My honey has crystallized! Is it still good to eat?

Absolutely! This is a question I’m often asked, and in fact, I believe that crystallized or “set” honey has many advantages over liquid. Still, I’ll provide you with a simple method of liquifying your crystallized honey if you must.

Why does honey crystallize?

All pure honey will crystallize at some point, but the rate at which honey will crystallize is dependent on the flowers that bees visited when collecting the nectar. Honey consists of four main sugars: glucose, fructose, maltose and sucrose. The proportion of each of these sugars varies among the different plants the bees visit, and the ratio of glucose to fructose is one of the main determinants of the rate of crystallization. Honey with a relatively high amount of glucose compared to fructose will crystallize faster than honey sourced from flowers with a relatively low concentration of glucose. In general, plants like canola have a very high concentration of glucose (40%), and so honey derived mainly from canola nectar will crystallize very quickly. Honey derived from flowering trees and buckwheat have lower concentrations of glucose (approaching 20%), and will crystallize at slower rate.

Another major factor is the temperature at which your honey is stored. Honey crystallization peaks at around 14ºC, which is the temperature in many basements. The rate slows down at higher temperatures, but you risk damaging the quality of the honey by reducing the natural enzymatic activity in the honey.

Finally, moisture content affects the crystallization rate. Honey with a very low moisture content will crystallize much more quickly than honey with a higher moisture content. However, high-moisture honey isn’t desirable, as once moisture content reaches 18%, you run the risk of fermentation and spoiling your honey.

How do I liquify my crystallized honey?

If you’d like to prolong your honey’s liquid state, stick it in the freezer! A fun fact – freezing honey almost completely slows down crystallization. Although very viscous when frozen, it returns to the liquid phase when brought back to room temperature.

However, if your honey has already crystallized, here’s a very simple way of liquifying it. Add water to a sauce pan so that water level is almost to the lid of your honey jar. Heat the water to 46ºC. Add the honey jar with the set honey and turn the heat off. Let the temperature drop to 40ºC. Repeat until the honey has liquified. Be aware that heating the honey does reduce the half life of some of the enzymes that make your honey the magical food that it is. However, keeping the temperature of your honey below 48ºC keeps the honey classified as raw.

Do I need to liquify my set honey?

No - at least not for most applications! Honey will liquify instantly if you add it to a hot liquid, such as tea. Set honey mixes beautifully with other ingredients when used in baking. And you won’t need to take a second pair of pants with you to work if you use set honey in your peanut butter and honey sandwich! I was once told by a woman that used a lot of honey that she had been repeatedly warned not to put her honey in the fridge because it would hasten the crystallization process. She replied, “that would be like not putting your bread dough in the hot oven because it would become solid and delicious!”

My suggestion would be to liquify only the honey you need to and enjoy the set honey in all its goodness!