Comb Honey and Cut Comb

Comb honey is honey sold inside the freshly built wax comb, without being extracted or heated; cut comb is the form in which this comb is cut out of the frame in square pieces and packaged. It can easily be produced in modern framed hives, but it requires a strong colony, an uninterrupted nectar flow and the right choice of foundation. In return you get a high-value product that needs no extraction equipment.

What is comb honey, and what types are there?

Comb honey (honeycomb, frame honey) is honey presented to be eaten together with its wax cells. The comb is chewed in the mouth; the wax can be swallowed or discarded. The main forms of production are:

• Cut comb: Honey-filled comb built in a frame with thin, unwired foundation is taken out of the frame, divided into square or rectangular pieces with a cutter and boxed.
• Section comb: Bees build the comb directly inside the retail box or small wooden/plastic sections; the product goes on sale without being cut.
• Framed comb: A whole frame or a small frame is sold as it is.
• Chunk honey: A piece of cut comb is placed in a jar and topped up with extracted honey.

Why is comb honey valuable?

• It is unprocessed: There is no uncapping, extraction, heating or filtering; the honey reaches the consumer as it was in the hive.
• It inspires confidence: Consumers see the honey inside cells sealed by the bees. Even so, comb honey is only an honest product with honest beekeeping; in a colony fed while supers are on, bees may also carry syrup into the comb.
• It adds high value: Its unit price is markedly higher than that of extracted honey.
• It needs no equipment: It can be produced without an extractor or settling tank; it suits small-scale beekeepers.
• It is a solution for honeys that are hard to extract: Gel-like honeys that are difficult to spin out (e.g. honeys from heather species) are very well suited to comb presentation.

What conditions are needed to produce comb honey?

The bees need to build fresh comb quickly and then fill and cap it fast. Young wax-secreting bees only build a lot of comb when plenty of nectar is coming in. That is why the following conditions must come together:

• Strong colony: A colony crowded enough to overflow the boxes, with plenty of young bees.
• Strong, uninterrupted flow: If the nectar flow stops, the comb is left half-built and the cells are not capped.
• Warm weather: Wax building slows down on cold nights.
• Limited space: If the colony is kept a little crowded, the bees immediately build and fill new space. If they are given too much space, the bees spread the honey over many boxes and none gets finished.
• Timely supering: Comb honey supers are given at the start of the flow; if given too early the bees damage the boxes, if too late the flow is missed.
• Swarm control: The swarming tendency increases in a crowded colony; check regularly for swarm cells.

How do you choose foundation for comb honey?

Thin or extra-thin foundation should be used. The thick foundation made for brood leaves a hard layer in the middle of the comb; it can be felt in the mouth and devalues the product.

• No wire is used: Since the product is cut or eaten as it is, no wire is strung in the frame.
• Starter strip: Instead of foundation, just a narrow strip can be fixed to the top bar; the bees build the rest themselves as natural comb.
• Clean wax: Because comb honey is eaten directly, the source of the wax matters. Residues of some fat-soluble varroa treatments can accumulate in wax. Wax made from your own cappings, or wax that has been analysed for residues, is the safest option.
• New comb: Comb that has previously held brood or has darkened is not used.

How is comb honey produced? Step by step

1. Prepare the colony: Strengthen the colony before the flow; finish disease and varroa control before the flow begins. No treatments or syrup are used while supers are on.
2. Fit a queen excluder: This prevents the queen from going up into the super and laying in the comb honey frames.
3. Add the super: Place frames with thin foundation or starter strips directly above the brood box as the flow begins.
4. Monitor: Check once a week; add a new super beneath one that is nearly full, so that the bees concentrate on finishing and capping the one above.
5. Remove it in time: Once the comb is fully capped, take it off without delay. The white cappings of comb left in the hive for a long time get darkened by the bees' footprints (travel stain) and the appearance suffers.

Harvesting and cutting comb honey

• Fully capped comb: The comb must be completely capped. Honey in uncapped cells is not ripe; it runs when cut and leaves the product open to fermentation.
• Clearing bees: The super is cleared of bees with a clearer board or a brush. Use little smoke; its smell can get into the honey. Chemical bee repellents are not used.
• Cutting in a cool place: Comb softens in the heat; cutting is done in a cool room.
• Clean cuts: A heated sharp knife or a stainless comb cutter is used.
• Letting it drain: The cut pieces are left on a wire rack for a while so that honey running from the cut edges can drain off, and are then boxed.

How is comb honey stored and packaged?

• Freezing: Wax moth eggs unnoticed in the comb can spoil the product later. Keeping packaged comb in the freezer (at −18 °C or below) for at least 48 hours kills these eggs; it is a common practice.
• Thawing closed: Thaw frozen product with its box closed; this way condensation stays on the outside of the box, not on the comb.
• Airtight packaging: Honey absorbs moisture from the air; boxes must close tightly.
• Cool and dark: In sunlight and heat, the comb softens and runs.
• Sturdy box: Comb is easily crushed; use a box that stands up to transport and shelf display.

If comb honey crystallises, it is practically impossible to make it liquid again without melting the wax. That is why fast-crystallising honeys (e.g. sunflower, oilseed rape, cotton) are not suitable for comb production.

Comb honey yield and common mistakes

Producing comb honey lowers the total honey yield, because the bees build new wax each time and the energy for the wax comes from honey. On the other hand, the unit price is high and the investment in equipment is low.

• Trying it in a weak flow: Half-finished, uncapped combs cannot be sold.
• Thick or wired foundation: A hard layer remains in the mouth.
• Late harvest: The cappings darken and the product loses its appearance.
• Packaging without freezing: Wax moth can spoil the product on the shelf.
• Feeding with supers on: Syrup is carried into the comb; the product no longer counts as honey.