Crystalized Honey

[HudsonHawk]

Anyone have a good way of de-crystalizing honey? I've read everything from microwaves to running it through the dishwasher. I usually just run it under some hot water to loosen it up so it flows, I don't really care that it's cloudy and maybe even a little chunky. It still tastes the same. But it does have a different look and texture, which Mrs. Hawk doesn't like on her biscuit. Is everyone like me, or do you have a method for getting the golden goodness to a clear, smooth elixir again?

 

[Stanley Doble]

I put the honey jar in a saucepan with an inch of water in it, and put it on the stove. Heat on low and leave it for half an hour or until the honey is melted and liquid again. The water should be hot but not boiling.

All you need to do is warm the honey until it liquifies, this is the easiest way to do it.

The honey will stay liquid for weeks or months after you do this, you do not need to keep it warm. If it hardens and crystalizes just put it back on the stove.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I put the honey jar in a saucepan with an inch of water in it, and put it on the stove. Heat on low and leave it for half an hour or until the honey is melted and liquid again. The water should be hot but not boiling.

All you need to do is warm the honey until it liquifies, this is the easiest way to do it.

The honey will stay liquid for weeks or months after you do this, you do not need to keep it warm. If it hardens and crystalizes just put it back on the stove.

Thanks. This is what I do to get it liquid again, but it's still cloudy. This tells me that I'm still not getting all the crystals dissolved. Do you get yours clear again, or just let it be cloudy? Perhaps I'm not heating it long enough?

 

[Stanley Doble]

I put the pot on the stove and go do something else, when I come back the honey is melted, clear, and not cloudy. If it is not melted all the way through or not completely clear I go away for a while longer.

This process may go quicker if you let the water boil or simmer but then you have to watch that it does not boil over or boil dry. I like to put the stove on "high" until the water is hot then turn it down and leave it. Or start with hot water from the tap.

I never timed it but I would say, 1/2 hour should be long enough.

If the honey will not clear you may have some kind of unusual honey.

It may take time but what is time to a jar of honey?

 

[HudsonHawk]

It may take time but what is time to a jar of honey?

It's nothing *to* the honey, only something to *your* "honey", while she's waiting to put it on her biscuits. I never knew she was that particular about it.

 

[Vampyre Master]

the thing is is it is a different type of honey runny honey comes from flowers solid honey comes from shrubs and trees
VM

 

[Workhorse]

HH, try putting it out in the sun. It is a gentle heat over time that will melt the crystals without harming the honey itself. If it is the fresh raw (local beekeeper type) then do not put it anywhere near the microwave. Even over the stove you could possibly "cook" the nutrients and natural goodness out of it. Natural raw honey contains enzymes, minerals, anti-oxidants and vitamins. If it is the store bought processed/pasteurized stuff then you shouldn't have to worry because there is little to none of the healthy stuff that raw honey contains left in it anyway.

Hope that helps.

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

I generally smear the crystalized honey on my biscuits and enjoy it as is. Honey is a complicated thing formed of nectar from lots of different plants which gives it different properties. The varied tastes and textures are part of this natural wonder. When I helped a friend with his bees, we like to sample and compare the types of honey that we got from various hives or obtained from others. Just part of the game. A pan of warm water will help if the honey is too granulated, but this is a last resort for me.

 

[dnjan]

I zap it in 10-second increments in the microwave. Usually when I am making bread and I need to measure the honey with a tablespoon.

 

[L'Onset]

HH, try putting it out in the sun. It is a gentle heat over time that will melt the crystals without harming the honey itself. If it is the fresh raw (local beekeeper type) then do not put it anywhere near the microwave. Even over the stove you could possibly "cook" the nutrients and natural goodness out of it. Natural raw honey contains enzymes, minerals, anti-oxidants and vitamins. If it is the store bought processed/pasteurized stuff then you shouldn't have to worry because there is little to none of the healthy stuff that raw honey contains left in it anyway.

Hope that helps.

I agree with you. Honey shouldn't be heated because heat will denaturalize its enzymes, vitamines and other natural nutrients and bio-mollecules that make it such a good and healthy food. Yet, if it is processed honey coming from a food company, it might have lost all of its properties so you can heat it, there will be nothing left to lose.
I buy my honey from a local producer, and, when I asked her that question she just told me to be pacient, crystalizing happens in winter, is just matter of taking it out of the jar with a knife instead of a spoon. Honey also crystalizes when aged, because of dehydration. You can try to mix it with some water stirring well, but it takes too long and too much effort.

 

[Stanley Doble]

This last time I boiled my honey I paid more attention. I kept it on the stove for a lot longer. It kept getting clearer and when I put it away it stayed liquid longer.