Pressed Honey

Pressed honey is honey obtained by pressing combs without brood, without heating or with heating to no more than 45 degrees. It is thus one of the types of honey that the Honey Ordinance distinguishes by method of production, alongside comb honey, chunk honey, drained honey, extracted honey, and filtered honey.

Pressing is used mainly where honey cannot be extracted. The classic example is heather honey, which is thixotropic, that is, it only becomes fluid through mechanical movement. Pressing is also the usual method with natural comb without frames, for example in the Bienenkiste or in top-bar hives.

Because more wax particles and pollen get into the honey when it is pressed, the Honey Ordinance allows pressed honey a higher content of water-insoluble matter, namely 0.5 grams per 100 grams instead of the usual 0.1 grams.

Drained honey is a method of production that is rare today: here the honey is simply allowed to drip out of the uncapped combs without brood.

Sources (3)

• Honigverordnung, Anlage 1
• Honigverordnung, Anlage 2
• Die Bienenkiste (Mellifera e.V.): Dokumentation zur Betreuung

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