Glossary
The process of removing the thin beeswax caps that seal ripe honey cells before extraction. Uncapping exposes the honey to the centrifugal extractor, allowing it to spin free from the comb. The removed wax cappings are the purest, most valuable beeswax.
When bees finish ripening honey (reducing its moisture content below 18%), they seal each cell with a thin layer of freshly secreted beeswax. This cap protects the honey from reabsorbing moisture from the air. Before the honey can be spun out of the comb in a centrifugal extractor, these caps must be removed so the honey has a path to exit the cells.
The simplest uncapping tool is a long, serrated knife that slices across the frame surface, shaving off the caps in one pass. Heated uncapping knives (electric or steam-heated) slice more smoothly because the warm blade glides through the wax. An uncapping fork (also called a scratching tool) is used for spots the knife misses, particularly areas where the comb surface is uneven or recessed below the frame edge.
Larger operations use mechanical uncappers: machines with vibrating blades, rotating chains, or flails that automatically uncap frames as they pass through on a conveyor. For our scale of production, a heated knife and a fork handle every frame efficiently.
The wax removed during uncapping is the purest beeswax in the hive. Unlike brood comb, which accumulates cocoon debris, pollen stains, and propolis over years of use, cappings wax was freshly secreted by the bees specifically to seal ripe honey. It is clean, light-colored, and contains trace amounts of honey that give it a sweet aroma.
We melt and filter our cappings wax for use in our skincare products and beeswax candles. The residual honey that drains from the cappings during melting (called "cappings honey") is a small bonus batch of exceptionally clean, pure honey. Nothing is wasted.
We melt, filter, and render the cappings wax for use in our beeswax candles, lotion bars, lip balms, and other skincare products. Cappings wax is the purest, most fragrant beeswax available. The honey that drains from the cappings is collected and bottled separately.
Proper uncapping removes only the thin cap layer without disturbing the drawn comb underneath. The intact comb is returned to the hive after extraction, and bees repair the opened cells and refill them with new honey, saving weeks of comb-building energy.
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