Cut-Comb Honey. Cut-comb honey is much easier to produce than comb honey since the beekeeper does not have to crowd the bees to force them to work in the sections. Fill shallow supers with frames of thin surplus foundation and set them on the hive over a queen excluder. When the comb is sealed, cut it out of the frame, divide it into pieces of the desired size, and let it drain overnight in a warm room. Then pack the comb pieces in plastic boxes or wrap them in plastic or cellophane.

Creamed or finely crystallized honey is easy to make for home use and for sale. The crystallization or granulation of honey is related to honey composition and storage conditions. Some honeys never crystallize; others do so within a few days of extraction or even while still in the comb. When honey is allowed to granulate naturally, the sugar crystals are coarse and gritty. This texture reduces the commercial value of the product. However, speeding up the granulation process, in addition to seeding the liquid honey with finely crystallized honey, will produce creamed honey with small crystals of uniform size. If these procedures are done under proper conditions, the creamed honey spreads like butter at room temperature and has a smooth texture.

Since the granulation of honey always increases the possibility of fermentation, you must heat the honey to 150° F to kill the yeasts responsible for fermentation. Filter the totally liquefied honey through two or three thicknesses of fine cheesecloth or nylon to remove all wax particles and other bits of debris upon which crystals could form, then rapidly cool the honey to about 80° F. Slightly warm about 10 percent finely crystallized honey and add this to the cooled honey. Adding the finely crystallized honey is known as seeding because it causes other crystals to develop. Stir the seed carefully into the cooled honey so that the lumps of seed are all broken without incorporating air bubbles. Forcing the seed through a screen or using a hand-operated food and meat grinder will produce the necessary soft creamy mass. Allow the seeded mixture to settle for an hour or two, skim off the foam if necessary, and pour into desired containers. Again, be careful not to incorporate air bubbles. Keep the containers at a temperature between 54° F and 60° F (57° F is ideal), and the honey will be smoothly crystallized within a week or so. If the creamed honey is too hard for table use, keep it at room temperature until it softens. This technique will allow you to prepare small quantities of creamed honey for competition and local sale.

If you would like large quantities of creamed honey, you will need adequate equipment and will have to use the complete Dyce process for control of fermentation and crystallization.