HONEY PRODUCTION: UNCAPPING, HONEY EXTRACTION, DECANTING AND FILTRATION, HEATING

Uncapping

Uncapping is the first phase of the actual processing. It consists in eliminating the layer of wax that closes the cells containing the honey. It is carried out with the help of knives, which can also be heated to facilitate the operation, or with semi or fully automatic uncapping machines, equipped with blades or chains that they cut or shatter the wax.

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Honey extraction or extraction

Once the cells have been uncapped, the honey is extracted through the use of honey extractors which, thanks to the centrifugal force, make the honey come out and allow the combs to be reused. In centrifugal honey extractors, of different sizes according to the type of activity, manual or automatic, the honeycombs are loaded one by one or by means of special baskets or in the supers themselves. With these devices, the honey is forced out by centrifugal force and the combs remain available for the next harvest. Honey can be extracted completely only if it is sufficiently fluid and this usually happens if its temperature is close to 30 °. Even the honey extractors and other equipment with which the honey comes into contact in these early stages of processing (counter for uncapping, knives, grids, containers) must be made of material suitable for contact with this food.

Decanting and Filtration

Decanting leads to the separation by difference in specific weight of the impurities that rise to the surface if they are light (wax, insects and parts of insects, organic materials of various kinds, air bubbles) or that settle on the bottom if heavy (mineral particles and metal) from where they can easily be eliminated. The process takes place by leaving the honey to rest in special containers (usually and improperly called "ripeners") for a time ranging from a few days to a couple of weeks. The decanting speed varies according to the type of impurities (smaller, slower migration), the size of the decanting vessel and the viscosity of the honey, which in turn depends on its water content and temperature.
At temperatures of 25 - 30 ° C, decanting occurs relatively quickly (from a few days to a couple of weeks) in most cases.
Decanting can become problematic in the case of particularly viscous honeys (low water content) or when the temperature drops or for honeys with rapid crystallization: in these cases it is necessary to resort to a slight heating of the decanting environment, so that the temperature of the honey is kept close to 30 ° C. The decanting can be accelerated by particular devices (settling tanks) in which the honey is heated to higher temperatures and forced to follow a path during which the impurities are progressively retained; it has the advantage of also eliminating foam and air bubbles and, if the production is collected in large containers, of uniform characteristics; the main disadvantage consists in the cost of suitable containers and in the immobilization of the product. Contrary to what is usually thought, the pause in the ripener does not generally allow to obtain improvements in the moisture content. At the surface of the honey there is an exchange of moisture with the environment, but because this is in favor of the product, and not to his detriment, the relative humidity of the air must be less than 60%, which occurs rather rarely in our climates, in unheated or artificially conditioned environments. Filtration allows you to purify honey without immobilizing it, using filters of various types as long as the pores have a diameter of less than 0.1-0.2 mm, a dimension that allows you to retain (inside the honey) the pollen grains which, according to legislation European, cannot be removed as they allow to trace the origin of the honey. Filtration is used as an alternative or in addition to decanting (making the latter faster) but it is also the most used system to purify honey in processing plants, where the immobilization of the product connected with decanting is unthinkable. The filtration units are made up of simple nylon mesh "bag filters" or similar metal mesh devices. The common feature consists in having a "large filtration surface and can be used in immersion, to avoid incorporating air and so that the impurities, remaining in suspension inside the bag, will clog the pores in a very long time. longer. The most common have pores with a diameter of 0.1 - 0.2 mm. For this type of filtration it is necessary that the temperature of the honey is around 30 ° C. Filtration on devices with smaller porosity, as well as requiring more energetic conditions (higher temperatures or pressure), is prohibited by European legislation, as it would also retain the pollen grains which are instead considered part of the honey itself and would make it impossible to trace the geographical and botanical origin of the honey through microscopic analysis. The normal filtration with bag filter does not allow to eliminate the air bubbles (which must in any case be eliminated by decantation), nor the small mineral impurities ("black dots") which are attributable to hygienic deficiencies in the early stages of processing (supers placed on the ground, dirty and dusty materials, etc.) and which have a diameter smaller than the porosity of the filter. Speaking of cleaning honey, it can be added that, in addition to a suitable system for eliminating "intrinsic" impurities (wax and air), the " beekeeper must above all take care not to introduce others with inappropriate or clumsy operations.
Filtration and decanting can (and often are) used in succession.

Warm up

For many of the techniques described below, it is necessary to heat the product, aimed at decreasing viscosity, dissolving the crystals, concentrating the product, and its microbiological or physical stabilization.
PLEASE NOTE: In any case, the heat, however applied, has a negative effect on the honey, in terms of loss of thermolabile substances, proportional to the temperature reached by the product and to the time. The basic concept is therefore to limit the use of heat treatments to the lowest temperature and the shortest time compatible with the technical objective to be achieved.
The peculiarity of honey in fact lies in the fact that it owes its characteristics to the nectar of the flowers which, thanks to the activity of bees, is made available for human consumption. Its value therefore consists not so much in its main composition, which is similar to that of other cheaper processed sugar products (different sugars, molasses, jams), but in the minor components, deriving directly from flowers and bees, which give them different characteristics (aroma, taste and, probably, biological properties), and which are unfortunately , thermolabile and unstable over time. All this is the basis of the legal definition and use of honey in Europe, which tends to distinguish and protect honey from other sugary foods, but at the same time prescribes its use in a country in which the peculiar characteristics are best preserved ("fresh" honey). This premise is fundamental to understand the principles that regulate the honey preparation processes and for human consumption, otherwise certain precautions (relating to heating and storage) that are suggested would seem unnecessary complications. The heating of honey, in the light of the above, must be carried out with certain precautions.
Furthermore, its reduced thermal conductivity opposes uniform heating and the use of heat sources at high temperatures (flame or boiling water bath) always causes an important alteration of its characteristics. In modern plants, for the heating of the honey necessary to reduce its viscosity and thus facilitate the operations that require the flow of the product (decantation, filtration, pumping, mixing, potting) and for the melting of the crystals, systems are therefore used in which the source of heat is only a few degrees higher than the temperature to which you want to bring the honey. For the heating and melting of honey contained in containers for the wholesale, hot air circulation chambers or bain-marie thermostated at temperatures between 35 and 50 ° C are used. The melting can be completed in large containers equipped with a system heating (jacket or coil with hot water circulation) and a mixing one (propeller mixer or recirculation pump) to facilitate heat exchange.