Putting Honey into Glass Jars

[PhilK]

Hi all,

We've extracted around 16kg of honey (our first time) and have bought glass jars to put the honey into.

My question is about sterilisation - what is the best way to sterilise the jar before storing honey in it, and also the best way to seal the lid?

Will putting honey in to a hot glass jar ruin the honey? My mate read somewhere to boil the jars of honey to seal the lids but I imagine that that intense heat would ruin the honey?

Any advice would be great!

[iddee]

Boil the jars, let them cool, and fill. Place the lids on and store them. Sealing is not needed. Honey doesn't spoil.

I don't even boil them. I just run them through the dishwasher.

[cao]

I use mason jars for my honey.  I just wash them like any other dishes.  The only thing I do differently is that when I rinse them I use as hot water.  I let them dry then add honey.  As far as sealing the lids, I bought some heat shrink bands to seal the lids.

[GSF]

Heat will alter the taste of honey. It will make great tasting honey taste only real good . Seriously, I used a hot blow gun (heat gun?)to melt the wax cappings off and I could tell the difference. The honey was still good but no longer exceptional.

[Michael Bush]

Honey is an antimicrobial.  No need to sterilize.  Just make sure they are clean.

[BeeMaster2]

I just run them through the dishwasher also. I only wash the jars, no dishes or silverware. You want them to look good as well as being clean.
Jim

[Acebird]

Like Mike says sterilizing honey jars is kind of pointless.  We actually use used canning jar lids that would not be useful again.

[PhilK]

Great thanks guys, just washed with soapy water and dried in a hot oven.

A had a hard time when I started getting down the bottom of the honey bucket - there's a thin film of white 'scum' on the top of the honey and it didn't look the best going into the jars. I laid some cling film across the top of the honey and then removed it and that seemed to catch most of the 'film' but is there any better way that you would recommend?

The honey also looks cloudy because of lots of very very tiny little bubbles but I guess that can't be avoided (they're not the sort of bubbles you can avoid by pouring, the honey actually looks that way in the bucket and it's been in there for 3 days now)

[iddee]

The bubbles will rise and you can use the cling film again. Cold, one week or more. 100 F., or 37 C. honey, 2 or 3 days.

[Acebird]

there's a thin film of white 'scum' on the top of the honey and it didn't look the best going into the jars.

Most likely the white scum is tiny bits of wax floating to the surface ... maybe some foam, air bubbles.  If you use a bottling tank/ pot the spigot will be under this layer and will not end up in the jar until the level gets down to the spigot.  I don't think the cloudiness is air.  I think it is all the stuff people like about raw honey.  The only way to get it clear is to filter it if that is what you want to do.  My honey is never clear.

[sc-bee]

Let it sit a little longer and tap from the bottom...

[PhilK]

Cloudy is good I think - not a fan of the filtering idea!

We had been tapping from the bottom but the level is so low now that the top of the honey is at the honey gate so it is sucking down some of the white material. Will likely include it all in jars and let them sit to settle and try and remove - don't want to waste a drop!

[BeeMaster2]

I like to let the honey sit in the bottling tank for a week. During that time I use 2 spoons and a cerial bowl to remove the layer on top. I use one large spoon to slowly collect the wax and bubbles together and then scoop it up with that spoon and use the other spoon to scrape it off into the bowl. And repeat until the top is clear. I do this several times and just before bottling. The honey comes out real clear.
I put the foam in a jar and eat it with a spoon. It is really good honey. Some is it is just bubbles that settle back down into honey. The wax stays on top.
One thing that will make the honey cloudy is extracting frames that have pollen and brood in them. I just put them back in the hive.
Jim

[GSF]

I keep it simple, all that foam at the top - is mine! I eat it. 

[Acebird]

don't want to waste a drop!

The beautiful thing about honey is there doesn't have to be waste.  Anything that doesn't meet your criteria either to eat or sell can be given back to the bees.  They will separate everything and put the honey back in cells for you or them.

[Michael Bush]

>here's a thin film of white 'scum' on the top of the honey and it didn't look the best going into the jars. I laid some cling film across the top of the honey and then removed it and that seemed to catch most of the 'film' but is there any better way that you would recommend?

That's the best way I know of.  Then I lay the film on a paper plate and get honey off it for my toast and biscuits until it's pretty much gone.

[amun-ra]

Supermarket people buy honey with no stuff in it Sunday market people look for Honey with stuff in it raw honey only strained never heated sell for a premium its worth it.

[PhilK]

Well after 5-7 days in jars the problem seems to have solved by itself - all air bubbles gone, honey looks great. Thanks for the advice everyone!

[tjc1]

Scrolling the posts page quickly, I had to come back and check this post more carefully because I thought it said "Putting Honky into Glass Jars"... )

Yes, honey seems to take care of itself for the most part - bubbles or whatever.

[mtnb]

We just reuse the canning jars and lids also. The only thing that's annoying is that after time, when the honey gets low and everything has been well honey glazed, it's tough to get the flat sealing part to fit into the screw band and then down onto the jar. lol I think I'd prefer a one piece solid lid.