Honey Questions?

[TanksHill]

What is te exact reason for honey to crystalize? I am asking so I can try to prevent this from hapening. What is the best way to Un-crystalize it? Heat? Run the jar under hot water? Any info would be great, thanks. G

 

[Woodland Woman]

I don't know why honey crystalizes but I would like to know also.

I heat the honey in a stainless steel pot then pour it into a canning jar.

I have run it under hot water but it doesn't seem to last that way.

I don't use a microwave but I have heard you can heat it up in one.

One thing to remember is not to heat it up in plastic.

 

[patandchickens]

AFAIK it happens faster at cool temperatures but it is just something that nearly all honey does, sooner or later. Some honey goes faster than others, but it will happen. (Trivia: tupelo honey does not crystallize. Has something to do with the exact types of sugars in it)

But it is not a problem. All you have to do is warm it gently, like set the CLOSED jar in a bowl of warm water (you may have to change the water for new warm water as it cools) til it is re-liquified. You have to heat it slowly and thoroughly and leave it warm for a little while, IME, to encourage it to stay that way.

Or frankly you can just use it in its crystallized state, which is the easiest and often the smartest thing to do -- by the time it has crystallized, most types of honey have been on the shelf 'for a while' and should probably oughta be used soon anyhow, so you can just scoop it out with a metal dinner knife or spatula or anything else strong enough and use it as you'd use sugar in most recipes.

Pat

 

[Beekissed]

You know? My mom found a jar of her honey from approx. 24 years previously and it had not turned to sugar?! It still looked exactly as it had when she bottled it! Her honey was always real dark and extremely rich and sweet, so who knows what pollen combination produced honey that doesn't get sugared? I bet Ann would know!!!

 

[sufficientforme]

And while we are looking for answers, is raw, unfiltered better for storage and consuming than the others?

 

[patandchickens]

I have been told (no firm idea whether it's true) that the less processed the honey is, the less quickly it crystallizes.

I have a bottle of tupelo honey that is 15 years old and countin', and nary a sign of crystallization (although to be honest I am not entirely sure how much I want to eat it, after all this time... ); I would think that if there's something about tupelo honey that makes it not want to crystallize (something about being especially high in one particular sugar, I want to say fructose??) then you'd think there could be other sorts of nectar sources that could *also* produce crystallization-proof honey a la Beekissed's mom's.

Ironically the reason my bottle of tupelo honey is 15 yrs old is because I love it so much I was trying to shepherd my meager supply and make it last...


Pat

 

[sufficientforme]

I am a huge honey fan, I am not going to tell you how much I have, because that would admit me having a problem..... I eat it just about everyday. I even collect honey jars along with polish pottery, but I am thinning the collections due to space issues The only honey I have not liked that I have tried is killer bee honey, for some reason it did not taste good to me at all.

 

[reinbeau]

Later harvested honey has nectar from both goldenrod and asters, both crystallize fairly quickly. Crystallization depends on what flowers were visited by the honeybee. Temperature can be a factor, but nectar source is the main thing.

To liquefy honey you need warm but not hot temperatures, no warmer than 120F or you'll destroy the enzymes in the honey. A warm water bath works (put the jars into a pan of warm water, replace the water as it cools, if you use the stove, it will probably get too hot!!), as does setting the honey jars in a cooler of some sort and add a heat source, like a lamp. Make sure it doesn't get too warm! It will take a few hours, be patient.

 

[ScottyG]

I've heard that using metal utensils in the honey makes it crystallize faster, which is why they sell those wooden honey dippers. Do any of you who know stuff about honey know if that's true?

 

[reinbeau]

Scott, that's interesting. I've never heard it. I'll ask around and get back to you on it.