[Omega]

The last batch of honey we processed had been in a dehumidified room for over a month, and was processed via crush-and-strain. It didn't take it long at all to crystalize, which isn't surprising considering the moisture content was likely very low (we didn't measure it, just going by how thick it was) and that our house is kept sub-70 in the winter. I've taken a look at my jars and most of them seem to have some lighter patches/streaks around the top. I've read that this is probably just honey foam, but I wanted to check to see what you guys think. I don't want to give/sell anything that might be considered subpar!

 

[Vance G]

It is tiny pieces of bees wax. I don't believe it harms a thing and is hard for small scale honey producers to eliminate. When your ready to bottle honey is in a bucket and warm you can skim it off. Some folks say they have luck laying paper towel on the surface and picking the adhering wax up that way but I just make a mess. Skim or ignore.

 

[odfrank]

It is called frosting, very common:

Frosting in honey - The Apiarist

Frosting in honey is the appearance of bubbles trapped against the side wall of the jar during storage. Here are ways to prevent, reduce or cure frosting.

theapiarist.org

 

[missybee]

Mine does that on some jars on others it does not. I try to stir making as few bubbles as possible, when I mix I make small batches, then let it sit for a while in the container before filling bottles. I usually mix in a 5 gallon bucket with a spigot. The bubbles rise to the top, the bottle are filled almost bubble free using the spigot.

 

[JConnolly]

I use a bucket with a honey gate in the bottom to bottle honey. I let the honey rest in the bucket with the bucket lid on for 24 to 48 hours before bottling. I set the bucket on a chair in a window in the sun. Most of the wax will float to the surface. Since I'm taking honey from the bottom of the bucket through the gate very little wax ends up in the bottles. You can skim the wax off if you wish, or lay a piece of press-and-seal plastic food wrap (the kind that is sticky on one side) over it and then lift the plastic wrap off. Its not necessary though. Skimmings still have a lot of honey. Put the yummy skimmings 😋 in a tupperware tub and set it next to your toaster, it won't last long.

All harvesting will have some wax in it, but crush and strain harvesting is especially wax heavy.

 

[crofter]

I wonder if those bits of wax that slowly head for the top are local crystallization triggers. This could be slightly coarser and differentiate from the balance of the container.

 

[Omega]

Thank you all! I might try melting it all down again and skimming the frosting off the top. Worth a shot, anyway!