I love honey comb. I love to melt it in my tea and drink it that way. I love spreading it on a biscuit and having the melted wax be part of the feast. I've done a video on how to harvest honey as chunk honey.
I previously did a post and video on how to do crush and strain to harvest liquid honey. You can see it here.
Please leave any comments or questions you have in the comment section. Here it is:
As usual, your videos are informative and fun! Thank you for taking the time to put these together.
ReplyDeleteI like checking out your videos. See them posted on beesource and beemaster sites.
ReplyDeleteHow many bees do you have and how many years have you made honey
ReplyDeleteI found this video VERY imformative! I don't know much about beekeeping and honey. You are giving me a great education.
ReplyDeleteYou should have your own PBS Show!
What sort of foundation do you use? Thanks for sharing your expertise!
ReplyDeletebeeman
Hi - I mostly don't use foundation and give the bees starter strips of wax (about 2" wide). I put one sheet of foundation in the center of each box to encourage them to build in the right direction but then I use a sheet designed for a shallow box and I'm using all mediums so it doesn't go to the bottom of the frame - but it gives the bees the message all the same. The simple answer is that I use wax strips and the bees make their own "foundation"
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, great video. I'm very new in this hobby, and I'm very interested in chunk honey (we don't have it in the place I live), maybe if is not to much to ask you can post a slide show of you preparing a frame for chunk honey. Here in south america we don't have ross rounds or any other comb honey kit. Thank you so much for this blog.
ReplyDeleteI don't prepare a frame for chunk honey - all of my honey frames are done foundationless or with a starter strip of wax. The key to wax for chunk honey or for cut comb is that the wax be new wax. If you use old wax (from a previously drawn comb) for chunk honey or for cut comb honey, it will be tough. What you want is soft, tender wax that melts in your mouth and you get that by making sure the frame is a frame of new wax. Beyond that, I don't do any further preparation.
ReplyDeleteHey Linda, how do you get the honey comb? should I cut a frame or do I have to purchase it? Can I have more than one frame per super for chunk? Do the bees have to work longer and harder for the chunk? Thanks, Scott
ReplyDeleteThe video on this post shows how to cut the chunk honey off of the frame. I choose within any super the frame for chunk or cut comb honey based on the wax. You want the wax to be new and soft - so I usually take chunk honey from a super that has been on the hive only long enough for the bees to make the wax, fill the cells and cap them. The bees don't work any longer for chunk than any other kind of honey - it's all honey to them. Whether it's chunk, liquid, or cut comb is a beekeeper decision.
ReplyDeleteDo you freeze the combs to kill pest eggs before you cut and jar? If so do you protect the frame some way when freezing?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog!!!
I freeze the jars of chunk honey to kill the pest eggs. I don't freeze before I bottle. It's much easier to freeze the filled jars
ReplyDeleteThen you just thaw @ room temp?
ReplyDeleteYes, it actually doesn't freeze as in hard like ice cream. And it easily "thaws" at room temp.
ReplyDeleteHello Linda, If you use medium frames for comb honey than where do you find containers such as for shalow supers which are only 4x4 inches. Andrey.
ReplyDeleteAndrey, If I understand your question, you are asking if there are larger containers for comb honey to use for medium frames. When you cut comb for honey, one of the advantages of the medium frame is that you can choose the prettiest, most perfect 4X4 section to cut. Whatever is left on the frame, I crush and strain. That's true with shallow frames as well - cut the 4X4 but the remaining comb is crushed and strained.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, thanks for the answer. I was wondering if you ever tried to sell your honeycomb at the public market and if you did may be you have some advise or selling tips how to interact with customers or next table honeycomb seller ( competition etc. ) Andrey.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrey, I haven't ever sold honey - just give it away to family. Sorry I can't help with this one. Personally I'd want a different table if I were placed right next to another honey seller!
ReplyDeleteonly one think. how do you remove wax comb when the honey will crystallize?
ReplyDeleteMy honey doesn't usually crystallize. But this year I had some chunk honey that did. I just used it comb and all anyway. The comb is so tender that it works fine. I didn't try heating the honey to un-crystallize it because I was afraid of melting the wax, but like I said, the honey was fine as it was.
ReplyDeleteI'm 3 years late coming to this conversation, but I have a question about your using wax strips as "foundation." Where do you get the wax strips? I have to say that the comb drawn without full foundation is by far more tender and desirable than the other stuff, so I'd like to try it.
ReplyDeleteI've watched two of your videos because I'd like to extract honey without an extractor, so I'll soon follow your crush-and-strain method...but I've also got some gorgeous comb in the supers right now, so I'll also chunk some of it (although I'll have to cut around that wire support in the foundation).
Love your blog. I'll check in daily.
I buy thin wax foundation and then cut it into strips with a rotary cutter (for quilting). People also use pizza cutters. Then I melt wax and "glue" the strip in with a bead of melted wax.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda. In your video you mention placing the comb facing downward as it is in the hive. However, in the hive, the cells are always pointed up so that if the cappings are damaged all of the honey will not spill out. I am not sure if you mis-spoke or I am just not following you correctly?!
ReplyDeleteI'll check on it again - but in 3 years, this has never been mentioned. What I was trying to convey is that the cells should slant down toward the midrib as in a V so that the honey is supported and the chunk should go into the bottle oriented that way.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda! I got you now, I wasn't following you correctly. When you said the cells should point downward I took it as downward extending from the center, whereas you mean the opposite. I just wanted to clarify so that I performed this correctly; thanks for responding so rapidly...a great website indeed!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, just one (dumb?) question: the 2" strip would run side to side (horizontally) in the frame?
ReplyDeleteI may want to try this next year.
Thanks for the great video!
If you'll search "starter strips" on this blog, you'll find a lot of posts on it. The strips are 1/2" and are waxed into the groove at the top of the frame.
ReplyDeleteLooks yummy! I didn't realise that the wax also made good eating. I'd have thought that ruined the taste?
ReplyDeleteMost people who eat honey think that honey in the comb is a gourmet treat.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I LOVE your videos, thanks so much for posting. Regarding cutting the chunk, what are the dimensions of the cut comb and it looks like you are using wide mouth pint jars? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent, informative video. Thanks!
ReplyDelete