Author Topic: Off-Seeming Honey  (Read 1225 times)

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Offline The15thMember

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Off-Seeming Honey
« on: August 19, 2022, 10:04:11 am »
I'm working through crushing and straining my last frames of honey for the season.  I have a frame of sourwood which I just did by itself because something seems a little odd about it.  The honey doesn't taste quite right; I'm not sure what the taste is, but all I know is when I taste it I don't go "Awww, yeahh!!", I go "Igh, weird".  I'm not sure it's not a little fermented, but I've encountered plenty of fermented honey and it's not exactly like that.  The honey seems very watery, but according to my refractometer it's not horribly high at 21% (sourwood is usually 19% for reference).  It almost feels a little slimy; it doesn't string when I pull it between my fingers, and it slides around in the bucket without sticking to the sides.  My first thought was beetles got to it, but it doesn't have that characteristic orange taste or smell that beetle-slimed honey has, and I had it sitting on the counter for a few days waiting its turn and there just weren't any beetles or larvae, who surely would have run rampant in the absence of any bees.  The frame looked entirely normal.  It was fully capped and was brand new drawn wax.  Any ideas what's up with it? 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2022, 10:34:51 am »
Your description is quite good.  I can visualize that.  I don't have an answer, unfortunately.  But it doesn't sound like pure honey and the moisture content is high. 

I have never seen it, but could it be honeydew?  At this website, https://www.honeybeesuite.com/what-is-honeydew-honey/ I found this description of honeydew.
 "It is generally dark, strongly flavored, less acidic, and less sweet than floral honey."  The last paragraph of the article lists the potential sources that honeydew can come from.

This article gives a good description too. https://carolinahoneybees.com/honeydew-honey/

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2022, 10:50:17 am »
Your description is quite good.  I can visualize that.  I don't have an answer, unfortunately.  But it doesn't sound like pure honey and the moisture content is high.
My sister was wondering if it was adulterated too, the question is, with what?  It would have to be something sweet and oily. 

I have never seen it, but could it be honeydew?  At this website, https://www.honeybeesuite.com/what-is-honeydew-honey/ I found this description of honeydew.
 "It is generally dark, strongly flavored, less acidic, and less sweet than floral honey."  The last paragraph of the article lists the potential sources that honeydew can come from.

This article gives a good description too. https://carolinahoneybees.com/honeydew-honey/


That's not a bad idea, but I don't think so.  Based on the date and the flavor of the honey, I'm pretty certain it is sourwood honey.  It's not dark or strong flavored. 

The other idea I've been kicking around in my head is perhaps it's fermented, although I can imagine why, but it's a different strain of yeast than I usually see, which could account for the differences between this and my typical fermented honey. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Zweefer

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2022, 02:30:54 am »
Perhaps the bees got into a feeder (hummingbird, etc) and brought back something that has mixed with the nectar, thus changing its profile?
Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2022, 12:13:39 pm »
Perhaps the bees got into a feeder (hummingbird, etc) and brought back something that has mixed with the nectar, thus changing its profile?
I wondering if they got into something fermented which seeded the yeasts into this batch of honey.  Because this honey was capped, but yet seems to be fermenting, which seems strange, especially for a variety of honey that rarely ferments. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2022, 08:07:53 pm »
Well it's definitely fermenting now.  I had put this weird honey in a plastic container, and it was foaming like crazy this evening.  This still doesn't answer all the questions, but it does answer some. 



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Offline Zweefer

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2022, 01:30:35 pm »
So is the plan to make mead? Or will you toss it?
Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2022, 03:08:24 pm »
So is the plan to make mead? Or will you toss it?
Actually we use it to make bread, and my sister can also use it as a matrix to mix up her goats' herbal dewormers.  Most of the people in my family, including me, don't drink alcohol, so mead just never seemed worth the time.  I'll just put it in the freezer for now to slow the fermentation.
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2022, 08:06:12 am »
So is the plan to make mead? Or will you toss it?
Actually we use it to make bread, and my sister can also use it as a matrix to mix up her goats' herbal dewormers.  Most of the people in my family, including me, don't drink alcohol, so mead just never seemed worth the time.  I'll just put it in the freezer for now to slow the fermentation.
I never heard of anyone having a use for fermented honey.  Please explain the goat dewormer method and the recipe for bread.  Not everyone has goats but a lot of people make bread.  Can you freeze it until you are ready to use it?

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Off-Seeming Honey
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2022, 10:38:52 am »
I never heard of anyone having a use for fermented honey.  Please explain the goat dewormer method and the recipe for bread.  Not everyone has goats but a lot of people make bread.  Can you freeze it until you are ready to use it?
Yes, anytime we find some fermented honey we just put it in a plastic container in the freezer.  I had a whole batch of last year's honey ferment, so I've got quite a few dishes of it in the freezer at the moment.  We have one on the counter along with our normal honey usually, and then I just get one out of the freezer when we need another one.  We usually go through it fast enough that it doesn't go insane on the counter, especially if I froze it before it got really bubbly, although several times it has busted off the lid and dribbled honey all over the shelf before I noticed it was fermenting.   :-\

We just use fermented honey in any bread recipe that calls for honey.  The already active yeast helps the bread to rise, and the unless the honey is VERY fermented it doesn't seem to affect the taste any. 

For the goats, my sister purchases an herbal dewormer which comes as a powder.  In order to give it to the goats, she makes a paste out of it using honey and then rolls it into little balls.  The goats love it and will eat it willingly like a treat.  If we have fermented honey around she uses that because fermented products are very good for goats' rumen health.  For example, our new buckling has been a having a little bit of an upset stomach lately, and my sister has been giving him dark beer to help him feel better.             
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.
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