I can't believe I'm finally asking a question about harvesting honey. Sweet!
I have a couple of frames that are completely capped honey on one side but the other side contains both capped honey and pollen.
I will be crushing and straining...should I just crush and strain the pollen along with the honey?
-Liz
Congrats! Im a newbee but when I do crush and strain I scrape off just the honey cells and leave the rest for when I replace the frame into the hive. I have plastic foundation so it is easy to do.
Any honey you harvest will contain pollen, whether you see it or not. The little bit you see isn't going to affect the honey one way or the other. Go ahead and crush it.
Remember, the pollen content is why customers buy honey for their allergies.
i'd use it as a selling point and charge more!
That is exactly what I have done with the honey I got from cutouts. So far I have harvested about 10 gals from cutouts. I tell friends that the cloudy look in it is the pollen and it is the good stuff for allergies. I personally do not care for the finely filtered honey and who really knows what the process is that commercials beeks put it through. I want mine raw and that is what I like those who purchase from me to get. ;)
Good going Liz, this is my first year to havest any honey also. I put some of the foundationless comb is 10 quart jars, they were gone in a week.
Joe
If you just squeeze the comb in your fist instead of chopping it up you won't get as much pollen in your honey. You'll still get a good bit.
After chopping up the comb from removals and straining it it's normally quite cloudy with pollen. I let it sit for a month or more and the pollen floats to the top and forms a thick cap on top that is easy to skim off. That cap needs to be removed as it is not very palatable.
Scott
Okay, friends, I got it. Honey that's cloudy with tiny pollen crystals is good. It's an attitude thing. Thanks!
-Liz
When I get a frame like that I put it in a jar for myself to eat. :)Thats the good stuff.