! It really is a case of buy local.

Lime honey is delicious. You are very fortunate!

We had Phacelia honey this year - it's a cover crop in the borage family and a complete pollinator magnet. We try to grow it in the garden, under hedges but the farms locally have planted it to stabilise some of the sandy soil. Mine sold really quickly at the folk fair I took it to. It is a lovely runny honey.

I've made the first batch of honey fudge today, and spent yesterday making decorative candles. I need to get out and offer honey to other places this week but that should be doable too. I also need to drop a sample in for a microscopist to identify the pollens in one of our summer honeys

KajiKita

My dad had that pollen analysis of his honey done one year. Whilst there were things we expected, there were also quite high percentages of plants we’d never heard of! 😊 I assume they are wildlings 🤔🤷‍♀️😊

KK