On Tue, 15 Aug 1995, David Brown wrote:
 
> I extracted some honey this weekend that had a 19.4 moisture level using a
> friend's refractometer.
>
> Question:  What are accetable levels of moisture and what can be done to lower
> the level after extracting?
 
For unpasteurised honey it is 17.8%.  Drier is better down to about 16%.
 
> Question:  What are some of the problems with high moisture honey?
 
It will sooner or later ferment if stored at room temperature.  Store it
in as freezer - if you have room - until you need it or blend it with
drier honey.  You can also pasteurise it by heating it to 125 degrees F
for 6 hours or 160 degrees F for a few minutes.
 
Thin honey will run off your toast, but it is the world's best pancake
syrup.  We thin some out and keep it in the fridge like maple syrup.
 
Fermentation in wet honey (19%) takes some time, because special sugar
tolerant yeasts (which are everywhere) must start the process.  It won't
happen overnight, but shelf life will be likely less than one year.
 
Whenever we have some - occasionally up to 20% in a wet week, we send it
to the packer - marked specially so they will use it soon- and they use it
to blend with overly dry honey to arrive at the ideal moisture for store
packs.
 
One trick to avoid wet honey is to pull boxes in the morning - not in the
afternoon or evening on the day of a heavy flow - or when the flow has
tapered off.  In some (damp) areas, one must wait until the cells are
capped.  This is not the case here.  We extract often with cells 75% or
more uncapped and still usually have honey in the 16% range.
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                        VE6CFK
Rural Route One   Swalwell   Alberta   Canada  T0M 1Y0
Email:   [log in to unmask]    or   [log in to unmask]
Futures, Art & Honey:http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka