Sunday 8 August 2021

What's up, honey?

 


I went to get something from my storecupboard this morning and found a whole shelf was covered in sticky stuff.  At first I thought I'd knocked over an opened jar of honey and it had leaked.  But I quickly discovered that it was my unopened jars leaking.  I wondered if the recent high temperatures had made the honey expand in some way but a quick google revealed that my honey had started to ferment!!😲

I had to search a few beekeeping sites for information.  I knew the beekeeper that produced the honey was a very experienced guy so the processing wasn't an issue.  Was it the prolonged hot spell??  A quick taste showed it hadn't fermented too much so I decided to use it up by making some elderberry syrup.  I'd been planning to do it soon any way.  Recipe HERE

And I started a batch of Fire Cider too.  Instructions HERE from an old forum friend.  I was really pleased to be able to use my own home grown garlic, rosemary and thyme 😊


From past experience I know the syrup helps soothe my throat in Winter (occupational hazard when you talk all day for a living!) and the Fire Cider helps fight off the nasty cold bugs.  When we returned to school last year, a yucky cold bug swept the school as everyone's immune system was weak.

I'm just trying to plan ahead!!

11 comments:

  1. I thought fermentation took place when the moisture content of the honey was too high, either taken too soon, or introduced after/during processing. I loved my shortish foray into beekeeping and learned a lot, sadly no room here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I read that. Mostly inexperienced beekeepers taking it too soon/uncapped. My source has kept bees for over 40 years so I was thinking that or the added moisture unlikely. But I guess you never know.

      Delete
  2. I quite often find my honey solidifies but, not knowing about fermentation, I have continued to use it with no side effects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep honey normally solidifies here. So does coconut oil. You practically need a hammer and chisel to get any out the jars!!

      Delete
  3. Very clever! It all sounds delicious.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I didn't know honey could ferment or leak from a jar while alone in the cupboard!! I suspect the high temperatures recently probably didn't help. I found my jar of coconut oil was pretty runny when I went to use it recently for soap making and normally its solid in the jar. It's nice when these 'accidents' lead to getting something good done though! Enjoy. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know either! My coconut oil is soft and easily scoopable, LOL! xxx

      Delete
  5. Wow, I didn't know honey can do that! I knew that it depends on flowers bees visit if honey solidifies or not (and here in north all flowers make solid honey...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, I learned something new. Still edible but really interesting to see what a natural product does :-)

      Delete

I love getting comments but I will delete any spam and rude personal comments without hesitation. Thanks