Crystalized He Works Hard for the Honey, Deering Dark harvest honey.
While I am a huge fan of The XX, it’s not pressure that crystallizes honey...and it’s doesn’t mean the honey has gone bad (phew!). As a matter of fact, raw unpasteurized honey with all it’s amazing nutrition is MORE likely to crystallize than commercially sold varieties (for more on the difference, see our blogpost What’s the Difference).
Honey in its natural form is dehydrated plant nectar. Due to the dehydration process the bees put the nectar through, it becomes an over-saturated sugar solution...essentially the glucose and fructose present in amounts that make it impossible for them to stay suspended in the low amount of moisture that’s present. So if you’re running your spoon through some chunky honey wondering if it’s bad, congratulations! You’re almost certainly holding onto the real deal 🤤
“But Chris...I don’t really like it crystallized. I want my HWHftH to run like molasses”. That’s totally understandable, and still possible. With minimal effort, and depending on how much you’re willing to heat that bottle of liquid gold you’re holding, there are several ways to mix up the sugary solution back to liquid form. My personal favorite is to simply run it under a hot tap for 60 seconds....stir, and repeat as necessary. But as I researched how best to “uncrystallize” honey many sites recommend microwaving it for 30 seconds at a time until it returns to the desired consistency (😱 sacrilege!!!)
No matter how you best enjoy your honey, we hope that you will continue to enjoy it in good health and in good company 🍯🐝🍯 and we hope you’ll tell us about it as we continue on our bee journey!
~ Chris, The Boxing Beekeeper