At 12:29  9/5/96 -0400, you wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
>Poster:       Ted Fischer <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      Re: Flavor of extracted hone
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  REGARDING           RE>Flavor of extracted honey
>
>Jim Satterfield wrote:
>"My beekeeping friend, P.N., says that if he tastes some of the honey on
>an uncapped comb then compares it with the taste of the honey as it comes
>out of the extractor, the taste is different.  Some of his friends say,
>"Nope, there is no difference."
>
>There most certainly is a difference.  I produce extracted honey exclusively,
>but I always look forward to chewing on pieces of burr comb so prevalent in
>the supers, as do my wife, children and friends.  Everyone says that the
>flavor has no equal.  I think a lot of this flavor is contained in the
>volatile components that waft up and are lost forever.
>
>Ted Fischer
>
 
One thing that I think is being overlooked here is that the beeswax, itself,
has a flavor.  When mixed, in the mouth, with the honey, it will naturally
have a different taste than extracted honey alone.
 
As far as the extractor changing the taste, if the extractor is stainless
steel and has been kept clean, there isn't anything that can change the
taste.  If some other material is coming in contact with the honey during
the extraction process, however, there could be a taste change.
 
 
Regards,
 
 
Mike Wallace
Sar Shalom Apiary
McKinney, Texas   USA
"Out of the heart, the mouth speaks."