I've been brewing for 6 years now...winemaking, too. Recently decided to try some hard cider and mead. I've got a couple batches of cider underway from the fall harvest and have been doing some reading on mead. I have Schramm's book and have been reading a bunch on the web, too. There is obviously a large variance in the price of honey out there and I have found myself gravitating towards doing a full 5 or 6 gallon batch with high quality honey for the first batch. I've read a lot of comments regarding using the "freshest" honey available. Right now, my interest is being peaked by Tupelo and Orange Blossom honeys. I read the Tupelo blooms come out in the springtime and thus I assume the freshest Tupelo honey would be bought around the May timeframe. Indeed, some of the supplies of Tupelo are sold out for the season. Here's my question: am I going to sell myself short on the starting quality for Tupelo if I buy it now, in November...or should I table this project until Spring when the next Tupelo harvest occurs?
Honey Freshness???
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bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
Honey has no true shelf life. Allegedly, honey found in the pyramids was still edible. There is not enough moisture in honey for it to spoil.
I've been reading Ken Schramm's book, in which he discusses numerous changes that occur as honey ages. Invertase causes the sugars to change, in which sucrose breaks down into its constitute sugars. As much as 9% of the glucose can be converted to more complex sugars, changing the sugar balance throughout the honey. A concern with crystallization is the moisture content can be concentrated in pockets surrounding the crystallized honey (no more homogeneous moisture balance) exceeding the "safe" moisture levels. Thus arose my initial question, to which there is probably no succinct formulated answer. Honey may last a long time, but it does degrade with time. Crystallization will eventually occur in all honey, but it doesn't necessarily take it to a bad state, but possibly more of a lesser state. I have eyed the specific varietals, which might often double the price of a local raw honey (multi-varietal), which, in turn, is more expensive than the typical supermarket shelf stuff. I'll continue to work my way through the book and read other postings on the subject, but I think it is safe to say that a properly stored honey may remain in near pristine condition after a year compared to a poorly stored honey that is just three months old. Kind of on the fence now to taking a "decent" quality honey for my first batch and perhaps try the more expensive single varietal on the second.
bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
I know nothing about beekeeping but if bees pollinate particular flowers in say , May when does the bee keeper open the hive and take the honey? Is it harvested in June ... or October.. or?
I have a friend who is a bee keeper. He gave me three 7+ pound containers of honey last week, each one a different color (shade). He only harvests the honey once a year. Spring honey is the lightest. The late season sampling was particularly dark since he planted buckwheat in August which, of course, darkened the honey considerably.
He knows which comb is from what season and keeps them separate when he spins them out. I'll ask him about this freshness issue. Maybe the bees have a way of keeping it fresh.
2trout
Well-Known Member
I once spent lots of time looking into beekeeping. Buy your honey locally from a bee keeper if possible. Bulk honey is notorious for being cut with various other syrups to increase profits.
