2.3 Honey Extraction Flashcards
What is thixotropic honey?
Thixotropic means that it becomes temporarily fluid when shaken or stirred but a gel again when left standing
From what floral source does thixotropic honey come in the UK?
Ling heather - Calluna vulgaris
Which constituent of honey can make it thixotropic?
High protein content
Methods used to extract and jar thixotropic honey and the difficulties that may be encountered.
Pressing: Honey is cut out of the combs and placed in a bag. Good idea to warm the honey before placing in a press. Very messy and certain amount is lost.
Scraping using a Smiths Cutter.
Perforextractor: Large roller like a rolling pin with needles that perforate and excite the honey so that it turns liquid. Then extract in a tangential extractor. Need to work fast before honey stats to go like jelly again.
High water content means ling honey is prone to ferment.
Other ways heather honey can be sold
Cut comb honey or blended
Tangential extractor
Frames lie in same direction as barrel of the drum. The outer side of the frame is the one that empties when spinning.
The machine is evenly loaded and spun until perhaps half the outer side is extracted. Flecks of honey fly from the frame onto side of barrel.
The frames are then turned round so that the other face of the comb is facing outwards, and the machine spun until this side is completely empty. The frame is turned for one last time and the last of the honey removed.
This routine prevents combs breaking as the full, inner side bursts through the empty outer side. Each frame has to be handled four times, i.e. load, turn, turn, unload and the machine has to be started and stopped three times.
The amount of handling and time taken are a disadvantage. On the other hand, extraction can be more thorough than in alternative machines.
lt is also the most compact extractor available, consequently cheaper, and if heather honey is expected, this is the only type to cope with it.
Summary of benefits:
Advantages:
Useful for small number of frames
Economical on space
Value for money
Disadvantages:
Time consuming
Limited number of frames (about 6)
Unwired combs can break under force
Radial extractor
Frames sit between inner and outer rings, arranged like the spokes of a wheel perpendicular to the wall of the drum.
Extracts honey from both sides simultaneously, so there is no need to juggle the frames once loaded.
Larger then tangential machines, to ensure that frames are far enough from the centre for centrifugal force to be powerful enough drive the honey out.
For a given size, though, they can hold many more frames than a tangential, e.g. a 20-frame radial will take only 8 frames tangentially. Most radial machines can have tangential screens fitted to convert them, in order to be able to handle deep frames, or extract heather honey.
Advantages
Faster, no need to turn frames
Frames less likely to break
More frames can be processed at one time
Disadvantages
Less efficient in amount of honey extracted per rotation
Materials a honey extractor can be made of
Stainless steel
Food grade plastic
Preparation and bottling of liquid honey, including ling heather honey
Assuming that the honey had been stored in a crystallised state, the process is:
Scrape top of honey to remove alien materials
Heat to 50°C until liquid and clear (This can take from 1 to 3 days depending on the amount and type of honey)
For Ling honey heat to 40°C and stir
Strain through a fine filter (0.5mm mesh)
Leave to settle, to remove air bubbles and allow remaining alien material to rise to surface(This can take from 1 to 2 days)
Clean surface with cling film, to remove remaining alien material
Clean and dry jars and lids
Bottle into pre-warmed jars
Heat to 60-62°C for ¾ to 1 hour in water bath after securing lids to remove final crystals and pasteurise
Heat honey for the minimum time in order to preserve the enzymes and Diastase and HMF levels.
