Honey and Maple Syrup Judging

[NorthernWiner]

I received a letter from the county fair board in a neighboring state, asking if I would like to be a judge in their wine competition this fall.

All fine with that.

However, there was also an "oh, by the way" in the letter, stating that the wine department included categories for honey and maple syrup, and would I mind terribly judging those as well???

Huh. This is a new one on me.

Has anyone judged honey and/or maple syrup, or had their own honey/syrup entries judged by others? I'm not sure what the criteria would be. Hmm... let's see... is it amber colored? Check. Is it sweet? Check. Was it made entirely by bees? Check.

Seems like that would pretty much cover the gamut of honey attributes.

Any advice before I accept?

[Cellar_Rat]

One thing I have found is flavours in the honey from the crop the bee's fed on.

So lavender honey should have - a lavender flavour.
Tree blossom honey is different again, as is clover as is heather etc etc.

Are there separate categories to set and runny?

My concern would be coming up with a system for judging.

You could do marks out of 10 for the following items

Balance (sweetness v flavour)
Flavour (good or bad)
Consistency of type (in runny and in set)
Colour
Presentation (nice jar)
BRIX (take your refractometer with you)
Prettiest beekeeper (that might be a challenge IMO)

ok ok ok I have run out of ideas............

been for a gooooooogle and found this

http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/files/nhspub7.pdf

[Cellar_Rat]

In my previous post on concentrated on honey - for maple syrup it is much easier. Send it and to me and I will post the results here!!

[goldseal]

Insist on a big stack of pancakes to go with it

[koomber]

Insist on a big stack of pancakes to go with it

I'm going to have a word with the mods about posting stuff like this on the forum when I'm hungry. This thread should be deleted.

[Cellar_Rat]

I'm going to have a word with the mods about posting stuff like this on the forum when I'm hungry. This thread should be deleted.

Steve started it !! LOL

[NorthernWiner]

Brian, the PDF you linked was helpful. Thank you. I found a similar document from the University of Florida that describes a 100-point scoring system. In the absence of anything provided by the fair people, I'll probably use that.

The categories are white extracted, amber extracted, and "chunk" honey. I assume this last category applies to honeycomb products, but I need to do more research.

Like wine, it seems that much of the criteria used to judge quality centers around appearance (the honey itself, as well as the jar that holds it), freedom from foreign particles, physical properties (e.g. viscosity, and how long it takes the honey to return to a liquid appearance after disturbing the surface). Flavor is a relatively small portion of possible points - only 15 out of 100.

Maple syrup? I have no clue. But I know a few people who tap trees and make their own. I guess I will talk to them and see how they judge what's good and what isn't.

I like the pancake suggestion, though...

[lockwood1956]

Has anyone judged honey and/or maple syrup, or had their own honey/syrup entries judged by others? I'm not sure what the criteria would be. Hmm... let's see... is it amber colored? Check. Is it sweet? Check. Was it made entirely by bees? Check.

i have the WI guide to judging competitions....it surely will cover honey...i will check when i get home

(i also have the contact details for the secretary of the Yorkshire bee keepers association)

regards
bob

[lockwood1956]

WI = Womens Institute (they of Jam and Jerusalem)

[lockwood1956]

(and Naked Calendars)

[NorthernWiner]

Cheers Bob.

(and where do I get one of these naked calendars? )

[lockwood1956]

Hmmmmm


they were all in their 60's i seem to recall

[lockwood1956]

here you go

http://www.terrylogan.com/alternative-WI-Calendar

[NorthernWiner]

Oh dear...

[Cellar_Rat]

(and Naked Calendars)

Damn I was going to do the naked calendar gag!