Honey Moisture

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thank you to everyone for watching and supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS on our website, which can be found at honeybee.uoguelph.ca/videos/frequently-asked-questions/

[@terryprockiw3831]

New to the wonderful world of beekeeping here in Alberta. Really, really appreciate all your content.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks Terry! Good luck in your beekeeping endeavors!

[@gbat6727]

now need a video on how creamed honey is made from making the seed to the end product. Loving all the new video's

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hey G Bat The process of creaming honey was invented at my workplace in the 1920's. Good suggestion.

[@gbat6727]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre very cool maybe a little history lesson as well. I love to learn processes from start to finish and learn more about honey as well

[@primitivedaisy]

Look up David Burns in Illinois. He has a You Tube video on how to make the seed, and how to make creamed honey from crystallized honey. I followed the instructions and got excellent results. I still have some seed honey in my basement for next year.

[@donnypodcast]

Good thing you mentioned that thing about trying to control the moisture after the honey is bottled. Someone asked me that question and I said "all I know is, they let it cure in the frame from a couple of days before the cut the caps off."

[@obanaru]

Thank you for the precious information.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Our pleasure!

[@russellmoore8187]

I successfully reduced moisture in extracted honey this way: I put it in an open-topped (lidless) mason jar in my freezer. The cold evaporated significant amounts of moisture. When I took the honey out of the freezer it thawed nicely and didn’t crystallize. My freezer is not frost-free, if that matters. I have to empty and defrost it quarterly.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Huh, that's a new one for me. Makes sense. Thanks for sharing Russell.

[@yokechan2765]

great teaching

[@rhno3842]

You guys are saving me. My refractometer is coming soon.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Good to hear we can help Rawhoney. Hi in New Orleans!

[@valentinasaikouski1857]

Thank you so much! Very informative!

[@Batterybus]

We actually did 10 gallons of extracted honey in pans by using the bread proof setting on our convection stove 100deg F. Very time consuming but it can be done.

[@brentburnette4585]

So by running the fans/dehumidifier, you're able to take all that uncapped honey and bring it down to a "safe honey" level with those steps alone? No worries about extracting uncapped honey? I always play it safe by using well capped frames only, but often my bees struggle in the high humidity summers here to get it all dried and capped before close to fall.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi again Brent :) Yes this works in the conditions you describe.

[@oabuseer]

Brilliant video! Thank you so much for adding subtitles. A question: can honey have too low a moisture content? Or is it more that the drier it is, the better it is? Thank you anyone who answers!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

There is no quality problem with low moisture honey. It's just that you get less volume so less honey to sell.

[@BrokePhilanthropist]

Can the bees consume the fermented honey?

[@zahrahoneypakistan9798]

sir what did you know about Honey bee sting? is it contain only formic acid?

[@JnJShiffler]

Very few videos on how to calibrate refractometers: Use cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. Set brix scale to 71.5. Check calibration each day of use. I have found the heated honey room (95-100*F) seems to read higher moisture falsely by around 2-3%. Best to check at room temp I believe. Any thoughts on heated room and inaccurate moisture readings?

[@0pvo0]

Not sure if it is possible by an analog refractometer, but if you use a digital one it is better to use demi water. This is always 1.3333. And chemical more consisten probably then olive oil

[@JnJShiffler]

@@0pvo0 Demi water? Distilled water? I'm not sure what demi water is but the test liquid needs to have a moisture range somewhere in the 12% moisture to 27% moisture for the range honey refractometers read

[@0pvo0]

@@JnJShiffler that's why I referred to a digital one. Those have a larger spectrum incontrast analog. Also using analog refractometers you probably do not measure the value of refraction but you have scale which says your desired content. In the case of honey, moisture. In case of whine, sugar

[@JnJShiffler]

@@0pvo0 yes, refractometers come in many ranges, a wine one will not have the range of a honey one and there are other ranges and uses as well. Our county beekeeping club has an expensive digital optical refractometer and you use distileld water to calibrate it but temperature can effect readings, say in a warm honey room around 100*F it will give error messages.

[@jonmarcos8488]

Why do you have to only use refractometer after extraction? Are readings on individual frames not reliable?

[@KatrinMelite]

I extract honey only from capped comb that way I know that the moisture level is good.

[@dannycrain3485]

I put back a fram or to that was capped. In the freezer. Can I thaw them out and extract it.and bottle. It are not.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Danny Must be some technical issue . I don't understand your question.

[@dannycrain3485]

I put a 2 frames of cap honey in the freezer. Can I extract them at a later date.be ok .are bad ideal

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Danny You can extract them later after freezing but when I've tried that the honey doesn't come out very well. I think maybe the honey got drier in the freezer.

[@zahrahoneypakistan9798]

Sir how to dry extracted Honey ? Sir actually we are not farmer، we harvest wild Honey and it is too dificult for us to bring all the hives from forest to city۔

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi There It is difficult to remove moisture once the honey is extracted. High moisture honey is a bigger problem in tropical countries and regions with high humidity. Machines and homemade devices have been used to dry extracted honey. Try looking them up online. I think you would have to do this drying after you get the honey to the city if that is possible. You would need to process the honey soon after you harvest it. I found this online. www.researchgate.net/publication/277616932_The_removal_of_water_from_honey There is probably a lot more information online but it would be best to find out information from countries with similar conditions to yours.

[@alexpeterkin261]

Sorry if i missed it, but what temperature would you aim for in your hot room

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Alex 30 degrees C

[@JoseOrtiz-im5wu]

Awesome. ? What do you do with a frame of honey that has fermented and you can't extract it? ?can you just feed it to the bees?

[@privatebubba8876]

No you can't.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Jose This is a bit of a quandary so we hope to not have many of these frames. What we've been doing is giving them back to bees the next summer but only a frame or two per box. I don't know how the bees handle it but the problem goes away.

[@MightyMicrobes-]

Hello I'm in Hamilton. Would I "bee" able to stop by and see some of what you guys do?

[@AJ-yh6go]

Is this only effecting the moisture of the uncapped honey? I take it you can not change the moisture of capped honey.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi AJ I don't know for sure but I think you are right about not being able to dry honey that is already capped. As noted in the video, it is possible for capped honey to ferment which is kind of surprising.

[@comanchefire]

The moisture in capped honey, can in fact be reduced, although it takes longer than with uncapped. The cappings do have some porosity

[@w4447]

on average how long do your frames and boxes stay in your hot room?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

It varies but a minimum of 4 days.

[@Wick001]

How you out there without a bee suit and a bees as big as they are not not attacking you as your harvesting the honey I just curious how

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We breed nice bees!

[@MsDaddyrabbit1]

Excellent

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks so much SM!

[@barbll000]

very helpful info

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks as always Barbara!!!

[@denysantonenko3742]

I have a wild swarm of bees living in my chimney for three years already that I want to capture next spring to put them in a hive... around the beginning of April. They’ve swarmed this passed May. I was wondering what should I do in this situation? Wait for them to swarm and then catch them and transfer them to the hive or catch them in April before they swarm and then divide the two colonies into two hives? Can you please help me? I have no idea what to do. Thanks for the video! It was very very helpful!!!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Denys My recommendation would be to get some help from a local beekeeper. Your situation requires experienced help. Good Luck!

[@janariegutter5322]

Is it true that the Slovenian hives generally have about 2% less moisture, and what is your opinion on those hives?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I don't know anything about Slovenian hives. In North America we use Langstroth hives. No hive is perfect but standardization provides many advantages.

[@scottH18370]

If you do end up with honey that has soured is it all right to put it back in your bee yard and let the bees clean it up?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Scott - Please see the response below to José.

[@scottH18370]

UoG Honey Bee Research Centre Thank you I saw your response but I live in Florida where are bees are almost always foraging so can I Set the frames out as I would do with my extractor to let the bees use the honey?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Scott It's not a good practise to set honey out to get robbed. If there happened to be any american fouldbrood in the colony that the honey comes from it could be spread to other colonies. We put a few fermented frames in with empty comb in the first honey super that goes on the colonies in the spring - so just before our main nectar flow. I think it would work where you live too.

[@gbat6727]

Is there any downside for doing this? Honey too low in moisture?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Yes you can get the honey too dry. I spray water on the floor if this happens.

[@pepperKingdom]

3:42 super !!!!!!!👍👌🎈🎈🎈💥