We've been getting plenty of requests for bulk honey, so lets go!
15 kilo tubs that you can use and store or split into jars etc. We don't recommend putting a tap on your bucket as our honey is raw and will thicken and candy.
Honey never goes out of date! If you can pick up from the Sydney or Central Coast region then you are welcome to purchase. Prices haven't dropped as we'd hoped :( but on the up side they're still HEAPS cheaper than anywhere else!
I do ensure each batch/type of honey is tasted to make sure it's up to scratch. I do ask you your preference JUST IN CASE we get a choice but it's not always an option.
Message me or email at co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com and include whether your favourite is light and mild, busy and floral or strong and hits the back of your throat. :)
I do ensure each batch/type of honey is tasted to make sure it's up to scratch. I do ask you your preference JUST IN CASE we get a choice but it's not always an option.
Message me or email at co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com and include whether your favourite is light and mild, busy and floral or strong and hits the back of your throat. :)
(Always read the conditions of membership on our blog before ordering. There will be no assistance in lifting your honey tubs, you must bring muscles with you!).
TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE *RIGHT* HONEY:
1. Ask when the honey was extracted. If they don't know, or can't remember, chances are it's old - which is fine if it's candied or creamed, but not if it's runny! They could have been heated at high temps to make it runny for sale. Honey usually starts to thicken and candy within 3 months, sooner in winter. So if the seller says it will stay runny - those are your alarm bells!
2. Ask how it's been filtered. If the honey has been cold filtered (or heated to 45C which is classed as raw) the enzymes are still in tact and the honey will candy over time.
3. Ask where the honey was harvested from. If it's "local" honey in a suburban area there's more likelihood of it being contaminated slightly with petrol fumes from wayside flowers etc. Although, if you're taking honey to combat hayfever, then this might be best option to help combat that - local pollen for local honey.
In some cases you may come across honey from a ground crop farming area. You will know when your honey has been "finished off" or bulked up by feeding the bees on Canola flowers, because you'll find the honey will candy super hard and fast! The granules will be super fine and pale. This is NOT good quality honey. Yes, it will store for a long time, but your chances of having pesticide residue is quite high. Canola also takes on the flavour of bush honey quite easily, so it's a trick to start the bees on Yellow Box (high quality low GI honey) and then for the rest of the season fed them on Canola/farming areas. Always ask for BUSH HONEY!
4. Ask what they use to stop beetles from damaging the hive. If they are a commercial beekeeper, surprisingly they're more likely NOT to use chemical strips or cartridges.
Using a chux cloth at the base of the hive has worked in the past as it tangles the beetle's legs and they can't escape or get up to the honeycomb.
However, beetle conditions have been worsening in the past few years and chux often isn't enough. Pesticide cartridges containing a milk poison, act as a trap that attract the beetles. They fall in and can't get out. No pesticide touches the bees or is exposed to the hive. However, Co-op Stop Australia aim to provide honey from only hives that have used chux to claim as close to Organic as possible.
DO NOT buy honey that has had pesticide STRIPS in the hive. These do have contact with the bees and the honey and are not safe.
5. Beware of honey that has been boiled, it will be super runny, darker in colour (as the sugars caramelise) and has no enzymes so will never candy. Sometimes a beekeeper will boil the honey so it looks fresh and runny which is appealing to retail customers.
It is totally fine to slowly re-warm honey, as long as the temperate never exceeds 45C. The more you do this, the stronger the flavour will be and darker the colour. Note: some honey that is super fresh is still dark, depending on the type of flowers the bees fed on.
A honey supplier may warm candied honey in a large freezer with light bulbs installed to heat up the buckets (raised off the floor with more lights underneath). This takes a few days and it fine.
At home, it's always best to put a jar in the sun and turn periodically, or immerse the jar in tap hot water. Never microwave your honey if you want to retain the "raw" status.
Keep in mind, a re-warmed honey will candy faster than fresh honey.
It is totally fine to slowly re-warm honey, as long as the temperate never exceeds 45C. The more you do this, the stronger the flavour will be and darker the colour. Note: some honey that is super fresh is still dark, depending on the type of flowers the bees fed on.
A honey supplier may warm candied honey in a large freezer with light bulbs installed to heat up the buckets (raised off the floor with more lights underneath). This takes a few days and it fine.
At home, it's always best to put a jar in the sun and turn periodically, or immerse the jar in tap hot water. Never microwave your honey if you want to retain the "raw" status.
Keep in mind, a re-warmed honey will candy faster than fresh honey.
* If you have any more questions, please contact me at co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com
