Crushing and Straining Honey from the Comb

Use this method to extract honey if you don’t have an extractor or if your honeycomb is not set in a frame. This crushing and straining honey method requires no special tools or equipment and is best used for small amounts of honeycomb. It’s also an oddly satisfying task!

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for me, and something had to give. This time it was my bees. I visited them for the first time after a couple of weeks and found that one of my colonies had also been very busy. Not only filling an entire super with fresh honeycomb, but also building comb into a space that I’d forgotten to leave a frame. That honeycomb was also filled with honey, all of it uncapped.

Getting it out was easier than I thought it would be. Using my hive tool, I sliced the comb that they’d built in the top super box from the roof. Then, I bundled it into plastic bags to keep the bees out. The comb built in the super came out in big dripping chunks of honeycomb. Now, how to extract the honey? Usually, I use this method, but that only works if the comb is on a frame.

Extracting Honey from Natural Honeycomb

The beeswax that the honeycomb is made of isn’t very nice to eat, in my opinion, and kind of like chewing on a crayon. So, leaving the honey in the comb wasn’t an option. That’s why I decided to use the crush and strain method for extracting the honey. The video below shows just how easy it was!

What I’ve also learned is that cut comb is a special treat, so I’m planning on ‘forgetting’ to put that extra frame in again. Or maybe a frame that isn’t waxed. Sometimes silly mistakes can lead to new ideas and a fresh batch of honey, much like encouraging bees to build honeycomb in jars.

Crushing and Straining Honey

The first step was to drain as much of the uncapped honey from the comb as possible. Uncapped honey has higher water content, a runnier consistency, and might not last as long as capped honey. I’m planning on using this uncapped honey to make mead—honey wine.

Next, I used the crush and strain method to squeeze the honey from the comb using my hands. They were clean and the best tool to use, but if you’d like to keep it less messy, you could use a spoon or a potato masher. In your hands, the comb crushes easily, though, and the honey pours out and over your hands. Catch it in a sieve or sieve lined with cheesecloth, and it will strain through and into a bowl below. If you use a cheesecloth, it can take a day to drain thoroughly, but you’ll have pure, clean honey that you can bottle and store.

If you use a sieve alone, it takes much less time. There may be bits of beeswax that get through, though. It’s not a big deal if the honey is for home use, and I tend to skim it off the surface after a day or two of settling.

Now, what to do with the leftover sticky beeswax? If it’s from your bees, you can leave it outside for them to find and clean up. If it’s not, don’t chance introducing pathogens to any local bees. Rinse the beeswax in water, then allow it to drain and dry. After that, you can use it to make all kinds of lovely natural skincare products or even natural furniture polish.