Honey – Royal Canberra Show

Preparation for the Royal Canberra Show

The next Royal Canberra Show is on annually in the will be held from the 23rd to 25th February 2018 at Exhibition Park, Canberra.
The details can be found here  If you entered anything in the Horticulture section last year you should automatically receive a schedule by mail. Office hours are from 8.30 to 4.30, Monday to
Friday.
It is a good time now to be preparing entries for next year’s Canberra show. Preparing honey ahead of time allows the air bubbles to settle out and the honey to be clear by show time. I would suggest that you overfill your jars slightly because as air bubbles rise the level will go
down. You can also remove any tiny wax flakes or other debris with a spoon at show time.
Honey is judged mainly on flavour, aroma, density and clarity. Exhibitors are limited to one entry in each class except for mead where two entries will be allowed.If you have some nice fine grained crystallised honey put aside a jar for entering. You might also like to have a go at making some creamed honey.

All honey class entries must be in standard 500 gram (375ml) glass jars with gold top lids. If you are unable to find jars contact Lyn Shiels on 6286 2421.
If you are planning to enter wax classes you could start now trying to produce the perfect wax block, set of six moulds or pair of candles. If the first efforts are not to your liking you will be able to melt them down and try again. Wax should have clear, even colour and strong pleasant aroma. Blocks or moulds should be free from any faults, ripples or damage. Many problems can be avoided if the wax is cooled slowly.
Wax entries may be polished gently with a soft cloth to remove minor imperfections I hope some members will consider entering one or both of the collection classes. The honey collection might include honey from different sources, creamed honey, candied honey, flavoured
or infused honey, honey on comb etc. The collection of products of the hive might include honey, wax products, cosmetics made using honey or wax or propolis, mead, cookery made with honey etc. Labelling with a small decorative descriptive label is an advantage.
Both of these classes are judged mainly on their decorative values so arrangement is important as is creativity and variety but the judges reserve the right to open items to check that they are as represented on the labels. Jars or containers may be any size so you don’t need to have access to a large amount of honey or wax for these classes.
I will bring to the next meeting some copies of an article giving more detail about judges requirements but if I miss you there and you would like one give me a call on 6286 2421.
Lyn Shiels