Preserving honey

[Atek]

Hi guys,
I am pondering getting a 60lb pail of honey from Dutch gold. Ken Schramm really stresses using fresh honey and I'm not likely to use all 60lb in less than a year. I am concerned that the honey may lose quality while waiting in the pail after its been opened. Am I over thinking this or are there special ways to store the honey? Thanks!

-jack

 

[Onihige]

I haven't noticed any difference in taste after 1-2 years (totally forgot about a 4.5 kg pail I had a while back. xD).

 

[XombieDeath]

honey is a natural preservative. you shouldn't have to do anything special

 

[BigKahuna]

If you're really worried about it.... Sucker a few friends into trying out mead making!

 

[roadymi]

I think when he refers to fresh..........he is saying use unprocessed honey as opposed to the stuff that has been heated, filtered, and processed to death.

I have heard that they have found honey in the egyptian tombs that was still quite tasty......Brave soul that tested it...........Honey is a natural preservative and has antiseptic qualities....bacteria cannot exist in it.

 

[Matrix4b]

Honey does not degrade in taste over time. It will only crystalize, making it harder to work with unless you heat it up. Chipping away honey out of a 5 gal bucket would be hard but luckly we have things like bath tubs for hot water and space heaters. So just a little extra work.

I say go for it.

Matrix

 

[Insomniac]

I'm sitting on honey thats 20 years old, really not an issue

 

[Atek]

That is all fantastic news! thanks guys!

 

[Bigbeavk]

Keep in mind that Dutch Gold honey is not raw. So you are getting heated, filtered, and processed honey to start with.

 

[Atek]

Yea I noticed that, I have no idea where to get raw orange blossom, I live in Idaho. I can get all the raw clover I want but I've never tried an orange blossom mead.

 

[kc_in_wv]

Some companies heat their honey up to around 180* to speed up processing. I am thinking that Dutch Gold is one of those companies.

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

Hi guys,
I am pondering getting a 60lb pail of honey from Dutch gold. Ken Schramm really stresses using fresh honey

Dutch Gold is actually listed as a reliable supplier in the back of The Compleat Meadmaker, guess it can't be too bad if Ken is listing it in his book

 

[Bigbeavk]

I got some orange blossom honey from Smitty Bee and really liked it. I think it's out of season now. Here's a link for their Wildflower Honey. With shipping it's a little over $3.30 a lb for the 30lb bucket.
http://www.smittybeehoney.com/secure-smittybeehoney/Scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=164
I know plenty of people that use Dutch Gold as well. So shop around and figure out what you like best.

 

[fatbloke]

I'm sitting on honey thats 20 years old, really not an issue

Concur.

When I went up to Insomniac's yesterday, the "dip the finger in and taste" tests showed it to be excellent.

Yes, some, given it's age, is crystalised, some still runny, but damn it's fine tasting stuff (cheers for selling some of it to me Chris - very much appreciated).

 

[fatbloke]

Yea I noticed that, I have no idea where to get raw orange blossom, I live in Idaho. I can get all the raw clover I want but I've never tried an orange blossom mead.

Well as you're in the US, then this would be a good place too start looking......

 

[Insomniac]

Concur.

When I went up to Insomniac's yesterday, the "dip the finger in and taste" tests showed it to be excellent.

Yes, some, given it's age, is crystalised, some still runny, but damn it's fine tasting stuff (cheers for selling some of it to me Chris - very much appreciated).

No worries Hope it makes some good mead!

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

Concur.

When I went up to Insomniac's yesterday, the "dip the finger in and taste" tests showed it to be excellent.

Yes, some, given it's age, is crystalised, some still runny, but damn it's fine tasting stuff (cheers for selling some of it to me Chris - very much appreciated).

That's not fair, Y'all living close enough to share the good stuff and taunt us with how it tastes