HEATING HONEY 187 



surface, together with all air bubbles and pollen grains, 

 in the form of a thick ' ' scum, ' ' leaving the honey crystal 

 clear. If the heating is carried beyond 150 degrees, the 

 flavour may be impaired and the colour darkened. Low 

 heat continued over a long term is always preferable to 

 great heat for a shorter period ; this is especially so when 

 handling candied honey. 



CANDIED HONEY. 



As most people are aware, on the approach of cold 

 weather some honey will assume a solid condition 

 generally referred to as "candied." Thin honey will 

 congeal much quicker than a dense ripe sample. The 

 ground flora, such as Clover, Thistles, Cape weed, etc., 

 produce honey that candies rapidly even in summer. 

 Honey from ' • Needle wood " and ' ' "Wild hop ' ' will solidify 

 within a fortnight, so that if not quickly extracted, 

 will candy in the combs on the hive. Variations in 

 temperature also help to cause granulation. The primal 

 cause, however, is the "ability of the dextrose to assume 

 a crystalline character, " leaving the water and levulose 

 — the other constituents of honey — to follow slowly. With 

 unripe honey, the levulose and the excess water is often 

 found as a thin watery liquid on top of the solid portion. 



Pollen grains and air bubbles — ^forced through the 

 honey by the centrifugal action of the extractor — unable 

 to rise quickly through the dense body, act as nuclei for 

 the formation of the dextrose crystals. Candied honey 

 is often retailed, cut up into small blocks of 1 lb. weight, 

 and wrapped in a suitable paper, then enclosed in a nicely 

 printed carton. Of course only hard dry congealed honey 

 should be handled in this manner. 



RETAILING CANDIED HONEY. 

 In America, honey, both liquid and congealed, is 

 sold extensively in paper bottles. Honey on the point of 

 candying is run into paper packages and stored away in 

 a dry atmosphere until the process of solidification is 

 complete. It is worthy of note that all honey has the 



