Creamed Honey in NZ
Kiwi beekeepers have been producing “creamed honey” for more than 100 years…
As long ago as 1914, in the first issue of the NZ Beekeeper magazine, it was clear that the process of controlling granulation was relatively well-understood and applied.
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1914_07_NZBkpr_Creamed_honey.pdf
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1914_08_NZBkpr_Creamed_honey.pdf
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1914_12_NZBkpr_Creamed_honey.pdf
New Zealand was one of the few countries that chose to provide creamed honey to both local and export markets. John Rentoul was variously involved with the Honey Producers’ Assn (HPA) and described the process, and the equipment involved, very well in two articles for Percy Hillary’s (Sir Ed’s father) magazine, The New Zealand Honeybee.
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1938_04_NZHB_Creamed_honey.pdf
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1938_05_NZHB_Creamed_honey.pdf
That early experimental work resulted in the decision in 1919 to create a consistent N.Z. ‘brand’ of honey – Imperial Bee honey. Another article describes Imperial Bee, recognising how improvements to the process were made with improved equipment.
Imperial Bee Honey
That pack, Imperial Bee honey, was a blend of West Coast rata, Northland manuka, and Waikato and South Island white clover. The presence of the rata honey (which granulates quickly, with a nice, smooth grain) gave some confidence that the blend might have the same granulation characteristic.
In the 1930’s, Dr. Elton Dyce (working first in Canada, then in New York) patented a process for creaming honey. In fact, the only ‘new’ feature he added to what Kiwis were already doing was to determine the exact temperature at which honey will most quickly granulate (57 deg F /14 deg C).
Kiwi beekeepers were not very happy to learn that they might have to pay a royalty to Dr. Dyce for the ‘creamed honey’ that we were selling into the United Kingdom and Europe! The Honey Control Board took legal action, and won, based on the fact that NZ had been using basically the same process for many years. NZ was deemed to be ‘exempt’ from the patent’s application.
[Dr. Dyce’s work and patent were ultimately used to fund the Cornell University beekeeping centre, which is still a significant apicultural research and educational facility…]
Creaming honey has always been a contentious topic for NZ beekeepers, though the overall process is pretty straightforward.
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1953_11_NZBkpr_Creamed_honey.pdf
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1954_02_NZBkpr_Creamed_honey.pdf
One of the first magazine articles I wrote – about 40 years ago! – was about creamed honey.
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1981_Icing_Sugar.pdf
Then, several years later, writing as “Skep”, I wrote more of a small-scale, practical article.
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/timeline/1987_06_NZBkpr_Creamed_honey.pdf
Making good creamed honey really is pretty much a Kiwi thing…