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Author Topic: Does comb effect color of honey?  (Read 1310 times)

Offline Aroc

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Does comb effect color of honey?
« on: September 09, 2020, 10:57:32 am »
Came across something on social media the other day that I hadn?t heard before.  I was always understood the major factor in color of honey was in fact the nectar source.

When asked about color, this particular beekeeper stated the color of the comb was the major determinant in the color of the honey.

I hadn?t really heard this before.  We generally get very light honey where we are and it comes from all degrees of darkness of comb. 
You are what you think.

Offline AR Beekeeper

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Re: Does comb effect color of honey?
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2020, 11:13:47 am »
Old dark comb does discolor honey slightly, but the primary cause of color is the floral source.

Offline Hops Brewster

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Re: Does comb effect color of honey?
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2020, 12:11:38 pm »
I've minimized my presence on social media.  Easy to get bad advise and it's very much unfiltered junk from beginners.  As I tell my kids and grands, Facebook ain't your friend.  The info you get here and other reputable bee forums is rather well filtered, dissected and ratified by the beek community, with several well established experts sharing solid knowledge.
Winter is coming.

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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Does comb effect color of honey?
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2020, 01:41:52 pm »
Old dark comb does discolor honey slightly, but the primary cause of color is the floral source.
Agreed.  I harvested some honey this year that my bees had stored in some really old dark comb.  It tasted off as a result, kind of like slumgum, so I just fed it back to the bees.  In spite of it being in such dark comb however, it's color was barely distinguishable from the same floral honey in nearby lighter combs.
 
I've minimized my presence on social media.  Easy to get bad advise and it's very much unfiltered junk from beginners.  As I tell my kids and grands, Facebook ain't your friend.  The info you get here and other reputable bee forums is rather well filtered, dissected and ratified by the beek community, with several well established experts sharing solid knowledge.
I agree with this as well. 
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Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: Does comb effect color of honey?
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2020, 11:51:03 pm »
I concur.  Dark comb does not change the colour much, if at all.  However, dark comb tends to be older brood comb and can definitely pickup that brood slum-gum type flavour.  Not always, but sometimes it does.  Just depends on how old the comb is.  Some people like it, some do not.
This may be a little tricksy, confessional in nature. Early season nectar here is dandelion and willow. Stinky and strong by its own rite. I have some customers that crave DL and seek it out. Just by the way I operate that first batch of DL honey tends to come out of brood combs that have been pulled up in the stack to be cycled out. Thus enhancing, strengthening, accentuating the already bold and rich DL honey. Those customers love it even more. So I guess what I am saying is if you have customers that like dark bold flavoured honey, give them the brood comb honey.  If you have others who like light and fine stuff, definitely do not.  This is why it is important to keep your extraction batches tagged and separated.
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Does comb effect color of honey?
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2020, 11:40:07 pm »
>When asked about color, this particular beekeeper stated the color of the comb was the major determinant in the color of the honey.

It seems to be a common belief.  One I do not agree with at all.  It makes no difference whatsoever in my experience.
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