Happy Valley Beekeeper Sweet on His Honey

I know that there are many of our friends who regularly get pints or quarts of the wonderful and diverse varieties of honey described in this article below.  I came across this clipping about Dad and his hobby of Bee Keeping and thought our friends might like to read about the man who provided all this sweetness!  This was published in the Clackamas County REVIEW on January 16, 1992 and was written by JoAnn Henley. 

This is the total article, but it is cropped for easier reading following this section.

 

 

 

 

 

 In the photo below it is amazing how few trees were in the area even in 1992.  When they first moved there in 1972 there were almost NO trees as this has been a farm area.  From their house you could see the flag at the national cemetery at the top of the hill.  Now the giant fir trees look like they have been there forever, but it was really only 40 years.

This article was written in 1992 and we are still all enjoying the same honey.  We do not sell it of course, but we are happy to share with our friends.  

 

What to do if your honey has crystalized! 

First - DO NOT HEAT IT IN A PAN OF BOILING WATER.  This changes the flavor of the honey.

Crystalized honey is fine as it is if you want to eat it that way.  There is nothing wrong with it and it is easier to measure when using honey for cooking.

But if you want honey that looks just like new, heat your oven to 125 degrees.  Put jar of honey on a cookie sheet or in a cake pan. Leave the lid on but loosen it so it just sets on top of the jar because the honey will expand a little bit in the heat and you don't want the glass to break.  

Put honey in oven and let it sit there for about 8 hours.  My folks would do it overnight.  Turn off heat and let the jar go back to room temperature before moving it.  Sometimes you can use less time - you can just experiment.  The folks would do a whole case of jars (12 quarts) at a time and let it liquify overnight. 

 

JoAnn, if you come across this post -- thanks for the great story on Dad.  I looked for a link to the original, but couldn't find one.  I hoped you and the Clackamas Review wouldn't mind a second time around.  Blessings!!