Do you ever wonder how the honey from the beehives came to be sealed in containers in supermarkets? Honey is a viscous sticky liquid produced by bees. This is made from the nectar of flowers which the bees have concentrated and refined. They make honey for the winter when flower nectars are not accessible. Nectar is the sugary liquid found at the base of flowers. It is being secreted by glands called nectaries. Honey serves as food for their larvae.
The best time to collect and harvest honey is during the summer season when it's sunny and there is little wind as possible, ideally 280 hot. This is to ensure honey remains in its liquid state but not too hot as honey tends to granulate in very high temperatures. Before you can fully harvest and enjoy the natural goodness of honey, you must first extract it from the honeycomb. Usually this is done with an extractor. Extracting uses centrifugal force to isolate the honey from the honeycomb. Now extractors can be very costly so many beekeepers that are still new to the process rent or borrow. Extractors also come in many forms. There are the plastic ones and the stainless steel types. Between the two, it is recommended that you use a stainless steel extractor to prevent rust and breakage.
First of all, you check for the ripeness of the honey by shaking the comb. If the honey is shaken out, it still needs a little bit ripening more so let the bees continue their job. Inspect the quality of the frames. It has a thin layer of wax which is referred to as the capping. You must uncap or remove the wax before you can extract the honey. This can be done by using knives which are heated, serrated knives also are recommended or an electronic uncapping plane does the trick. Before you can bring the frames at home, you must first get the bees off of them. There are ways to remove the bees such as providing bee escapes, using fume boards which uses certain types of chemicals that drives the bees away, or by simply brushing the bees from the honeycombs. When brushing the bees, dip the brush first in water. Some theories say it wets the bees' wings and makes it difficult for the bees to fly up and try to sting you.
Extraction usually takes about 10 to 20 minutes depending on the density and temperature of the honey. Make sure to extract honey in the most suitable room like the garage, basement, or porch. The kitchen seems to be the most convenient place for extraction because of the easy access for water and a washable floor. Honey tends to drip everywhere and sticks to almost every surface. Extractors work with centrifugal force spinning the frames and honey drips down to collect at the bottom. Every frame is spun with one side outward then flipped to the other side. Strain the honey to ensure that there is no wax left. Some use cheese cloth, mesh bags and pantyhose.
Before storing the honey, warm it first in honey buckets. It may be difficult to remove honey that is immediately bottled right from extraction. Also, bubbles may accumulate around the rim of the bottle if you put it in jars after extracting. Warm the honey by placing it underneath light bulbs. Use honey gates in pouring the honey into the containers so it can be stored without side drippings.
