Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
labelinG yOur hOney
Check with the state regulations for labeling honey. Usually it's required to include your name and location
of the apiary, as well as the common name of the product (honey), and the amount of honey by weight
being sold. Honey.com has labeling requirements for home-produced honey jars.
Comb Honey
If you choose to harvest comb honey, sometimes called honey in the comb or chunk honey, you
won't have to run your frames through an extractor because you'll be selling both the valuable
beeswax combs and the honey within as is. It also has that traditional charm that is so appealing.
The most popular form of selling comb honey is a combination of extracted honey with a large
chunk of comb in the jar surrounded by extracted honey to fill in all the gaps.
When you are harvesting for comb honey, you have to decide that ahead of time because it will
change the type of foundation or central backing you use in your hive's frames. If you use wire-
embedded foundation you can't produce true comb honey because of the wires. Ultimately you
want high-quality “virgin” beeswax that is brand new, filled with honey, and capped with thin,
delicate cappings so your comb honey is both attractive looking and highly edible.
You'll cut the comb out of the center of the frame (instead of spinning out the honey and leaving
the comb in the frame) to harvest your comb honey. Trim away the rough edges so all that's left is
fully capped, uniform-looking comb. Cut chunks according to the size of the jaw, using the largest
dimensions that the jar will hold. This is a lot easier with a wide-mouth jar, of course. Then fill the
jar with extracted honey and you'll have a gorgeous, highly saleable jar of honey straight from your
own backyard.
Straining the Honey
To extract honey the cheap, but very messy way, you will actually cut out the comb and instead of
chunking it up for comb honey, you will crush it to release the honey. You'll uncap and crush the
honeycombs so you have a giant mash of honeycomb and honey. Then you'll have to strain the
honey to separate it from the comb pieces just as you would strain extracted honey.
After you've harvested the honey, at the minimum you'll have the cappings left over. And if you've
used the crush and strain method you'll have a whole mess of beeswax left. For many crafters and
home DIYers, this is a bonus!
Capping and new wax is the best for crafting purposes, as older wax will have more propolis and
other contaminants in it and will be a darker color instead of the light yellow color of new beeswax.
When you've strained all the honey out of the cappings and beeswax you'll be ready to melt it
down. You may need to wash the cappings in order to get all the honey out. This is a messy
process, but fun.
