Hello Judy,
you do come up with the damnedest problems that I have ever heard.  Must be
that
coal mining in Kentucky, or something that old Daniel Boone left behind,
maybe it
was that bair he killed with nothing but his knife.

I don't KNOW the answers to your questions, but I have a strong hunch. I
could do better if I saw the honey, smelled the honey, and tasted the honey;
but I am going to give some things to think about.

1) ALL UNprocessed honey contains yeasts, and yeast only chemically act when
in
    a high moisture situation.
2) Honey OVER 17% moisture MAY ferment or may not; but honey OVER 19% moisture
    WILL ferment
3) Temperature plays a role in fermenting. Very little fermentation will
occur at
    temperature lower than 50°, and not too much fermentation will occur at

    temperatures over 100° because high temperature destroy yeasts.
4) What exactly is fermented honey?  Fermentation of honey is caused by the
action
    of sugar-tolerant yeasts on the glucose and fructose sugars in honey
which
    produce alcohol and the gas, carbon dioxide.  When the alcohol is exposed
to the
    oxygen in air, the alcohol is converted to acetic acid, which of course,
smells
    like vinegar.   Generally, fermentation becomes more active if the honey
has
    begun to crystallize because the glucose in the honey has become solid
and hence
    made the remaining solution more watery which elevates the action of the
    yeasts to act on the fructose to break it down faster.
5) Mold is a bacteria that comes from yeasts just as cheese molds as it ages.
6) I have smelled some weird odors in my time, but nothing emanating from
honey
    that smells like kerosene.
7) Your description of the Mason Jar lids really has me confused.
Fermentation
    produces the gas, carbon dioxide, which is the fiss in a coke or ginger
ale.  When
    the jar is heated by the sun during the day, the canning lid should be
forced
    upward by gas pressure, not dimpled in.
8) Become a scientist:  clean ALL the foam off of the surface of the honey,
let stand
    for several days, and if foam re-appears, then you know that fermentation
is
    happening.  BUT WHAT KIND OF FERMENTATION?  See note #9
9) I think the bees have collected HONEYDEW in your area that has a lot of
deciduous
    trees around, like oak, poplar, ask, elm, willow, basswood, and fruit
trees.
    Honeydew is a sweet glutinous liquid excreted in large quantities on the
foliage
    of trees and shrubs by certain insects, namely plant lice and scale
insects. This
    honeydew contains a smaller quantity of glucose and fructose then the
amount
    in regular honey, but it also contains about 8% Maltose and 2% Melezitose
which
    are not found in regular honey PLUS honeydew is less acid than regular
honey and
    has a mineral content, particularly potassium, not found in regular honey.
    Honeydew is considered a delicacy in some European countries (but so is
bird's
    nest soup in Asia), but that doesn't that I want it.  Bees usually will
only collect
    honeydew when there is a dearth of nectar.

I have no exact idea of what you have down there, but I hope that I have
provided
you with some info that is helpful.

I just got back from two weeks of thinking and talking at the annual meeting
of the
American Beekeeping Federation in San Diego.  I am worn out, and now writing
my
February Pink Pages.  I could not have made it without my bee partner, Ann
Harman,
helping me, getting food for me out of buffet lines, buttoning my shirt
because I
have gained weight from lack of exercise in this weather, and driving our
rented
van with an electric ramp for my electric scooter.  In March, she is off to
Uganda
in Africa again to teach beekeeping, and then to more trips later to other
countries.

Back to my PINK PAGES

George