>
>
> Filtering of "thick" honeys such as OIL-SEED RAPE can be a time
> consuming job.It is of course possible to speed things up by heating but
> there is no doubt that this degrades the quality of the honey
>
> This only leaves high pressure honey pumps or high speed centrifuge
> filters-both
>
> Alan Riach
> West Lothian,Scotland
>
 
Another method of processing without filtering is to settle the honey.  I do
not heat my honey.  I leave it in a room at 85 to 90 degrees F.  When
extracting I keep the extractor at low speed until the combs are almost
empty then speed it up to finish up.  From  the extractor it goes through a
course strainer and then is poured slowly into a holding tank.  When full
the top is placed on the tank and sealed with stretch wrap to keep out
moisture.  It is then left to settle between 2 weeks to a month depending on
thickness.  I have known beekeepers the store it this way for 3 months for
clear show honey.  Using this method, wax particles and other impurities
will float to the top.  When the honey has had time to settle,  I bottle
from the bottom of the container and the very last which contains trash is
filtered through a stocking and is sold as filtered or used for cooking. I
have seen this method used for the thickest of honeys.  It just takes a
little longer to settle.
 
Frank Humphrey
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>