What is "raw" honey?
Raw honey comes straight from the hive and is gravity fed through a strainer to remove beeswax, honey comb and other natural debris from the hive. It has not been heated or treated in anyway.
Why is my honey cloudy or solid?
It has not gone bad! Honey is a super-saturated solution of primarily two sugars: glucose and fructose. All raw honey will crystallize due to glucose. Nectar from different flowers varies in its ratio of glucose to fructose and can influence how fast crystallization happens. When honey crystallizes, it is still as nutritious and sweet as ever! In fact, the crystals prove that your honey is high quality and hasn’t been processed. It means that nutritious pollen hasn’t been filtered out and important enzymes haven’t been damaged by pasteurization.
Temperatures lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) can cause crystallization. During those cold winter months, the honey in your cabinet might begin to crystallize because of the lower temperatures. Try keeping honey out on the counter or in a warmer place.
Temperatures lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) can cause crystallization. During those cold winter months, the honey in your cabinet might begin to crystallize because of the lower temperatures. Try keeping honey out on the counter or in a warmer place.
Did your jar of honey crystallize?
It has not gone bad! This is totally normal and natural. Crystallized honey is just as edible and delicious as liquid honey. It just has a different texture. You can spread it on your toast, drop it in your tea or pop it in your mouth and it will melt beautifully. But if you don't like the texture, crystallized honey can also be easily brought back to liquid.
How to de-crystallize honey raw honey while retaining quality and flavor...
Heating honey will liquefy crystals. But you have to be careful. If you overheat honey during the decrystallization process you risk changing the quality and losing raw honey nutrients and benefits. Melt it slowly in a glass jar using indirect heat. A warm water bath works best. Our favorite method goes like this...
- Place your jar of honey in a sauce pan.
- Fill the sauce pan with water so that the water level is at or above the level of the honey in the jar.
- Remove the honey jar from the sauce pan and then boil the water in the pan.
- Once the water is boiling, remove the pan from the heat and add the honey jar back into the sauce pan.
- Let the honey jar sit in the sauce pan as long as it takes for the honey to liquify. Stir the honey often. Repeat the process if necessary.
- Place your jar of honey in a sauce pan.
- Fill the sauce pan with water so that the water level is at or above the level of the honey in the jar.
- Remove the honey jar from the sauce pan and then boil the water in the pan.
- Once the water is boiling, remove the pan from the heat and add the honey jar back into the sauce pan.
- Let the honey jar sit in the sauce pan as long as it takes for the honey to liquify. Stir the honey often. Repeat the process if necessary.