Honey Harvest!

Welcome to "The Other Kitchen"...

Or what we refer to as:

Now, don't get me wrong, he's not what the sign says, but it's funny!

When we got new appliances for the house, the old ones went out to his garage.  They come in quite handy actually! 

Especially for what Pig Pen sprung on me today!  Our First Honey Harvest!  This wasn't even on my radar as I was knee deep in basil, pesto, turnips and beets!  Geesh!  Like I needed more to do today!  But it was AWESOME! 

Funny side note:  right when I was headed to the garage to get things started, naturally the phone rings...it's my Mom.  I told her I couldn't chat because we were fixin' to harvest some honey! 
Mom's response???  "Oh, WAIT!  I'll throw some pants on and be right out!" 
Hmmm...I think I will leave that one alone!

Warning:  Long post and lots of super cool pictures!

So to get things started, Pig Pen had to round up the frames, brush off ALL the bees and bring them up.  Here's what they look like:

Neat, huh?  Next, he heats the knife and cuts off the caps:

Jenny Girl's job was to help him keep the knife clean.

Then he uses a special 'brush' to remove any caps that the knife couldn't reach.  He does all this over a screened container which catches the honey as well.

Then he loads them in his homemade honey extractor.  He made this bad boy from scratch and he really worked hard on it!  He is pretty ingenious and can make anything!  It's all non-corrosive and sterilized.  Here is the extractor inside and out:

Now it's time to load up and have some fun!

The extractor holds four frames at a time.  He uses his handy drill to 'power' it.  The idea is to 'spin' the honey out of the comb and into the base of the extractor. 

Click on the video to see it in action!

Did ya notice my Mom had her pants on???

See the honey in the bottom and how the combs are empty now?

Once the honey is spun out, he opens the valve and it pours into a brand spankin' new bucket equipped with honey 'screens'.  The screens filter out wax particles and what not and sit on top the bucket.

This is what the screens look like after the honey has passed thru.

There is alot of honey still in the caps that were cut, and because dumbie me didn't know and Pig Pen conveniently 'forgot' to tell me how to get that honey out, I hand squeezed the wax and it too, went thru the screens. 

Once all the honey ran thru the screens, we moved into the house, made a big ole mess and started jarring up some yummy goodness!

It actually goes pretty fast!  We had some help too...Jenny Girl and my Mom washed and dried all the cute little Honey Bears.  Remember...we had no warning that Pig Pen was going to spring this on us!  Otherwise I would have prepared! 

Here is the huge mess left to clean up...did I mention the hot water heater kept going on the fritz to boot?  Yeah, ya sorta need hot water to clean up sticky goo!  Not to worry, Pig Pen came to the rescue!

Suffice it to say, long day...LOADS of fun!  I can honestly say this was one of the absolute COOLEST things we have ever done and soooo worth it!

Here are our little Honey Bears!  Each hive has it's own flavor and color.  The one on the left is from the bees we purchased.  The one on the right is from the swarm we 'accquired'.  The honey will 'clear' as the air bubbles from processing it settle.

And for comparison sake, to show you how very different even local honey can be as well as to store bought:

From Left to Right:  Ours, a batch from about 25 miles from here and of course, the store bought.

Amazing, isn't it?  Ours has a mild flavor and is very light in color.  It is super yummy!

Now for something else that is pretty cool!  Here is what you do with the excess wax and caps:

Heat slowly and it separates.  Once it cools, the wax will come to the top and you just pop it right off, filter the remaining honey and your are good to go!

Um, did I tell you we harvested 70 POUNDS of honey???  And that it was only a partial harvest???  Lots more to come!  But we are going to wait until Fall!

For an update on the Bee Sting Tally ... Pig Pen - 5 ... The Apple Pie Gal - None!

And that would be because I stay way far away...even for the pictures!

Oh and Thanks, Mom...for putting your pants on!