Detailed Explanation of Key Points in Honey Storage and Processing Technology

1 Storage

1.1 Use appropriate containers

Honey is a weakly acidic liquid, and contact with metal will cause oxidation, so non-metal containers (except stainless steel drums) such as vats, wooden barrels, non-toxic plastic buckets, etc. must be used for storage, but they must be washed clean and wiped dry. In areas with high honey production, honey storage sites can be established. Storage containers must be clean and dry, honey should not be stored too full, and 25%-30% of space should be left during transportation to prevent honey from fermenting and overflowing or bursting the container due to heat and vibration. The room temperature for honey storage should be maintained at 5-10°C, and honey buckets should not be left outdoors for long periods.

1.2 Store by variety

Honey varieties differ from place to place. Honey from different flower sources differs in color, aroma, and taste. Even within the same area there are differences, such as Chinese milk vetch honey, rapeseed honey, citrus honey, chaste tree honey, etc. Therefore, they should be stored separately to prevent mixing, so as to maintain their respective characteristics and flavors.

1.3 Keep it clean

Honey often contains pollen clumps, wax flakes, bee wings, bee legs, dust and sand, and even bee carcasses. The honey can be placed in a relatively tall drum and filtered through gauze, then the pure honey floating on the upper layer can be scooped out and stored separately. Time required for settling: 3 days at 20°C, and only 10 hours at 35°C.

1.4 Prevent fermentation

Honey contains yeast, which will decompose part of the sugars in the honey. Unripe honey has a high water content, is most suitable for yeast reproduction, and is prone to turning sour, so it is not suitable for storage. Therefore, before storage, this type of honey must be placed in a wide-mouthed container, left open in a dry, ventilated room with a temperature above 25°C, and left to stand for several days to let the excess water evaporate.

1.5 Prevent moisture absorption and off-flavors

According to experiments, if honey is exposed in a room with a relative humidity of 81%, its moisture content can increase to 32% after 3 months, so it must be kept in sealed porcelain or ceramic vessels such as vats, workshops, or bowls, and placed in a dry, ventilated room at a temperature of 5-10°C. If the container cannot be guaranteed to be sealed, items with strong odors must never be placed in the storage room, to prevent the honey from absorbing off-flavors.

1.6 Crystallization

Crystallization is another characteristic of honey. Crystallized honey has 3 forms: greasy, fine-grained, and coarse-grained. Crystallized honey becomes lighter in color and thicker in form, which is favorable for storage and transportation, while honey supplied to the market is required both to maintain a transparent appearance and liquid state and to prevent crystallization, so crystallized honey needs to be heated in a double boiler to thaw it. Put water in the outer layer of the pot and honey in the inner layer; when the water temperature reaches 71°C, keep it for several minutes, then remove from heat, let stand for 1 day, remove the surface foam, put it into sterilized glass bottles, and seal.

2 Processing

2.1 Concentration

2.1.1 Acceptance of raw honey. The quality of raw honey directly affects the quality of the processed honey, so the color, odor, moisture content, honey type, diastase value (freshness index), length of collection time, and pesticide residues of the raw honey must be strictly tested one by one. It can only be used if the diastase value is above 8; if it is less than 8, it cannot be concentrated and processed. When it drops to close to 0, it absolutely must not be purchased.

2.1.2 Selection and blending. According to the order requirements, purchase high-quality honey and blend a small honey sample, and then, based on the small sample and the order requirement indicators, carry out large-scale honey processing production.

2.1.3 Melting. Heating is used to prevent fermentation and destroy crystal nuclei, delaying honey crystallization. The heating temperature is 60-65°C, and the time is 30 minutes; stir during heating to make the honey heat evenly and speed up melting.

2.1.4 Filtration. Keep the temperature of the heated honey at 40°C so that the honey is in its optimal flow state, so that it can smoothly pass through multiple filtration stages to remove impurities and a small amount of larger crystals. Perform pressure filtration in a sealed device to shorten heating time and reduce flavor loss.

7.1.5 Vacuum concentration. Select suitable vacuum concentration equipment, and concentrate the honey under conditions of a vacuum degree of 720 mm mercury column and a temperature of 40-50°C, so that the impact on the color, aroma, and taste of the honey can be reduced to a minimum. During concentration, special attention should be paid to the recovery of aromatic volatile substances after the honey is heated. Set up an aroma recovery device to recover the volatile substances and dissolve them back into the finished honey, maintaining the unique odor of honey.

2.1.6 Cooling. Lower the temperature of the concentrated honey as soon as possible to avoid prolonged storage at high temperature that would reduce honey quality, and at the same time prepare for packaging. In order to speed up cooling, it is best to use forced circulation and stirring cooling, so that the product maintains a good appearance and internal quality.

2.1.7 Inspection and packaging. During the concentrated honey process, random sampling tests should be carried out to keep the moisture content of the processed honey stable within 17.5%-18%. Packaging specifications can be divided into two categories: large packaging and small packaging. Large packaging uses iron drums as containers, and the inside of the iron drums should be coated with special coatings that meet food hygiene requirements, to avoid contamination caused by the acidic substances contained in honey corroding the iron. Small packaging is mainly bottled, and the finished honey can be directly poured into cleaned and strictly sterilized glass bottles.

2.1.8 Storage. The storage warehouse should be separated separately, avoid direct sunlight and high-temperature environments, remain dry and ventilated, and be prevented from being stored together with items with off-flavors.

2.2 Crystallized honey

First concentrate the moisture content of the liquid honey to below 18%, then heat it to 49-50°C, and then filter out impurities and beeswax while hot. If conditions permit, it is best to quickly heat the liquid honey to 55-56°C through a plate heat exchanger, and then quickly filter it through a 60-mesh filter screen to fully remove all visible particles. The filtered liquid honey must be immediately sent to a twin-roll cooler for cooling. When the temperature of the liquid honey drops to about 24°C, introduce crystals at 10% of its weight, and stir evenly as quickly as possible. The crystals can be taken from the crystallized honey of the previous production batch, but before introduction they must be ground in a colloid mill, the finer the better. During the stirring process, the temperature of the liquid honey gradually decreases. When it is below 14-20°C, stabilize it within this range to allow complete crystallization. For 2-3 days after the seed is introduced, it still needs to be stirred several times each day, and after 10-15 days it can be filled and sealed. It should be noted that in the processing of crystallized honey, mastery of the crystallization temperature and whether the seed is fine and evenly distributed are the key to production. If the moisture content of the liquid honey is relatively low and the viscosity is relatively small, then appropriately approach the lower limit. The seed needs to be thoroughly ground, and after addition it must be fully stirred, to prevent the formation of coarse crystals and affect product quality.