# Very Thick Honey



## John Davis (Apr 29, 2014)

The higher temp will help but honey doesn't drain freely from the comb by gravity as easily as the Internet bee gurus lead you to believe.
You will lose about a third that won't drain very possibly more.
For small harvests crush and strain is more efficient.


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

Thanks for the reply, John.
The higher temp in the garage helped a little but the honey is very stiff. It reminded me of when my grandmother would make taffy and the way the syrup was before it set up. It took forever to get one pint scraped out of a pan and through a typical kitchen strainer. Gave up after the pint. As for the crush and strain... at this point the comb is of more value to me than the honey.

If anyone knows a cause for this I would really appreciate hearing from you. If I collect any more this year it will be interesting to see if there are different consistencies.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

I suspect the honey is about the right consistency. If you do not want to do crush and strain, maybe an inexpensive 2 frame bucket extractor would be a good choice. Honey does vary in moisture content, but any honey thin enough to drain out of a comb would most likely ferment.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

KellyW said:


> .. at this point the comb is of more value to me than the honey.


At some point you will need to C&S if care to consume some of your honey.
Otherwise, just return the frame back to the bees.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Now you know what honey extractors are for.


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

Thanks for the responses, y'all. I was expecting a viscosity like store-bought but now I know better. Store-bought flows, mine crawls like tar. Now I know better.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I'm a bit south of you and we've had hot dry weather. Bees won't cap honey cells until it's dry enough AND until the cell is full. I have honey that never got capped. I pulled it and decapped frames and other frames were open, not capped. Put them upside down into a dark blue rubbermaid tote tub with lid. Left it in the sun all day, it got over 100 today. The tub holds six frame upside down. Only half the honey came out of the frames, and I swear it's so thick it's almost like taffy, you could almost cut it with a knife. I've used this tote for dripping honey out in the past and it worked good. But that was earlier in the season before the temps got so high and the air got so dry. 

This is your problem also. We've had hot dry weather and it makes the honey too thick to drip out of a frame. Even in an extractor, it has to be a hot day and extracted slowly so as not to blow out frames. Also, cappings allow 'breathing' of air to the honey. The honey can get dryer and thicker even if capped in the hot dry weather we have here. Anyone east of the Rockies and have never been to Nevada or central valley California may not get just how hot and dry it can be here.


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

Thanks Ray. It was obvious no one else was taking me seriously. Nice to know I wasn't crazy.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

But of course you are crazy...
Just like me and others here, you keep stinging insects for fun!


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Kelly,all of the responses were legit advice, and they took you seriously. This just proves that local knowledge about conditions are more valuable. Keep that in mind because you will get advice from all over the place. J


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

What Fivej says is very true. Don't reject outright the other responses you have been given.


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

Fivej and Ray. No, I appreciated all of the responses. Really. I shouldn't have said that "no one else was taking me seriously" but instead should have said that I wasn't getting my point across how thick the honey is. Ray, as I said in post #3 above and as you said in your post, it was like taffy right before it sets up. It was good to know someone else was getting something similar. Thanks everyone.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Hi KellyW, I was going to respond earlier but just got dinner on the table. The use of subjective terms like "thick" can mean different things to different people. Had you said something like "my honey is testing at 13.5% and is too thick to extract", everybody would know exactly what you meant. I am glad that Ray hopped in and provided clarification. In VA, I am lucky to get my honey below 18%. All the same, even at 18% it is not going to just run out of the frames once uncapped.


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

I agree, all of my terms were/are very subjective. However, not having a refractometer, never having harvested honey, and no prior experience to compare it to, all I had were "so thick it won't drain", "jelly-like" and "taffy". Again, I appreciate all the responses. Hopefully if I get a spring harvest next year it will be easier to extract and use.

FWIW, that evening I put the frame (in it's normal upright position) in the hot garage hoping to get better draining overnight. The next morning I had maybe 1/4 cup. Between the natural consistency and further drying in the warm garage it has the consistency of silly putty. I put that little bit in a separate jar and now I can turn that jar on it's side and it takes a few minutes to show any sign of flowing. :lpf: The frame went back in the hive so I hope the bees are enjoying it. I'm opening the hive up on Wednesday and will see if they have cleaned it up.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Wow, sounds like some of Kamon's wife Laurel's honey caramels that I made last year https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?359071-Melt-in-your-mouth-Honey-caramel! . Think I was about 5° shy when I turned off the heat and ended up with a candy that I had to keep refrigerated. It was like silly putty at room temperature.


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## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

When I read "jelly like",my first thought was "Where are you located"
Read up on thixotrophic honey.

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/thixotrophic-honey-gels-in-the-comb/


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I sent 3 friends in TN and Mo a 1 pound squeezer bottle of this thick honey I got here. One of the people did a moisture test on it and he said it was 14.5! So thick it doesn't want to drip out of a comb even in 100+ degree weather in a dark box, with the combs sliding off the plastic foundation before getting much honey out. I tried a bite of it, I got to chew it once before it melted thinner in my mouth!


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

RayMarler said:


> I sent 3 friends in TN and Mo a 1 pound squeezer bottle of this thick honey I got here. One of the people did a moisture test on it and he said it was 14.5! So thick it doesn't want to drip out of a comb even in 100+ degree weather in a dark box, with the combs sliding off the plastic foundation before getting much honey out. I tried a bite of it, I got to chew it once before it melted thinner in my mouth!


I have harvested 3 additional frames since my original post and have had an opportunity to sample various parts of the frame before uncapping. The top corners (oldest honey?) is the thickest and much like I had described it earlier. The lower parts of the frame were more like I would expect it to be. I need to get a refractometer mostly out of curiosity.


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

Jack Grimshaw said:


> When I read "jelly like",my first thought was "Where are you located"
> Read up on thixotrophic honey.
> 
> https://www.honeybeesuite.com/thixotrophic-honey-gels-in-the-comb/


Jack, thanks for the link. Interesting information. My honey didn't behave like the thixotrophoc honey describes in the article. Mine was just very thick.


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## Skeggley (Jul 25, 2015)

Over on the east coast of Oz there’s a type of honey called active jelly bush honey from the plant Leptospermum polygalifolium. It has a jelly consistency and will not spin from the frames it needs to be scraped. Apparently it is in high demand due to its medicinal values and is the same plant family as Manuka. 
Perhaps there are some of these planted in your area.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

It is 110F here with 20% humidity at the moment. Many days the sun cooks even more moisture out of the air, down closer to 10% humidity towards the end of the day. Hot and Dry, makes for thick honey.


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## Barry Treadwell (11 mo ago)

Fivej said:


> Kelly,all of the responses were legit advice, and they took you seriously. This just proves that local knowledge about conditions are more valuable. Keep that in mind because you will get advice from all over the place. J


My Men's Shed has just extracted our first honey and we have the exact same problem. We have just had a long run of warm weather 30 c plus and expected free flow but got the opposite. Our hives are less than a year old and filled quickly but the extraction is very slow.


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

Kelly,
If I get thick or partially crystalized honey, I de cap very thickly, IE cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the comb away.
this can be strained, warmed a bit if needed on the stove, then if you get 1/2 to drain of what remains, you end up with 75% total.

the mid rib with a start still helps the bees when it is refill time, and I give them as wet frames to hives needing a bit of feed.

a warming room helps, and a small 2 frame extractor may be a needed item for your continuing endeavors.

for 2 to 6 frames a year, crush and strain is not out of the question either, for that I use a starter strip, 1.5 inch strip of foundation

GG


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## KellyW (May 16, 2020)

Barry and GG, thanks for the input.

Since my original post I haven’t experienced the jelly-like honey any more. However, in general, I think my honey continues to be thicker than “normal” due to the high heat and very low humidity here in this location. I did get a manual 3-frame extractor which does a good job for my low volume needs. With the extractor I get an acceptable % removal from the frames. I have not purchased a refractometer and so don’t know the moisture content but would expect it to be lower than most honey producers experience. All is good though. I am thoroughly enjoying the bees and the honey. No complaints.

Just an afterthought … that first year I didn’t have any drawn comb so was using all new waxed plastic foundation. I don’t know if that can make a difference in the honey production but thought it was worth a mention.

edit… FYI, I now have 3 colonies and collected about 80 pounds of honey last year In several small batches.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

KellyW said:


> the *jelly-like honey *any more. However, in general, I think my honey continues to be thicker than “normal” ...high heat and very low humidity .....


The jelly-like or "thicker than normal" honey has little to do with heat and/or humidity.
How do you think beeks in Texas and Arizona and the like places do it?


Instead, scout your vicinity for any masses of *heather*.
Good start:








Pacific Horticulture | Heathers for Warm Gardens


Few people consider California a good place to grow hardy heathers. Cool, moist climates like those of Scotland and England are usually thought of in connection with them. Gardeners in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the Puget Sound area, have been growing heathers for a long time with...




www.pacifichorticulture.org


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