Seasonal Work for Beekeepers

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 64, Issue 4, 15 April 1942, Page 278

Seasonal Work for Beekeepers

Standardisation and Grading of Honey

HONEY standards are created by the consuming public. The trade is able to gauge fairly accurately the class of honey required for all markets by the preference shown by consumers for certain qualities. Commercial interests could not dictate the class of honey that shall be bought, and do not attempt to do so. All New Zealand honey consigned in bulk containers to the Internal Marketing Division is now graded under three headings'flavour, colour, and condition. This was made possible by the present repacking system, which deals with the granulation of all honey repacked for retail trade. While grain, coarse or fine, is not taken into consideration, the nature of the granulated state of spoiled honeys may become a factor. Spoiled honey is usually honey which has passed through a melting process to separate it from wax cappings, and which has been very much overheated. Excessive or prolonged heating . drives off the natural moisture content of honey, and gives it a caramel flavour and an undesirable toughness of body. This condition is quite obvious in granulated honey, while in liquid form the same condition is detected by its dull colour, ' caramel flavour, and abnormally heavy body. Honey overheated to the point where the natural flavour has been destroyed completely is rejected. Flavour. — gain the maximum points possible for flavour the beekeeper must take care not to introduce foreign flavours at packing time.. Unclean utensils should be avoided, and anything giving off an unpleasant odour should be removed from the extracting room. While honey can always be sold at a price if the flavour is good, it cannot always be sold on colour. Colour. The only way colour can be impaired is by overheating or the introduction of foreign matter. Propolis will sometimes cause trouble if it is scraped in large quantities from the frames down into the cappings and warmed up with the honey when the cappings are dealt with. Flavour may also be impaired in this way. Condition.— slightest objection--able feature will cause rejection, irrespective of other qualities. There is, however, sufficient room in the grading system for penalties for preventive defects.

Honey must reach the required standard for water content, and honey below 1.420 specific gravity is rejected. Surface specks of wax and pollen or any foreign matter, air bubbles, dull colour condition, and poor body all carry penalties. Poor body may be caused in two —low specific gravity, which indicates an excess of moisture, or by an excess of levulose. The former condition may be avoided by extracting only capped honey and by careful storage to prevent the absorption of moisture, while the latter depends on the class of nectar gathered by the bees. Faulty Packing 'Because of its weight, honey requires the strongest of packages, and two-inch nails are required to hold a case firmly together when full. At least four two-inch nails should be driven in each end of the tops and bottoms of cases, and the side pieces should be secured similarly. Extraction Marks. — Some beekeepers send to the grade store successive lines of honey of different quality and no extraction marks. The cases of each line submitted for grading should be

marked with a letter or number one inch high stencilled on the top righthand corner of each case. Beekeepers are requested not to use the same extractor or quality mark on two different lots of honey in the same season. A good plan is to use letters one year and figures the next. Liquid Honey Supplies.— Honey consigned to the grade store in. liquid or semi-liquid condition must be packed in tins made to special specifications, particulars of which may be obtained from the Internal Marketing Division. The cases should be 19|in. long, 9fin. wide, and 14|in. deep, inside measurements, with 7-Bin ends and jin sides, tops, and bottoms. It is an advantage to use a piece of corrugated paper inside the top and bottom of each case to ensure a close fit and prevent any movement of the tins. Intending suppliers of bulk honey who have not already obtained a registered brand number should apply to the Internal Marketing Division before consigning any honey to the grade

store.

T. S. WINTER,

Senior Apiary

Instructor, Wellington.