B: Jim Thompson
I have been a honey judge for more years than many of you have been alive. During that time, I have seen many changes. There are three basic systems in judging honey: British National, Welsh Honey Judging and the America Honey Judging System. My comments will pertain mostly to the American Honey Judging System.
Color
Most shows will have different color classes and soon you discover that the color of the honey is only a way to separate the honey into similar color groups. However it never used to be that way. Back in the 1880’s, honey was graded as number one, two and fancy, with the darker honey left as an unsaleable or bakers grade item. In some shows today, honey is placed in a certain class by the people in charge of the show, while other shows allow the entry to be moved by the judge into the proper class. A problem can occur when a honey is allowed to be in the wrong class.
From about 1919 to 1922, the A. I. Root Company sold a color grader which had color standards for four colors. Then there was the Munsell color grader which had the seven color grades. In 1950, the Munsell color grader became the USDA color comparator with two rakes instead of three. To use these graders, you would have to fill a special vial with honey and move it around to see what class the honey would be in.
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The Pfund color grader is a device that uses a wedge shaped cell to place honey in and then you would align it with a colored glass to see the best match. There are seven grades: Water White, which is less than nine mm; Extra White, nine mm to 17 mm; White, 18 mm to 34 mm; Extra Light Amber, 35 mm to 50 mm; Light Amber, 51 mm to 85 mm; Amber, 86 mm to 114 mm; and Dark Amber, which is over 114mm. The Pfund color grader has been replaced by larger machines that read the optical density of the honey. Although the early color graders are no longer available, the color divisions are still used.
The Lovibond honey color grader was made in 10 mm and 33 mm models. This device consists of a special vial that you would fill with honey and then you would turn the color wheel until you see a close match (somewhat like a view master). Some judges use the 33 mm wheel to hold up against the honey jars to get an approximate reading. This technique is not really that accurate because the show jars measure about 48 mm in thickness.
The Hanna color comparator was also made in two models, a desktop model and an individual portable model. Again, they use a special vial to hold the honey and it scans the sample to get its optical density. The problem with this machine is that many vials are needed and one must zero the machine between each reading. Thus it can be very time consuming. Since I have the desktop model, I have no problem with the electricity but I can see that the portable model might have battery issues.
The Jacks scale is a color grading device that is currently available and consists of several color tabs with spaces to place the “crutch tip”. The instructions tell you to fill the white container and move it around to find the best match. The problems: How full do you fill the container? Do you have the proper lighting? Is your scale printed in the proper colors or has it faded? I missed my chance as I didn’t buy one of the very first Jacks scale that was printed incorrectly.
The color jars that I mentioned in my book can be an accurate way to determine the color of honey. It consists of six jars of corn oil or corn starch. The problems: The jars were not measured or mixed correctly. Using different brands than what was recommended. Adjusting the mixtures to “look right”; remember that the scale is not equally split up and so some of the jars will look similar. Can you carry all this around to the show and do you have enough room to use it? However, the jars can be used for one pound testing and turned sideways for five pound testing. If you are going to use the jars for judging a large show, were the jars checked by the Pfund, Lovibond or Hanna Color graders? The reason you can’t use honey as the standard is that honey darkens with age and heat.
For those that have completed their apprenticeship training with me, I have a transparency that I give them so they can hold it up against the jars.
Jars
Most shows will specify that glass Queenline or Gamber Classic jars are to be used for the extracted honey. This is an attempt to get jars that are similar to each other and with no designs or figures to distort the view of the contents. Even though the Queenline jar has a 48 mm lid and the Classic jar has a 36 mm lid the thickness of the centers of the jars are within .5 mm if each other.
Jars should be checked for manufacturing faults such as surface scratches or air bubbles in the glass. Sometimes you may have to go through many cases of jars to find the perfect jars. If the entry rules require three jars, find six or more because errors happen or you may want to enter in multiple classes. Some bee suppliers sell show jars but expect to pay more for them.
Let me draw your attention to the jars and point out the neck ring. This ring is not a stop for the lid but is a unit of measure. Thus the proper filling should be in the middle of the neck ring to allow for expansion or contraction of the honey. If you fill it above the neck ring, you are giving honey away. Below the neck ring, you are cheating the potential customer. You could fill sixty, one pound jars from a five gallon container or twelve jars from a gallon container. There is about 1⅓ cups of honey to the one pound jar, so the measure is in weight. If you have an accurate scale, you could determine when it is full by subtracting the tare weight.
Never sell a show jar. After the show, transfer the honey to an imperfect jar and sell it. However some shows specify that the jars are to be sold. Another reason to not sell the show jars are that many glass companies quit making glass containers in 1995.
Polariscope
The polariscope is used to look for debris in the honey such as pollen, beeswax, granulation and foreign matter. Originally, the polariscope used natural light, but the later models use incandescent, fluorescent or LED lighting. A new idea is to use battery powered lighting to avoid long extension cords. The polariscope has two plastic polarizing lenses rotated 90 degrees to each other. Therefore a plastic honey jar, if used, would yield weird views when placed in a polariscope. In another judging system, a flashlight (torch) is use to shine up from the bottom of the jar. Why? Because when honey granulates, it usually starts from the bottom.
Pollen can be seen as particles floating throughout and is an indication that the honey was not filtered with a small enough mesh straining cloth.
Beeswax pieces are usually larger than pollen and also tell the judge that the honey was not filtered as well or that the entry was processed at the last moment.
Air bubbles usually appear toward the top of the jar and indicate that the jar was not processed soon enough. I recommend that the jars be over filled to allow the debris to rise and then spoon out the excess honey and debris down to the neck ring.
Refractometer
There are two major types of handheld honey refractometers used by honey judges, analog and digital.
The analog refractometer has a place for one or two drops of honey and then a “lid” to cover the sample. Aim the refractometer toward the light and the results can seen on a scale that will be in Brix, % water or both. The cheaper refractometers have a scale that reads in one percent segments. Thus you are looking for honey that is between 16.0% to 18.6% water, the scale is very short. The better honey refractometers have a scale that allows one to read the moisture to 0.2% with the ability to approximate to the nearest 0.1%. Most of the refractometers nowadays have the automatic temperature control feature and they zero or calibrate by using water. One thing that I find nice about the analog refractometers is that with light colored honey the background color is blue. If you see an orange background color, it is possibly adulterated honey. However, if you are reading a darker honey, you might see the orange background color due to more minerals being in the honey.
The digital refractometer has an indentation in which you place the sample honey. Then, an internal light shines through the honey and gives you a reading. I have found that these instruments are very accurate, as long as the batteries are good. However, I have found that sometimes the battery level indicator does not work. In very large honey shows, I have had to replace the batteries three times. The instructions tell you that no calibration fluid is necessary, but there is a special calibration fluid required to set the high end adjustment (called Spam). Be careful to get the proper calibration fluid as some of the fluids can destroy the viewing stage of the refractometer. A nice feature of the digital refractometer is that it can read the moisture of a granulated honey.
Taste
Now we will get to a subject that could cause disagreement. With the American System of Judging, the taste is judged to get the maximum amount of points if there are no unpleasantries such as fermentation, toxic floral sources, or adulterations. I was once at a honey show and tasted honey that was a toxic honey and for a minute or so, I couldn’t breathe. At another show, I tasted a honey that everyone bragged was wonderful, until I told them that it was in the first stage of fermentation. It was very sweet, before the alcohol was apparent and had a high moisture content.
There is a movement to judge honey strictly on flavor. I feel that this movement is wrong as everyone has their own taste preferences. Honey should be judged objectively rather than subjectively. The person that has entered the competition needs to know what items were docked. With the Welsh System of Judging, it is fast because no judging sheets are written.
The taste in honey can vary due to the weather conditions, soil conditions, different cultivars, inclusion of chemicals that may have been misused, time of harvest with some uncapped cells, and most important, the species of plants.
Honey
Honey is hygroscopic and thus it could give fits to a small beekeeper by drawing in moisture. The bees cap the honey cells when the honey is 18% moisture, thus a beekeeper should only remove frames that are fully capped. The beekeeper should think of processing the frames to get the moisture to a more respectable moisture level. The best way is to pass warm, dry air through a heated super that is heated by a light bulb or another heat source. Remember that once the frame is uncapped, the beekeeper is fighting the hygroscopic nature of the honey.
There are two major sugars in most honeys. I learned them as levulose and dextrose. You may know them as glucose and fructose. There could be up to 22 different sugars in honeys and not all honeys are the same, as the percentages are different. Glucose (Levulose) tends to allow granulation and fructose (Dextrose) resists granulation. Therefore, we have honeys like Avocado, Black Locust, Black Sage, Gallberry, Sourwood, Tupelo, etc. that take a long time to granulate. On the other hand, we have honeys that granulate very quickly such as Aster, Alfalfa, Blueberry, Canola, Clover, Cotton, Star Thistle, etc. Don’t forget those honeys that are or could be toxic to humans. The internet lists Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel and Honeysuckle Azalea, but there could be many more such as Larkspur, Purple Loosestrife, Yellow Jasmine, etc.
Most of us do not have fields and fields of one type of flower or do not have time to extract after each honey flow. Thus we must label our honey as: Spring Harvest, Summer Harvest, Fall Harvest or Wild Flower honey.
When you store honey for some time you might see a division between two different colors in the jar. That division is caused by the dextrose settling to the bottom of the jar and yielding some moisture to the levulose. If the original moisture was high, you could see fermentation. If the original moisture was within limits, you will notice granulation starting. However, this granulation usually has course crystals.
Granulated Honey
Granulated honey is usually made from a mixture of honeys selected for taste, color and low moisture. The judge is looking for a honey that is firmly set, has fine crystals and looks and tastes good. Beekeepers usually use the Dyce method in granulation that has the adding of a sample of granulated honey. The sample is around 10% of the mixture and the ideal temperature is 57° Fahrenheit. Before adding the sample, the beekeeper must warm the original batch of honey to eliminate its granulating properties. When the honey is cooled, the sample is added. The granulated honey should be placed in a wide mouthed container and the beekeeper should try to avoid air bubbles or foam in the container.
The other method in making granulated honey involves taking honey that has already crystallized and grind the honey to make finer crystals. The instructions on granulated honey state that if the honey is too runny, put it in the refrigerator. However, it should not be kept in the refrigerator. Some shows allow additives such as fruit, vanilla beans or cinnamon while other shows state that only plain granulated honey is to be shown.
Beeswax
Beeswax has many possible categories: Small Chunk, Large Chunk, Molded Candles, Dipped Candles, Carved Beeswax, etc. When pouring a beeswax mold, be sure to have enough wax to fill the mold as it will shrink and make an indentation. You may have to make a secondary pour to fill the indentation. If you make several pours, striations can develop from the differences in wax temperatures or the coldness of the mold. It is important to read the rules of the show to see which categories you can enter and if people from the same family are allowed to enter in the same category. With chunk beeswax, be sure to get the proper weight for the category. Some shows allow decoration of the entry with paint. Dipped candles should be straight and smooth and still hooked in pairs. Wicks for candles should be of the proper size.
Beeswax cappings are usually preferred over darkened wax. Beeswax should be rendered in a hot water bath. The melting point is 147° Fahrenheit. Over that temperature, beeswax may darken.
Beeswax that has been cast a few years ago may develop a white coating called bloom and tells the judge that this is old beeswax. Some judges will mark an entry with their fingernail to be able to tell if the entry has been used before.
Baked Goods
Baked goods usually mean breads, cakes, cookies, granola, pies and rolls. Lately, I have noticed even more classes and each of the previously mentioned classes have divisions. However, you need to read the rules as they change in the amount of honey used, the number of pieces in the entry, whether the product needs to be in a special container and if the recipe and directions need to be attached.
I prefer to see entries that contain 100% honey, but have seen several people cheat by adding a frosting or glaze, fruit, chocolate or cinnamon, raisins, or other sweeteners. It takes a lot of searching to find a recipe that is 100% honey and several people will take a recipe and convert it by removing the sugar and removing some of the liquid. They soon realize that removing all of the sugar changes the taste of the original to where they don’t care for the result. A baked honey product cooks at a lower temperature and in a shorter period of time so you need to watch it carefully. Most judges will cut their test piece from the center of the item to check for proper baking and no large air bubbles.
I was at a show where the person that entered had forgotten an ingredient. So I decided to call her over and have her taste the item. Immediately, she knew what was wrong and said that she had seen the recipe in a magazine and just had to try it. That should tell you that before starting a recipe, set all the ingredients out and secondly, taste the product along the way and make two items so you can choose which one to enter. At another show the entrant forgot to add the directions, but found in her purse a sheet of paper to add the ingredients. However on the back of the paper where she had written the ingredients were the directions to Kennywood. Thus I wrote, “Wrong directions.”
When the rules state six pieces, there should be six pieces not five, seven or any other number. Be sure to make the pieces similar because you don’t want to hear, “Her piece is bigger than mine.”
You will always learn something. I was at a show where an angel food cake was entered. The recipe stated that you should use so many cups of eggs and when talking to the individual, he told me that chicken eggs come in different sizes and goose eggs are usually larger so the unit of measurement should be in volume. Just imagine how many eggs you would use if you had access to ostrich eggs.
Other Items and Considerations
There are other items that could be mentioned, but usually they are mentioned in the judging class. But some of them are: honey dishes, jewelry, belt buckles, honey plates, photographs, gadgets, bees and more. Many times the judge will be asked if there entries that should be added. But remember that to add something, it usually means that something else should be dropped. Likewise, the judge is often asked what changes in the rules should be made.
Spelling on posters and items should be neat, spelled correctly and large enough to be read from eight to 10 feet away.
The apprenticeship is the most beneficial period in the training system as it allows you to learn how to assign the points and figure out the winners.
Be leery if no judging sheets are available or to be used, for it may mean that a fraud is being planned or the show wants a different type of judging system. If the score sheet has an item such as “Total Weight of Entry” or similar wording, it could mean that is a fudge factor for the judge to make it so his friends could win. I stress that the judge should fill out the judging sheet when points are deducted and do not make any corrections. Corrections could show a sign of fraud or cheating, so it is best to fill out a new judging sheet.
I once went to a show and judged the honey and kept a separate record of what I judged. Later the individual in charge of the whole fair called me and asked what I judged. Thus he caught the superintendent of the show in a scam to collect money from the fair.
Entry Rules or the Registration Book
Be sure to check the entry book to check on the rules for the show. See what jars or bottles are acceptable and what categories are available. I have been at shows where unspecified items are disqualified in a heartbeat, while at other shows the entries are placed into classes that they did not belong. See if the entries are to be sold and when you may pick up the items that are not sold. Is there a requirement on whether a display could be used year after year? Remember that the rules are the final word for that show.
I wrote this article as I can see that the judging of honey is headed in the wrong direction. Honey should be judged objectively and not left to personal preferences of an individual.
