In response to the request for a posting to Bee-L on tips for preparation of
honey for competition:
 
>I am entering 4 different types of honey in the county fair next
>week.  My lightest honey has very fine, suspended particles in it
>which I can't seem to get out.  I have filtered it through gross and
>fine filters, the last one being a women's stocking.  I think these
>suspended particles are fine pollen specks.  It is most visible in
>the lightest honey.  Does anyone have a method for clearing up this
>honey?  I have let it sit in the sun for a few days and seemed to
>help with the air bubbles but not the specks of pollen.
>If anyone has an idea on how to clear this up, please e-mail me
>directly.  I am doing me best to beat the person who has won most
>all of the honey and beeswax catagories for the last 300 years.
 
1. Select light coloured freshly sealed combs for extraction and extract
separately.
 
2. Do not use any form of heat during extraction.
 
3. Put honey aside to settle for at least 2 weeks and then take off honey
from    tap    at    bottom of tank.  This will clear the pollen particles
suspended     therein.
   The top 6 inches of honey should always be filtered separately.
 
4. Warm and filter the honey through a fine gauze.  This is more to remove
debris than    pollen.
 
5. Select jars without imperfections and examine lid very carefully for
scratches or blemishes.
 
6.  Keep jars in warm room, out of direct sunlight.
 
Honeys are judged on being true to type, viscosity, aroma, colour and clarity.
In the absence of specific classes for honey type or colour grade, lighter
honeys score higher than darker.
 
I do not extract separately as in suggestion 1 but still win 1st and 2nd
each year at the local show against beekeepers who have been working hives
for 40 years.  I need to work harder on my creamed honey though - last year
this class was won by a newbie beekeeper with 2 hives - :(
 
I can't think of anything else you can do to improve your entry for this
year - but there is always next year!
 
Betty McAdam
 
 
HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
j.h. & e. mcadam<[log in to unmask]
http://kigateway.eastend.com.au/hogbay/hogbay1.htm