For the last few years I have been using the crush and strain method to harvest honey. I thought I read somewhere that I should let the strained honey sit for a day before placing in bottles. Why would I need to do that? I have either been using a five gallon bee strainer or a fine gauge paint strainer - both seem to work equally well.
PS - Thanks again to Linda for the wonderfully clear and concise video on how to do the crush and strain method.
I know of folks who let honey sit to allow time for bits of wax, etc.. to rise to the top so they can skim it off before bottling.
You now have my last two cent.
Big Bear
Its good to let it sit in a container with a lid on of course to allow air bubbles to escape and for the light film to come to the top, which you can skim if you want to.
...JP
It doesn't matter how you got it out of the combs, letting it set lets the air bubbles settle and the wax rise to the top...
I often let mine sit overnight for convenience mostly, but it does allow the air bubbles to rise to the top. I find that the last few bottles I fill are the most filled with air because they represent the last of the honey in the bucket and thus all the stuff that has risen while the honey sat.
When I fill bottles, I usually overfill them, if I am entering them in a honey contest, so that I can go back later and spoon off the air bubbles that rise.
I don't have a problem with other "stuff" rising to the top because I filter through the 3 filter system and most of that is filtered out. I know there are still pollen grains in all honey but that isn't usually evident in the bottle.
Thanks for the kind words about my crush and strain video. I was a little overwhelmed the other day to look up the stats and find that it has been viewed 10,441 times! My gracious, but I'm also proud that people use it.
Linda T in Atlanta, a big believer in crush and strain