Crush and strain honey turned out waxy

[MalusEstes]

I couldn't find this on the search function. If this is a common question, please direct me to a link.

This was my first honey harvest, and I harvested a few frames of foundationless honeycomb. I crush and strained, but now after the honey has sat in jars for a week or two, it has turned waxy. No chunks at all, just smooth waxy honey. Is there a way to fix this?

[Hops Brewster]

'smooth waxy' honey doesn't make sense to me.  At normal room temperatures, the particulates in raw honey will eventually rise  to form a layer of tiny wax bits, pollen, and maybe some bee parts. It's normal.  Scrape it off if there's too much on top.

My first thought in regard to your description is that you might be seeing crystallized honey.  You might have accidentally come up with some creamed honey.  Creamed honey is honey that is intentionally crystallized to make it spreadable.  It is very smooth, and some might say it has a 'waxy' texture.

What did you strain your honey with?

[MalusEstes]

I strained through a mixture of metal and plastic strainers and colanders.

The honey acts and tastes similar to creamed honey, but I think there's waxy taste to it, at least I think there is. I'll have to have my girlfriend try it when she gets home. I'm not sure how creamed honey is made, is it possible that I did that? I just stained it and left it in jars for a few weeks.

The honey is solidified enough so that it doesn't go anywhere when I tip it upside down, but I can scoop it out fairly easily with a butter knife.

[Acebird]

This is interesting.  My thoughts are the nectar was from a source that crystallizes very fast.  Crush and strain can make it go faster.  It is possible that prior to crushing and straining the honey was already crystallized some and trapped the wax particles before it could rise.  My suggestion is to warm the honey to 104 degrees in the hopes to completely liquefy the honey.  If it liquefies the wax will come to the surface.  You can certainly go to 120 degrees but it will destroy the raw state.

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

I have a 5 gallon bucket with spigot, made for honey filtration after extraction.  I also have filters made to fit the honey bucket: 200 micron, 400 micron, 600 micron filters.  The mesh is so fine on the 200 micron that I cannot see in between the fibers whereas I can see through the screen of a 600 micron filter.  I always filter, bottle, then freeze my honey until use.  I do not heat my honey at any step.  Heating honey is previously very well discussed (104F.). My frozen honey has never crystallized.

However from talking with other very knowledgeable beeks on this forum, crystallization of honey is somewhat dependent upon the nectar source and concentration of sugars with other factors such as seed crystals.  So I am NOT saying your (everyone's) honey will remain liquid when frozen.  In fact, I have little experience with cream, crystallized honey as mentioned, my honey remains liquid, even after freezing and so I have not attempted to cream the golden, delectable, palatable, delicious sweet syrup of the precious lil honey bees.
Blessings

[Kathyp]

but I think there's waxy taste to it, at least I think there is

you may have a bit of a taste of wax in it.  In my opinion, that's a good thing.  Raw and basically unfiltered honey tastes like the hive...which includes wax.  If you are used to eating the store stuff or processed honey, you have missed this before. 

Creamed honey is just finely crystallized honey.  If you got that, it's a prize.  Save some as a starter for your next batch.  It is the way most of the world eats it!

[BeeMaster2]

Did you put the honey in the refrigerator?That will speed up crystallization.
Jim

[MalusEstes]

sawdstmakr. No, I didn't. Just stored them in a cupboard which was average temp.