Creamed Honey | Methods and Infusions
- Helen Humphreys
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
Methods and Infusions
If you’ve been following my creamed honey journey, you’ll know it started as an experiment for the WA Apiarists’ Society (WAAS) Greater Bunbury Region Chapter. The related post reached over 500 of you, proving that we’re all chasing that perfect, velvet-smooth spread.
Recently, I took my journey a little further and presented at the main meeting for WAAS in Perth, and I’ve never seen the room so packed for a monthly meeting! With over 70 beekeepers coming out of the woodwork, the energy was high (especially mine - I was just a little excited!). I had 8 different creamed honeys on the table, and the voting chips were distributed to everyone who walked through the door. Well, almost everyone. We ran out of the 70 voting chip sets I had made up.
Why ‘The Seed’ is the Secret
In my earlier experiments, we looked at how honey crystallises naturally and the science behind it. But if you want a commercial-quality finish - that smooth texture that never feels gritty or crunchy - you have to take control of the size and shape of the crystals, and the temperature at which the crystallisation occurs. If you would like to know more about the science behind creamed honey, head over to the original post.
This time, instead of allowing already crystallised honey to control the texture, I decided to ‘seed’ liquid honey with a starter that already had the perfect crystal structure. By introducing a 10% seed to the liquid honey, I essentially gave the honey a blueprint to follow. Put simply, any crystals that form during the crystallisation process will mimic the size and structure of the introduced crystals (the seed).
Doing it Right This Time Around
I trialled four different methods to see which produced the best ‘natural’ creamed honey. These were essentially the same as the earlier experiments mentioned earlier, except I started with uncrystallised honey and introduced a seed.
While these four methods use the same steps detailed in the earlier experiment, I have now provided these on our Recipes page to ensure they don't get lost in the noise of these articles.
The Flavours
I also decided to trial some infused creamed honey - inspiration gained after doing the Bunbury session.
Chai - infused with cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks.
Chilli - infused with home-grown chillies
Chocolate - just add cocoa!
Vanilla - infused with whole vanilla pods
I was a little excited about these and was very curious to know how they would be received by the members. My money was on the chocolate. I had a small amount left over and I had been putting a teaspoon in a warm mug of milk for a healthy ? hot chocolate!
The Voting System
To handle a crowd of what I was hoping to be close to 50, I changed up the voting system from our previous Bunbury session. I introduced a colour-coded key to keep the data clean: blue and green chips for the natural methods, and yellow and purple for the flavoured ones.
But the real game-changer this time was the addition of the ‘Not for Me’ (NFM) chip. By making this third chip strictly optional, we captured a whole new layer of honesty. If someone found a sample that just didn’t appeal to them, they could assign their NFM chip to that sample. If they did not choose to use this chip it could be placed in the discard box.
After the presentation which detailed the steps for each of the four methods, the attendees were let loose to taste and vote on their favourites. Similar to the Bunbury session, they could vote on their first and second preferences or assign both chips to a single standout. The main difference here was I assigned 3 points to the first preference and 1 point to the second preference (or 4 points to a standout) in the hope it would give us more of a clear winner.
The NFM chips did not have a value assigned but could be used to break a tie.
And the ‘Natural’ Winner Is…
The Thermomix!
While this received the same number of chips as the commercial creamer, it just happened to have 3 more first preference chips which put it out in front. The Thermomix sample was also the only one that received no NFM chips.
The Runner Up
The Commercial Creamer
This was a very close second, having 3 more second preference chips to the Thermomix, proving that specialised equipment for large batches does the job extremely well.
Third Place
Stand Mixer & The Dyce Method
These two came in neck-and-neck with only 2 points between them. While the Dyce method is the historical gold standard, the simple stand mixer held its own for hobbyist use.
Reminder About Whipped Honey
Using a Thermomix or the stand mixer can very easily ‘whip’ the honey if not done at a low speed, resulting in a whipped honey that will separate.
Remember, whipped honey is not creamed honey.
The Red NFM Chips
It was interesting to see that only 10% of attendees used their red chip for the natural samples. Which tells me that overall, these methods generally hit the mark.
And the ‘Flavours’ Winner Is…
Vanilla
This was the absolute clear favourite with 40% of attendees assigning their first preference chip and 27% of attendees assigning their second preference chip to this sample. Only 1 orange NFM chip ended up in this voting box.
The Runners Up
Chocolate and Chai
While the Chocolate sample was a little further ahead to the Chai, there really wasn’t too much difference. This was despite my confession that I’d accidentally caramelised the Chai sample when infusing the honey with the cardamom and cinnamon - I took my eyes off the pot, and it nearly boiled over.
What about the Chilli Sample?
What I haven’t mentioned yet is that this honey was infused with Carolina Reapers, fresh from the veggie garden. Not only did I write ‘HOT’ in bold red letters on the sample box, I also warned the room during the presentation that this one was HOT. So if they don’t like hot chilli then they may wish to give this one a miss. Then I reiterated this warning.
It’s a good thing that WAAS membership includes $30m public and product liability insurance!
Not surprisingly, this was the least favourite for many, with several members joking they ‘weren't getting anywhere near that one’.
But for those who braved the heat, it was the ultimate talking point.
The Orange NFM Chips
A whopping 37% of the orange chips were used!
Not surprisingly, 70% of those chips ended up in the chilli box. But let’s be honest… I know from a few different sources that not everyone actually tried the chilli sample - they just threw that NFM chip in the chilli box!
Thank You WAAS
I would like to thank WAAS for the invitation to speak to the members. It is something I absolutely love doing. The feedback from this meeting has been very positive, with one calling it the best session they've attended. It is such a wonderful experience to be in a room full of beekeepers who share the same passion for bees (and honey!). The fellowship opportunities that these meetings offer are priceless!
Join Our Journey
This session has inspired me to get serious about large batch creamed honey (including the flavoured ones) and make them available to our amazing customers.
If you want to be the first to know when these are available, please get in touch.
Have any questions or comments? Leave a comment below or send us a message through our contact form.
Helen Humphreys
Passionate Beekeeper Trainer | Mentor | Producer
Want to know more about the WA Apiarists' Society and some of the fun activities they get up to? Connect with them online:
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