For Halloween, (or Hallaloonya, as Ella calls it) the girls dressed up as princesses (don't have any photos right now, I'll have to get some from Cameron & Olivia's grandma) and Peter wore his baseball outfit (quite fitting during the World Series). I dressed up as a very busy mom. Sorry to say, no photos of that. Steve dressed up as a honey extractor and my kitchen made itself up as a honey house. See photos below.
The kitchen disguised as a honey house. Please note, the cupboards and oven are non-functional in this photo (we got to order pizza for lunch).
Steve is uncapping one of the last frames of honey (many, many hours after the project began). The knife is heated so it easily slices through the beeswax (minding one's own, of course) and allows the honey to be extracted.
A close-up of the uncapping process. Note the honey oozing from the cells. (it's very tasty) This uncapped frame will then be placed in a radial extractor (the large cylindrical shiny object in the first photo) and spun at very high speeds (we have a motorized version) so that the honey will be spun out and then drain to the bottom, where it will flow through a honey gate into a large bucket. We obtained approximately 8 gallons of honey on Halloween. There shouldn't be s shortage at our house this winter!
The kitchen disguised as a honey house. Please note, the cupboards and oven are non-functional in this photo (we got to order pizza for lunch).
Steve is uncapping one of the last frames of honey (many, many hours after the project began). The knife is heated so it easily slices through the beeswax (minding one's own, of course) and allows the honey to be extracted.
A close-up of the uncapping process. Note the honey oozing from the cells. (it's very tasty) This uncapped frame will then be placed in a radial extractor (the large cylindrical shiny object in the first photo) and spun at very high speeds (we have a motorized version) so that the honey will be spun out and then drain to the bottom, where it will flow through a honey gate into a large bucket. We obtained approximately 8 gallons of honey on Halloween. There shouldn't be s shortage at our house this winter!
I'm so impressed! it looks like a lot of work, but also strangely fun. does it taste like honey straight off the cells, or do you have to process it?
ReplyDeleteVery fascinating! Thank you for sharing your Hallaloonya festivities on the blog. Interesting post and pictures!
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit of work and a bit of fun. The honey is just what it is in the cells - no processing, though it was quite a process altogether. We ran it through a course filter to remove wax particles, but that's it. This is known as raw honey and I would call it organic, though it isn't certified and the bees are not actually under contract to visit organic nectar sources.
ReplyDeleteNot hard, but also not a clean process. Don't worry, Mom - I won't ask to use your kitchen.
Thank you; I felt like it could be a potentially sticky situation, if asked!
ReplyDeleteSo Rachel, if it is a bit of work and a bit of fun, do you get a "Bit of Honey" when you're done?
ReplyDeleteGlad to see Longfellow chimed in on this one. I was thinking that after I finished. The problem is there's no good way to make 8 gallons seem like a bit o' honey.
ReplyDeleteIn case you're all wondering, you can submit your honey pre-order to Rachel. The price will be a bit of money.
No doubt to feed the chilluns, my little sonny!
ReplyDeleteP.S. The spiced honey you folks made ? added to a cup of hot apple cider, alone, or with a tea bag, is wonderful! You could get a bit of money for that!
ReplyDelete