# Need Advice On Creaming Honey.....



## Michael Pawelek (Jun 4, 2012)

I tried my hand at creaming honey 3 years ago and was quite successful. At that time we had a very old refrigerator that could barely keep 50F. I am ready to try another batch but our current refrigerator has a safety feature and will not allow any temperature above 38F. Which I have read might be too cold as the recipes I have read mention 60F. Any ideas what to do? I live in the Deep South and we are currently keeping the AC in the house at 75F. Would I have better luck at 38F or 75F or am I out of luck trying this out? Thanks...


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

I have a new fridge and I don't know what the temp is in the crisper but it takes about a week to crystallize when making creamed honey, best advice I can give is try a small batch and see if it works. If it's something you want to do all the time you might be better off getting a wine chiller and setting at 57 deg which is supposedly the optimum temp


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Micheal
Maby a wierd ideal from a guy who has never made creamed honey. Put a termomitor in front of your air conditioning vent. If it come out at lower then 57 and your air conditioner is like mine and runs a lot of the day. It might with some veriation keep jars of honey stacked in front of it close to what you want. I could be nuts though.
gww


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Keep the AC at 65 like I do.


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## pinkpantherbeekeeper (Feb 10, 2016)

My grandma used to have several hundred chickens. She would keep her eggs in a small room in the garage that had a window ac unit put in it. They then insulated the room (really more like a closet) so that way is stayed cool. Usually in the mid 50's. 

Most ac's will blow out cold air in the mid 50's btw.


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

pinkpantherbeekeeper said:


> Most ac's will blow out cold air in the mid 50's btw.


Not true at all, every window ac I have had in the last 40 yrs(over 25) exhaust only warm air, not cold


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

I got a small wine cooler off craigslist pretty reasonable. I'm still hit and miss on getting creamed honey to set up solid. I tried the veggie drawer in fridge, still difficult to get it solid. I got a new thermometer to make sure the cooler temp is what I am setting it to. 

Maybe it's my starter. I just bought small jar of solid raw honey and I'm going to try again in the wine cooler. I also cover the top, front, sides of cooler with 2 towels so it doesn't have to work so hard (AC at 83 when I go to work). Cooler is not condenser cooled. I don't cover the back or the vents on side. 

If you buy one off craigslist, be sure they have it on long enough to prove it can reach and maintain 57 degrees before you buy. My first one wouldn't go below 63, so I lost that money.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

DavidZ said:


> Not true at all, every window ac I have had in the last 40 yrs(over 25) exhaust only warm air, not cold


Don't you think he meant the cool air discharge is in the 50"s


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

I've done it in the fridge at whatever the standard temp was, it worked fine. 

Also done it in the basement during the winter.

Only ever used raw unheated honey, not sure it makes a difference.

At the time I thought the fridge was quicker.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

FlowerPlanter said:


> I've done it in the fridge at whatever the standard temp was, it worked fine.
> 
> Also done it in the basement during the winter.
> 
> ...


You usually heat the honey to get rid of any crystals... then you add seed crystals ( a quality creamed honey) to get the preferred size crystal.


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## RichardsonTX (Jul 3, 2011)

DavidZ said:


> Not true at all, every window ac I have had in the last 40 yrs(over 25) exhaust only warm air, not cold


David, did you have it turned the right way in the window?


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## Coach62 (Mar 26, 2016)

RichardsonTX said:


> David, did you have it turned the right way in the window?


LOL


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## Coach62 (Mar 26, 2016)

Maybe get one of those cheap dormitory sized fridges.


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## BeerKeeper (Mar 21, 2016)

Coach62 said:


> Maybe get one of those cheap dormitory sized fridges.


If you did this, you could get a thermostat or rheostat like they use for reptiles to keep the fridge at the right temp. If you use a thermostat it will cut the power on and off at the source and maintain the right temp. A cheaper option would be the rheostat which you would have to periodically "dial-in" to the right temp.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

sc-bee said:


> You usually heat the honey to get rid of any crystals... then you add seed crystals ( a quality creamed honey) to get the preferred size crystal.


No heat, and I do seed with creamed honey crystals. The end product has the same texture as the original.

Try it at different temps see if it makes a difference. IMO what you will find is the same end results only the closer to "57 deg F" the faster it will set.


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