! Equipment Required. ! Honey Extractor. ! Uncapping Knife. ! Uncapping Tray. ! Honey Filters. ! Honey Buckets. ! Apron, Gloves

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1 Beginners Course

2 ! Equipment Required! Honey Extractor! Uncapping Knife! Uncapping Tray! Honey Filters! Honey Buckets! Apron, Gloves! A space that s easy to clean! Optional: A Refractometer! Optional: Settling Tank

3 ! Frames sit inside a cage! One side of frame extracted at a time! Frames need turning to extract both sides! Useful if you only have a few frames to extract! Puts a lot of strain on wax & can destroy the comb! Very efficient way to extract

4 ! Manual or Mechanical! Can accommodate more frames! No need to turn frames! Extractors are very expensive. Ask around for recommendations before you buy.! Can be borrowed from Association

5 ! A double filter ensures a clean looking product! Can be stainless steel or nylon! It will remove wax, bits of wood, bee bits etc from the honey! It allows pollen through! Cold processing preserves the goodness in the honey & preserves its unique flavour

6 ! Straining bags usually 200 or 500 micron rated! Will filter out more than a double filter! Anything finer than 200 microns will remove pollen! Useful if producing honey for show

7 ! Break up and crush comb! Put in muslin bag! Squeeze into container! Leave bag to drip! Only really useful for a small amount of frames

8 ! Stored honey will granulate in time! OSR honey granulates very quickly! It may be necessary to warm honey to return it to liquid state for bottling! Cabinets can be bought or made.! Heating cables can be bought

9 ! Allow honey to settle for a few days after extraction! Skim froth off top of honey! Transfer honey to a bucket or tank with a tap! Sterilise jars! Fill jars by opening tap! Lots of options for jar sizes & shapes! Can use glass or plastic. Squeezy bottles are also available! If selling honey, jars cannot be reused! A good set of scales can be useful

10 ! Preserves all the natural goodness of the honey! Highly desirable! Relatively easy to produce! Use thin unwired foundation, either whole sheets or starter strips.! Need a good honey flow! Remove as soon as frames are capped to ensure capping is clean! Cut into sections with comb cutter! Store in freezer until needed to stop granulation

11 ! A variation of cut comb honey! No cutting required! Sections removed from frame & are already the correct size! Need a large colony of bees & a good honey flow! Keep the colony slightly crowded but beware of inducing swarming! Don t give the bees an alternative to sections or they may only half fill them! Remove as soon as capped

12 ! More difficult to produce that cut comb or section honey! Creates a well presented product! Need a large colony & a good honey flow! Don t offer the bees an alternative! Bees dislike filling rounds due to restricted & unnatural spacing! Remove from hive as soon as capped

13 ! Register with Local Authority! Ensure top quality hygiene! Food Hygiene Certificate needed (Association can help with this)! Food Rating Assessment needed of extraction premises! Trading Standards will need to see labelling! Keep good records Safer Food, Better Business Pack.! Public Liability Insurance! Ensure good presentation of your product

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15 ! Put cappings in a bag overnight & allow to drain honey! A lot of honey can be in the cappings (don t waste it!)! Use a double boiler to gently melt wax! When melted filter into container! Useful filters: J Cloths, Nappy Liners, Surgical Lint, Muslin or micron rated cloth! Containers: Ice cream tubs, plastic Take-Away boxes (clean!)! When wax has set, drain off honey. It can be used in cooking.

16 ! Allow cappings to drain! Put all cappings into a pan of water! Heat water until wax melts! Allow to cool until wax sets! All grot will attach to bottom of wax tablet. Scrape off before filtering again.! This method will ruin any remaining honey in the cappings! Useful for processing brace comb & old brood comb! Wax can be exchanged for foundation with some companies & at the Beekeeping Convention

17 ! Store wax in large blocks or pour into smaller presentation moulds! Keep cool & in the dark or it may discolour! Repeated melting & cooling may also discolour the wax! It may need refiltering before use

18 ! Beeswax Blocks! Candles! Soaps! Lip Balms! Hand, Foot & Body Creams! Polish

19 ! Types of Mould: Silicone, Glass, Polycarbonate! Advantages: Easy to use! Uniformity! Choice! Disadvantages: Expensive! Breakages

20 ! Melt wax into a deep container/ jug! Use a long wick 2-3 longer than you want your candle! Fold wick in two to make a pair! Dip both ends of wick into wax! Remove, let it cool! Repeat times until candle is desired width! Makes great candles but takes a long time!

21 ! Add value to your wax! Can be easy to make! Make a lovely natural gift! Good for the skin! If selling, there are a lot of regulations to comply with! Some of the paperwork can be expensive eg: Safety Assessments

22 ! Usually a mixture of Beeswax & Turpentine! Carnauba Wax can be added to make a harder polish! Great for wooden furniture! If selling, a Hazard Warning Label must be attached. It s the Law!

23 ! Bridgend Local Authority Civic Offices Angel St Bridgend CF31 4WB Tel: Trading Standards (Bridgend) Tel: Food Hygiene Equipment! Jars! Labels See Thorne (above) For blank labels try: Cosmetic Safety Information Cosmetic Safety Assessments Beeswax Recipes Cosmetics Ingredients Beeswax Products

24 ! Beeswax Lip Balm! Use 4 parts oil to 1 part beeswax (eg 120ml oil to 30g beeswax)! Suitable oils: Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Grapeseed Oil! Using a double boiler melt beeswax in oil! When wax has melted remove from heat & allow to cool slightly (don t allow to set)! Add 2.5ml essential oil (peppermint, orange or lemon work well)! Pour into suitable containers! Use within months! Beeswax Hand Cream! Use 6 parts oil to 1 part beeswax (eg: 120ml oil to 20g beeswax)! Olive oil can work well! Follow process as for Lip Balm! After removing from heat ad 2.5ml essential oil (Tea Tree, Chamomile, Rose work well)! Allow to cool completely before putting lids on containers! Experiment with recipes, flavours etc to find what works for you. Enjoy the process!! A lot of ingredients can be found in your own kitchen & so making these shouldn t be expensive

25 ! Ingredients: 60g Bicarbonate of Soda 30g Citric Acid 15g Cornflour 7.5g Coconut Oil 10ml Honey 2.5-5ml Essential Oil Method: 1. Combine dry ingredients together in the bowl (use gloves as citric acid can irritate). Mix well. 2. Add Coconut Oil & Honey 3. Rub in all ingredients (as if making a crumble topping!) 4. Add Essential Oil & rub in. Final mixture should have a dry snow consistency. It should stick together when pressed but be easy to crumble apart. If mixture is too dry gradually add a little more oil. 5. Using your hands shape your bath bomb/s by pressing mixture firmly together. 6. Allow to firm overnight in a dry room or in the oven with just the light on. 7. Run a bath & enjoy your own Hive Product!!

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