Subject: Re: Cold pressed honey

From: [email-masked] (John E. Taylor III)
Date: Tue, 03 Oct 1995 07:14:32 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Brian R.
Oldham) wrote:

> [deletions]   If the primary flower source is named then it can be
> expensive, otherwise it is blended (a bit like the difference between
> single malt whisky and blended).
> 
>[deletions]
> Now I wonder if factory produced (supermarket) honey isn't bulked out
> with sugar syrup - or does it lose flavour by being extracted by hot
> pressing?  What else do they do to it?
> 

Remember that the bees do quite a bit of blending themselves.  They gather
>from  one particular source until it runs out, then they switch to something
else.  I'd be hard pressed to identify what flower was the source of any of
my honey because we have such a mix in my area (suburban Philadelphia).  On
bland honey, I had a lovely crop of very light, very mild honey this
spring, several shades lighter than normal.  I suspect local consumers
would consider this a premium honey, even though I personally prefer a
darker honey with more flavor...which I'll get from the summer/fall crop.

Bottom line: honey is a natural product, and as such is not consistent. 
The bees themselves can produce honey that is like the supermarket stuff,
even without human intervention.  (Isn't clover honey the supermarket
standard?)  They can also produce delightful honeys ranging over several
shades, in several assertive flavors.  I'll concur in another posting that
said, get as close as possible to the producer.

-- 
John Taylor    (W3ZID)      |  "The opinions expressed are those of the
e-mail: [email-masked] |   writer and not of Rohm and Haas Company."

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From: Steve Bambara <[email-masked]>
Date: 2 Oct 1995 16:50:33 GMT

[email-masked] (Brian R. Oldham) wrote:
>>However, on a recent holiday in the south of England, I brought back a
>jar of local honey, and the label clearly said "Cold Pressed". It was
>thick and cloudy and had bits floating about in it.  I wasn't too
>worried about that. But it was delicious. It had real, distinct flavour.
>What do you guys think?
Brian,
	I can only speak in generalities, but in the US the trend is for
a honey light in color and mild in flavor.  It is what sells best
probably because it is least objectionable to the majority.
If you like strong honey or a specific flavor, purchase from a
local beekeeper.  Trash in your honey does not mean it is good product
though you are probably correct in thinking that it has not be filtered.
The definition of cold pressed is open to interpretation, but it may
mean that it was not extracted from a comb in the modern method.
The comb may have been mechanically destroyed and the honey strained
out through a rough strainer.
	You may also have encountered some heather honey which is very
thixiotropic, i.e. it doesn't run very well.  Often it doesn't work
in modern extractors so the comb is crushed and the honey drains.
	Buy what you like and from someone you trust.  I think store bought
honey is quality to the overwhelmingly large extent.

***************************************************************
Steve Bambara  Dept. of Entomology, Box 7626, Raleigh, NC 27695
[email-masked]    (919) 515-1661    fax (919) 515-7273

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From: [email-masked] (Karen Black)
Date: 2 Oct 1995 21:18:00 GMT

[email-masked] (Rick Hough) writes:
>> Sometimes I have the impression that it isn't as
>>tasty as it ought to be. The labels seldom give much information about
>>the product. If the primary flower source is named then it can be
>You have hit the nail on the head - "supermarket honey" is (gernerally)
>blended - the reason is that the marketing "experts" seem to think that
>consumers demand consistent products - they always want the honey to taste
>the same when they open the jar (so say the marketing geniuses) - the only
>problem is that honey can vary significantly due to variations in nectar
>sources. So, the big honey packers (at least in the USA) blend their
>honey so that they produce a consistent product, one that is more "marketable
>to the masses".

Speaking as someone who does a fair amount of cooking with honey, a mild
consistent product is just what I want.  If I'm eating plain honey,
however, I may prefer something more distinctive.  

One can't argue taste.

Karen Black
--
[email-masked]		DoD #250:  SR250, GB500, HD Sprint SS250

"If I'm typecast as a genius, who cares?"
		-- Jeremy Brett, on playing Sherlock Holmes

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From: Bente Schjeflo <[email-masked]>
Date: 2 Oct 1995 22:53:24 GMT

I am an Australian beekeeper looking for a silicone candle
mould. The mould is white with inside profiles, and 
closed off with rubber bands. Many different types exists
and I can import them from Denmark (my country of orign.) and
>from  England. However, I want to import them there to Australia
and need to get in contact with the producer. I have an idea
that it is a German product and sold under the name
'Hobby Kreation'. Maybe there is a similar product in the USA
Can anyone help, please.
We, my Australian husband and I, are about to requeen. We have
ordered queens from Kangooru Island this year and want to make
some queen-sisters from them. We are trying to get our Jenter
Kit drawn out at the moment. Cape weed and Gorce is flowering 
and we have not had to feed the bees this winter.
regards
Bente

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From: [email-masked] (Mark Jensen)
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 1995 20:32:43 -0800

> 'Hobby Kreation'. Maybe there is a similar product in the USA

I have made candle molds from a Dow Corning silicone called HS II RTV. It
is a two part, white silicon compound that has good durability and
flexibility. It is expensive but the molds last forever.

Mark Jensen              Double J Apiaries        [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Rick Hough)
Date: Wed, 04 Oct 1995 13:21:31 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] wrote:

[clip]
>On the heating topic mentioned by another poster, am I right in
>thinking that a main problem is increased hmf content, and that this
>follows a normal time/temperature curve as for most
>chemical processes?

Yes, that is what I was thinking of. Please bear in mind that I am not
a chemist, so my "facts" are certainly open to interpretation! In addition
to the hmf content issue, I have heard that heating honey can cause it to
darken some. I am unsure how heating impacts flavor (or flavour), although
taken to the extreme, one can taste the carmelization when the honey gets
burned.

Rick

****************************************************
* Rick Hough             * email: [email-masked] *
****************************************************

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From: Peter Hill <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 03 Oct 95 09:17:18 GMT

> pressing?  What else do they do to it?

I can't speak on Cold Pressed honey - guess pressing per se is normally
associated with heather honey - or the mysterious and cost-accountant
driven sources and processes supermarket suppliers use, but would 
support those who say honey shouldn't have odd bits in it. 
We use vacuum assisted filtering.
Our view on supermarket honey is best summarised by the text we 
use on our back label:

Quote:
English Beekeepers' Honey is a totally natural product, collected by
honeybees from locally growing flowers. The label should always
quote a precise area or place of origin. The colour and flavour

(or color and flavor if you prefer:-) 

will vary from month to month and year to year, depending on the crop, 
so we always quote the extraction date, just like a wine vintage. 
No-one has yet determined a true "best before" date for honey 
(good honey came out of the tombs of the Pharoahs) but if you can 
bear to keep it rather than eat it we suggest you keep it in a cool 
dark cupboard and use within five years. 
All honey, except honey heavily processed on a large scale, will
granulate with time. This is natural and many people prefer the 
enhanced texture. If you prefer it less firm for spreading, remove the
metal cap and put it in the microwave for about ten to fifteen seconds.

End quote.

-- 
Peter Hill,                        | Many people enjoy music without
Grimsby, England. G7IOY            | wishing to understand the contents
[email-masked]        | - rather like eating a sausage.
Grimsby BKA.                       | (Marc Sabatella, 1992)

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From: [email-masked] (John E. Taylor III)
Date: Thu, 05 Oct 1995 08:02:06 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] (Rick Hough) wrote:

> >follows a normal time/temperature curve as for most chemical processes?
> 
> [deletions]    I have heard that heating honey can cause it to

This is pretty subjective, but the honey that I heated to extract from
cappings by melting the wax in a microwave oven seemed to be darker and
have a slightly sharper flavour than what came out of the extractor
unheated.