honey tooo wet?

[e~]

 This is year 1, I extracted, I thought I did the shake test on anything that was not capped. A friend came over and we checked the %. We did about half the jars and got between 18%  and 19.25%. How paranoid should I be? How soon can things get wonky? I would just stick it in the freezer but don't really have room right now. I have read different temps for pasteurizing....ideas please.

[Gerard]

I extract and bottle the honey, some of it I strain through cheesecloth first. That's it. I only heat it if it crystallizes as heat destroys enzymes. At the moisture content you have (I don't test mine) it shouldn't ferment. I enjoy raw liquid honey, but it will crystallize over time. The warmer you keep it, the longer it generally takes. to crystallize.

[e~]

Ah you seem much calmer then my books, I have read the threshold for fermenting is anywhere from 18%, 18.1%  to 18.6% I don't care if it crystallizes, I would just cry if it turned to vinegar and started to crawl out of the jars.........

[Gerard]

Yes, I'm learning calmness and the art of beekeeping :)  I lose it a bit though when the smoker goes out prematurely.  I look back over the millenia of humans keeping bees and enjoying honey without things like refractometers, and they were successful.  I have read several technical books, and am aware of how some people think things should be done, so if it works for them, great.  It's just that my interest wanes when the art is lost.

 

My technique is to extract all of the fully, and mostly fully, capped frames first, collecting the honey in a 2 gallon container(s).  This I bottle, sell some, and put some on the back of the shelf because I trust that it will not ferment.  Next I extract frames that have a small percentage of uncapped cells and collect it in a separate 2 gallon container(s).  This I figure probably won't ferment, but sell and give it to people that will use it quickly, myself included.  Lastly I extract the frames with a greater percentage of open cells, and although I always intend to feed it back to the bees, there are people who want it knowing it is very likely to ferment if not used quickly.  So far no complaints.

 

I fully understand and relate to your concerns about fermentation.  I'm not looking forward to that happening either.  So far it hasn't that I know of.  Best wishes for success with your honey.