Creaming Honey why and how:
How to Produce Creamed Honey – The Dyce Method
The purpose of creaming is to give you a honey that will spread nicely and also will make it very smooth
Most types of honey will crystalize naturally over time,
some quicker than others and some with coarser crystals than others.
Honey is a super-saturated solution of primarily two sugars: glucose and fructose. It is a natural process for some of the sugars in a super-saturated solution to eventually come out of solution. The greater the percentage of glucose the quicker it will crystalize.
As honey crystalizes the water content will also rise. If your honey has higher than 19% water content it is possible that it will ferment.
Pasteurization dissolves the sugar crystals and kills any yeasts in the honey that can cause fermentation.
This method uses pasteurization to prevent fermentation
You will need –
- Raw honey
- Creamed honey as a seed. 10% quantity of the honey you are to cream. (The smoother your seed is the smoother your creamed honey will be)
- Some way of heating and cooling your honey quickly.
- A honey tank with a honey gate.Instructions
Heat the honey to 65°C and strain to remove impurities
Cool rapidly to between 16° and 23°
Add the seed honey and mix thoroughly and gently without letting air in.
Jar before it sets.
Store at approx. 14° while crystallization takes place.
Creaming honey can also be done without the pasteurization process but you need to ensure there are no honey crystals in your honey before you start as the creaming process will not work.
For reliable production of creamed honey on a larger scale, Hive World supplies 75 and 150kg honey creamers to make your job easier. See link: https://www.hiveworld.co.nz/product/honey-creamer/
About the author : Rod
