There is more that goes into to your jar of honey than you think.
At the beginning of October, the CU Denver Bee Project went through the process of getting honey from hives to jars. What steps did they have to take?
First Step: Pulling Honey from Hives
The first step in harvesting honey is to pull the honey frames from the beehives. The bees won't necessarily be happy (how would you feel if someone took food from your kitchen without asking?), so it's important to wear a bee suit and gloves.
You can tell that a hive has been working hard on their honey stores if the frames are heavy and covered in a layer of wax. It's important to be careful when pulling the frames out and storing them; if you accidentally scrape off some of the wax, you'll find yourself with a pool of honey!
Second Step: Uncapping the Honey Supers
At this point, some more equipment is needed: an uncapping knife and tray.
An uncapping knife is a heated tool that makes it easier to remove the wax layer on top of the honey. Simply move the tool along the entire length of the frame, making sure to get off as much of the wax as possible. Be sure to do this on top of a tray or bucket to collect the wax and dripping honey! Extra points for including a strainer in the setup to separate the honey from the wax.
Next, combing the top of the honey with a special tool (or even a fork) helps open up any areas that are still a bit capped. This will make the next step easier!
Third Step: Extracting the Honey
It's time to move those frames over to an extractor! This is basically a large centrifuge that spins the uncapped frames to collect the honey. They differ in size, price, and effectiveness, so the amount of time and effort to extract varies from model to model.
Once you have a few frames ready to go, put them in and begin spinning! This causes the honey to fling out of the frames through centrifugal force, which should flow down the side of the barrel and pool at the bottom. After you think the honey is sufficiently drained from one side of the frame, you'll need to flip them over and spin the other side as well.
Fourth Step: Straining the Honey
After a few spins, you'll notice your extractor filling up. Once it's sufficiently full of honey, it's time to pour and strain!
Sometimes other things, like beeswax and bugs, can end up in your honey. This is why it's important to strain before jarring. The extractor will have a tap of some sort to pour the honey into, so open that up and let the honey flow into a strainer over a bucket. It may take a while for the honey to drop through the strainer, especially if it's cold in the room, so be patient.
It may even help to use a more coarse strainer initially, and then re-strain in to a fine mesh one. This is what the CU Denver Bee Project does to ensure smooth, clean honey.
Fifth Step: Jarring the Honey
Now for the best part: jarring the honey up!
Some buckets have a spout to easily pour the honey into jars, but if that's not an option, there is always the old fashioned way: spooning the honey into your sterilized jars. It's important to make sure your hands, jars, and equipment are clean throughout this process in order to keep contamination extremely minimal.
And that's it!
If you're looking for some freshly jarred local honey, click this link for the CU Denver Bee Project's fresh harvest. They are currently accepting Venmo or cash donations for various amounts!
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