P-O Gustafsson wrote:

> What really is happening is a crystallization of the honey. This is best
> and easiest done just below 15C.

Agreed. Optimum is 57F or 13.9C.

> However, honey get very difficult to stir at so low temp, so we usually
use a higher temp for > mixing the starter in. Up to 27-28C is OK...

Honey can be stirred easily at 15C with a mechanical stirrer in order to
cream it, but I agree that the higher temperature is required to mix in the
starter thoroughly.

> Stirring large batches of honey for days is a waste of time,

The point of stirring as the honey starts to set is to produce a soft set
honey which does not frost.  If you mix in the starter and then bottle
immediately then two things will happen: the honey is likely to set very
hard and, because honey shrinks as it sets, unless it is stored at a
constant temperature, it will pull away from the side of the jar causing
frosting.  Dyce (who first invented a reliable process for producing set
honey) suggested 'conditioning' honey by warming the jars to 84F for 3 days
so that the honey could relax.  However, it is much more reliable to 'cream'
the honey in order to break the crystal structure.

>...using a proper starter made as described here:
> http://www.algonet.se/~beeman/research/krist-e-nf.htm

I am struggling to understand this website.  Firstly, it takes little power
to stir honey at 15C because of the gearing - my motor is just a couple of
hundred watts and therefore uses little power to stir, say, 5 times a day
for 15 minutes for 3 days.
However, my main problem is with the production of the 'living starter'.
This is produced from starter that 'need not be fine grain'.  So how do you
get from coarse crystals to a final fine grain product?  Seeding honey with
a coarse-grained starter will produce a very coarse-grained end product.
Commercial packers grind the starter in order to produce fine crystals.  How
does the Ekobi method achieve this?

Peter Edwards
[log in to unmask]
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/

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