Are you a extractor/” title=”How To Extract Honey Without An Extractor”>novice beekeeper
with a hive or two under your care? Are you grappling with the challenge of extracting honey from the combs and wondering if you need to invest in an extractor? Well, worry no more! You’re about to discover that you can indeed extract honey without an extractor and much more!Contrary to popular belief, a honey extractor isn’t a must-have. It’s a pricey beekeeping tool that typically sees use only once a year. If you’re not swimming in honey to sell, you certainly don’t need an extractor. However, as your hives multiply, you’ll instinctively know when it’s time to invest in one.
Even without a fancy honey extractor, there are several things you can do to prepare your delicious honey for your loved ones!
Extracting Honey Without An Extractor
As a small-scale beekeeper, you’ve already invested significantly in equipment for the growing seasons. However, when it comes to harvesting your honey, extracting honey from the comb can be a costly affair. Honey extractors are typically used only once per year, and if you’re still gauging your level of commitment, it wouldn’t be wise to buy one.
There are numerous other ways to relish the fruits of your and your bees’ labor without incurring additional costs. However, it’s worth noting that using an extractor is the cleanest and most efficient method for extracting honey.
Before we delve into the specifics of how you can extract honey without an extractor, let’s first explore the different types of honey products you can create simply by not using a honey extractor.
Your first option is to harvest your honey and create unextracted or cut comb honey. Comb honey was a hit around the turn of the 20th century before commercial honey extraction equipment became globally accessible.
With the advent of these unfamiliar machines, consumers were skeptical that extracted honey might be diluted with other sugary syrups to maximize profits. Comb honey was a surefire way to assure consumers that it came directly from the source.
Cut comb honey is the least labor-intensive way of enjoying honey, hands down. All you need is a knife to cut the comb when you want to consume it. However, it’s crucial to remember that comb honey can only be produced with wax foundation or foundationless frames. Comb honey cannot be made with plastic foundations.
Typically, beeswax foundations have wires embedded in the base, and if you follow those lines when cutting your comb honey, things will turn out neatly, and you’ll be able to savor it to the fullest!
The second option is for those of you who are keen on producing liquid honey but are still unsure about purchasing an extractor. Fortunately, there’s another way to extract liquid honey! It’s called crushing and draining.
Crushing and draining the comb is remarkably effective, resulting in clean and pure raw honey extracted with minimal equipment.
Your third option is ross round honey. Ross round honey is gaining popularity due to its ease of production. Ross round honey is easy to package and sell. Ross round supers are specially designed frames that create disc-shaped combs. This means they’re already individual and ready to be packaged.
Ross rounds are easy to assemble and are even reusable! All you have to do is place these round-shaped discs in the hive, and the bees will produce the comb and fill it with honey. Then, when the bees are done, the beekeeper only has to remove the comb from the frame and package it.
Your final option is chunk honey. Chunk honey is a blend of extracted honey and comb honey. Essentially, you take a piece of cut comb, place it in a jar, and then fill the remaining space with strained honey. It’s an appealing way to present honey for sale or as a gift.
Of course, there are downsides to extracting your honey without a proper honey extractor, even when you produce cut comb and crush and strain. While an extractor allows you to simply uncap the cells and save the comb for the bees to reuse, the crush and strain method completely destroys the comb.
This means that you’ll have to clean your frames and install a new foundation after extraction. The cost of this is minimal. However, when compared to the purchase cost of an extractor and the storage space, an extractor will ultimately be your best choice in the long run.
Extracting Methods Without Using An Extractor
The night before you plan to extract your honey, visit your hives and remove the frames. Store the frames in a secure and dry place, like your garage, where your bees won’t be able to access them. Bees have an uncanny knack for locating their own honey and reclaiming it.
Wondering how to extract your honey? You’ll find all four different methods with step-by-step instructions in the lists below, along with what you’ll need for each extraction.
Method 1: Cut Comb Honey
You will need:
- A kitchen knife
- A baker’s cooling rack
- A baking sheet or baking tray
Instructions:
- Place the cooling rack on top of the baking sheet or tray.
- Position the frame of honey on your cooling rack.
- Cut the honeycomb out of the frame and then remove the frame. Keep the comb on the cooling rack.
- Using the knife, cut the comb into 4-inch squares. Ensure to wipe your knife after each cut to keep the comb clean.
- Separate the cut pieces and let them drain overnight.
- Once drained, you can wrap the wax combs for later use.
It’s important to remember that you need to freeze the comb at some point during this process.
Method 2: Crush And Strain
You will need:
- A suitable sized bowl or pan
- A baking sheet or tray
- A bucket
- Cheesecloth or any other type of strainer/filter
- Potato masher or wooden spoon
Instructions:
- Cut the comb out of the frame and place it in a bowl or pan. If you have a plastic foundation, you’ll have to scrape the comb off on each side and then place it in the bowl.
- Crush the comb with the potato masher or wooden spoon until there are no lumps left. You’ll need to crush every cell. If you don’t have a wooden spoon or potato masher, you can use your hands. Just ensure your hands are clean!
- Place the cheesecloth in a mesh kitchen strainer for support and begin to strain the honey. The strainer should be over the bucket. Remember to cover everything to keep any dust away.
- Let it sit overnight in a warm place.
- Once all is completely drained, you can wrap the wax combs for later.
Method 3: Ross Round Honey
You will need:
- Ross round frame
- Suitable packaging
Instructions:
- Place the ross round frame in your hive.
- Once the ross round frames have been filled with honey, you can remove the frame from the hive and wrap it up in plastic.
- Place the wrapped frame in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
- Unwrap the frame after it has thawed.
- Gently separate the frames and remove the round honeycombs.
- Package the combs in your packaging.
Method 4: Chunk Honey
You will need:
- Wide-mouth mason jar or any other suitable glass jar.
- Honeycomb
- Strained honey
Instructions:
- Estimate the size of the combs you will need and ensure that they will comfortably fit in your jars.
- Hold sections on the cut side to prevent any damage to the caps.
- Put the comb in the jar. To keep the comb from floating up to the surface of the jar, stick the comb to the bottom of the jar with melted wax.
- Add extracted honey slowly to reduce air bubbles inside the jar.
- Freeze the jars after filling them for at least 24 hours to remove any impurities.
While honey extractors are indeed efficient tools for removing honey and preserving the comb, they are expensive and occupy a lot of storage space. Hobbyist beekeepers, who typically have only a few frames, don’t necessarily need to use an extractor.
As outlined above, there are various methods that beekeepers can employ to extract their honey from the comb using items readily available in their homes. However, some of these methods do require a bit of patience as you’ll need to wait for 8 to 24 hours to allow the honey to fully drain from the combs.
It’s also worth noting that since you can’t preserve the combs if you don’t use a honey extractor, you can repurpose the wax for future projects. For instance, many beekeepers often choose to make candles or lip balm with wax. There are countless uses for beeswax, and it should never go to waste!
Conclusion
Honey is the ultimate reward of beekeeping, isn’t it? If you’re a new beekeeper, your first-ever honey harvest is a thrilling mix of anxiety and excitement! Navigating the equipment and the process can be a tad overwhelming, but resilient beekeepers usually thrive on a challenge!
Now that you’re armed with all the innovative and efficient ways to extract your honey without having to splurge on an expensive honey extractor, you can start experimenting! However, bear in mind that harvesting honey can be a lengthy process, especially if it’s your first time.
After harvesting your honey, you’ll undoubtedly relish tasting the fruits of your and your bees’ hard work over the year. Of course, you can share your honey with others too, or you could even consider selling at local markets or fairs if you have a surplus!
Title: A Comprehensive Guide on How to Extract Honey Without an Extractor
Introduction
Honey extraction refers to the removal of honey from a honeycomb full of honeybees. In professional apiaries, honey extractors, centrifugal devices that permit honey collection without destroying the combs, are commonly used. However, for small-scale beekeepers or hobbyists, acquiring an extractor may not always be feasible due to cost constraints or low harvesting frequency. Although extraction without an extractor is labor-intensive, this article outlines the necessary steps to successfully do so.
1. Suitable Honey Frames
To begin with, identify mature honey frames. An ideal choice is a frame that is about 70-80% capped with a white, waxy substance that bees use to store their honey. An easy way to check whether the honey is ripe is the “shake test”. If you give the frame a quick shake and any nectar droplets fall out, the honey isn’t ripe yet. The honeycomb cells should look full, and the caps should be flat or slightly concave, signifying that the honey is ready for harvesting.
2. Removing the Bees
Having identified the ripe honey frames, the next step involves removing the bees from these frames carefully. A bee brush is handy to gently brush the bees off the frames. Another option is to use a bee escape, a one-way exit device that takes advantage of the bees’ natural instinct to leave the hive at sunset and never return. Place the escape between the brood box and honey supers a couple of days before the intended extraction day, allowing enough time for the bees to exit.
3. Uncapping the Honeycombs
Beware not to rush into harvesting once the bees are out. Instead, uncap the honeycombs using a heated electric uncapping knife or a non-serated kitchen knife. Slice off the wax cappings to expose the honey-filled cells gently. Collect the wax cappings for candle-making, lip balms, or other wax-based products, ensuring no wastage.
4. Expelling Honey from the Honeycomb
There are a few effective ways to extract honey without using an extractor.
a) Drainage method: Once the honeycomb is uncapped, cut the comb out from the frame into a large bowl or bucket and leave it to drain. This method is simple but may take longer (even up to 24 hours).
b) Crush and Strain method: This involves crushing the uncapped honeycomb into a sieve or cheesecloth placed above a clean container. Gravity pulls the honey through the sieve or cheesecloth and into the container while trapping the beeswax within the sieve.
c) Swing method: This requires a secure and clean space. You swing the frame downwards, forcing the honey to splatter out from the comb cells due to centrifugal force. Although this is quicker, it demands more effort and it can create a mess.
5. Storing the Honey
After the extraction, it is essential to store the honey in sterilized glass jars right away to maintain its quality. Store these jars in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight.
Conclusion
While extracting honey without an extractor can be labor-intensive, it is a cost-effective method for small-scale beekeepers or honey enthusiasts. Properly undertaken, it yields high-quality honey while preserving the honeycomb structure. It is crucial to remember that while involving couples of days and effort, the result is a delightfully sweet liquid gold that is worth every bead of sweat poured into its extraction.
