I have this bottle of very good honey. I was not able to use more than a few teaspoonfuls in the past few days. Today when I opened the bottle I see small ants have entered the bottle and floating in the honey (and are dead). How to remove these ants and consume honey?
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10Well it might sound a bit gross to someone, but ants are actually rich in protein(relative to their size and weight)– Just Do ItFeb 16, 2016 at 15:14
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7@JustDoIt - And an oddly fitting username for that comment.– Broots WaymbFeb 16, 2016 at 21:15
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I've tried them once, and they taste like nothing. You're just chewing something that's completely tasteless(at least from my perspective) @DangerZone– Just Do ItFeb 16, 2016 at 21:36
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In native parts of Australia honey-ants are a large delicatessen, although they're more honey than ants...there are many other species eaten around the world too!– ArazioFeb 17, 2016 at 9:29
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@Arazio Australia honey-ants are a large delicatessen? That sounds crunchy.– StanJul 15, 2016 at 16:06
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7 Answers
Warm the honey to make it less viscous (you may even need to add a little water), then pour through a fine strainer or cheesecloth.
Slowly sink a drinking straw into the honey, aiming for an ant. The ant should be smaller than the straw and should wind up inside of it. Plug the open end (at the top) with your thumb, and quickly lift the straw out of the honey. You can then blow on the clean open end to eject the honey-plus-ant into the trash or sink. Repeat for each ant.
answered Feb 17, 2016 at 21:08
How to remove these ants and consume honey?
I'll answer the first part first. If there are only a few (less than a dozen or so), in the jar, you can use a long, pointy object, like a chopstick, and push the ants one by one to the edge and work them to the surface, where they can be picked out.
If your honey has so many ants in it that you cannot easily remove them all, consider giving up on that bit. In the summer you could put it outside and let bees take it back.
To consume honey, place small amount in mouth, mix with saliva, and swallow. (just kidding xD)
Simply take a spoon and scoop them out bit by bit. They will be on the top and close to one edge since they can't negotiate very far in the goo. Rinse and dry the spoon after each scoop to clean it.
Did it yesterday to a seven pound plastic pail full of honey. There were some honey worshipers gathered at the edge of the lid where I was sloppy pouring some last time I used the container.
Put the lid on securely to avoid the problem. Rinse off the container to discourage the critters in the future.
Removing ants from honey: Bought a brand new bottle of honey, used it once and somehow the cap did not close well. Next day a black layer of ants on the top. Problem was, it was the plastic "pouring type" bottle, so very narrow at the top, while most of the ants were in the wider part of the neck. I switched on my gas hob, held a sharp knife in the flame for a few seconds and sliced off the neck of the bottle. All the ants were dead and right at the top. With a strong back light, I was able to remove every single ant with a spoon, not losing much honey in the process. Poured it into a tight fitting glass jar. No need to throw away the honey or "eat" the ants as suggested!
How about a honey siphon with irrigation hose?! Put some grapefruit extract around the pipe to prevent ants from migrating.
It’s a slow flow but it works.
What I do is this : freeze honey. Remove honey and put in the middle of a bowl of water. Scoop a teaspoon of honey in mug. Add tea and hot water. Ants will float to the top. I scoop out ants using spoon and discard them in the sink. The rest is good to go.
