Harvested frames that were not fully capped

Flow Hive
1

Hi There,

I may have harvested honey that is not fully dried out as it tastes different from the fully capped frames of honey. Is there a way to dry this out after I have harvested the honey?

Also I have frame at this moment that are 75-80% capped, how long should I allow for the bees to finish capping the cells this time of year? What happens if I harvest this late in the season?

Thanks for your help!
Vanessa

Thanks for your help!

Vanessa

2

Hi Vanessa,
If you have harvested un-capped honey it will possibly have too high a water content and if so will ferment and taste different as you’ve noted. You can store it in the fridge to stop it fermenting or just eat it fermented (some people pay more for fermented honey!). I’ve harvested honey at 80% capped without issues as the 20% un-capped gets mixed with the drier capped honey raising the total moisture content by only 1 or 2%.

As far as harvesting this late in the season I’m not that experienced in that area but would imagine it would depend on what your winters are like and what flowers are available as to whether the bees will need some of that honey to get through. You could take some of it safely I would think?