Honey and Crystallization
From Gregory Fariss, Apiary Inspector (RET.), NCDA & CS 2019
There are lots of misconceptions about honey, honey storage, and crystallization. All honey will crystalize eventually. Crystallization is not an indication that it has been adulterated with sugar syrup. Honey is a super-saturated liquid; so much sugar is packed into a volume of honey that it is barely in solution. Changes in temperature will cause it to precipitate out of solution, for instance. That’s absolutely normal. Get it back into solution by gently heating it (in a jar) in a pan of very warm water (not boiling). Often times hot water from the faucet is enough to liquefy it again. It is very risky to heat honey in the microwave. If heated too much it will caramelize – essentially ruining it. Gentle heating until it is liquid again is the way to go.
How fast honey crystallizes is also a function of the ratio of sugars it contains. Different plants have different ratios that affect the final honey composition. Once the bees have finished processing nectar into honey, the sucrose sugars have been broken down into glucose and fructose. The higher the glucose content, the faster it will crystallize. For instance, canola plant honey crystallizes very quickly (within a few weeks) whereas buckwheat honey is very slow (a couple of years is not unusual). Most wildflower honeys are somewhere in between and change from year to year, depending on the different plant nectars collected each year. The ratio of glucose to fructose is not something that can be controlled.
Plastic containers vs. glass containers is not relevant to how fast it crystallizes. If quick crystallization is desired (when making creamed honey, for instance), store honey in the mid 50s° F. It will crystallize in no time.
To keep honey from crystallizing, do not keep it in the frig. As long as the lid is always on tight, it won’t spoil. Honey is hydroscopic, meaning it will absorb moisture from the air. If you leave the lid off long enough, it will absorb enough moisture to begin fermentation. That ruins its taste. Honey doesn’t spoil – it has been found in the Egyptian pyramids and it was still good – crystallized, but still good.
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Honey Product Types
Raw Honey has received no additives or processing whatever – straight from the hive to the extractor to the bottles. Raw honey has not been heated nor filtered. If the term “raw” is on a honey label, it has not been processed in any way and is not likely to be sparkling clear. Due to the lack of processing, raw honey also is not normally found in commercial grocery markets.
Most “pure” and “natural” honeys are filtered and then treated to prevent fermentation (pasteurization) and to preserve them in a liquid state in order to keep them from crystallizing too soon. These processes make the honey look more pure, a selling point for consumers who judge by looks alone, but which can affect the potency of the inherent nutrients and antioxidants of raw honey.
Pure Honey may simply mean "real honey" and thus the product may contain "real honey" in an unknown amount not necessarily equivalent to 100% of the product in the bottle. Meaning, it may contain other things, natural or artificial.
Natural Honey has no artificial additives: no added color, artificial flavor, or synthetic substance. But there may be natural additives (corn syrup). Check the ingredient list on the label.
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