At 11:24 AM 3/11/2008, Jeffery Swan wrote:
>This honey was then left on over the winter (here in
>Michigan) and I wanted to know if it was salvageable. My concern is that
>it may have crystalized in the comb (is that possible?) and will not be
>able to be extracted.
It certainly can crystallize in the comb. If you have a warmer in which you can maintain a temperature of around 100 degrees for a period of several days, you can mostly liquify the honey in the comb without melting the wax. You should then be able to extract most of the honey. Be sure to let it cool and handle it very gently when taking it out of the warmer because it will be very fragile. An old chest freezer with a heater, fan to evenly distribute the heat and a thermostat works well. Some have used lights in a freezer to liquify honey without a thermostat, but I'd worry in your case about it potentially getting too warm and the comb may sag or melt.
-Tim
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