Village Voice December 2013/January 2014 | Page 20

WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN RUNNY
AND SET HONEY?
One of the most frequently asked
questions at the honey stall at
Bighton Fete.
The bees collect nectar which is a dilute
solution of the sugars glucose, fructose and
sucrose. It will ferment like this so the bees
add an enzyme (invertase) which splits the
sucrose to fructose and glucose and also
one which produces a small amount of
hydrogen peroxide. They concentrate the
mixture until it contains less than 18% water,
at which point it is resistant to bacteria,
yeasts and moulds. It is now a supersaturated solution of these sugars and may
crystallise by itself.
When we extract the honey from the comb it
gets mixed up with any pollen that is on the
comb and it will crystallise within a few days,
often into a coarse texture that is not so easy
to spread or nice to eat. We have two options:
1) Blend the honey with some that has a
smooth texture to stimulate it all to set with a
smooth texture, leave, then blend again, a
bit like making ice cream. Once like this it will
remain stable for years. If it is warmed it will
go clear and runny but will only stay like this
for a few days.
2) Warm the honey to make it very runny
and to dissolve any crystals, then filter to
remove particles (pollen) that act as a focus
for new crystal formation. Once clear it will
stay like this for a few weeks or even months
but will eventually start to crystallise again. If
warmed it can be made runny again.
So really they are both the same, just
different!
Adrian Arnold
18

Gundleton Honey
Soft set honey: £4.00 ~ 1lb jar
Beeswax hand balm: £5.00 ~ 60ml
Beeswax lip balm: £1.50 ~ 5ml
Adrian & Elaine Arnold
Tel: 736419

A ROOKIE
WESTERNER IN
CHINA
Shanghai
Shanghai, as China's city of the future - the
form all cities in China aspire to become has little in the way of culture. It was founded
as a trading port not that long ago and hence
has not an iota of the history Beijing has.
Four days in town will happily ensure you
see all the city has to offer. A stroll along the
Bund (Anglo-Indian for 'muddy waterfront')
to observe the clash between 'old' Shanghai,
in its 1930s colonial art-deco form, and new
Shanghai, an assortment of sky-high, übermodern architectural feats across the river in
Pudong is a must. The contrast between the
famous Cathay Pacific 'Peace' Hotel on the
Bund, once the most luxurious hotel in the
Eastern world, and the 'bottle opener' World
Financial Centre in Pudong is quite
astounding.
The French Concession is an area that also
needs to be explored for its collection of
cafes, bars and boutique shops. Evidence of
how the French tailored Shanghai's urban
landscape to make them feel more at home
remains fully evident and, even today, the
French make up the largest percentage of
expatriates in the city.