Raw honey is one of the best substances to keep in your kitchen as it works well to sweeten your tea or coffee, top your toast or biscuit, and mix into your favorite dressings and sauces. Whether you have raw honey from a local beekeeper or the grocery store, you may notice your jar crystallizing after letting it sit for some time. Interestingly, honey is one of the few substances that never spoils, but knowing how to decrystallize honey quickly and easily is important for maintaining its high-quality texture and flavor.
Reasons To Keep Honey in Your Home
Honey is an excellent staple to keep in your home since it comes in handy in the kitchen and in your beauty routine. Whether you love the flavor or want to reap the benefits of raw honey, you should consider these popular reasons to keep a jar in your home at all times:
- It’s a healthier way to sweeten your coffee or tea.
- Honey is helpful when it comes to a cold or the flu.
- It may help treat minor cuts and wounds.
- Honey makes your hair soft, shiny, and beautiful.
- It might help reduce the appearance of acne and blemishes.
Now that you have a few convincing reasons to keep honey in your home, you should learn more about crystallization and how to fix it. Read on for more information regarding this sweet, golden, decadent substance.
Why Honey Crystallizes
Honey contains glucose and fructose, which are two simple sugar varieties, and may start to crystallize when that sugar precipitates. Because different honey varieties have unique sugar ratios, each type may crystallize at a different rate.
Interestingly, the higher the glucose content, the faster the honey will crystallize. These high-glucose varieties include:
- Lavender honey
- Dandelion honey
- Clover honey
On the other hand, honey that contains more fructose takes much longer to crystallize. Varieties higher in fructose include:
- Sage honey
- Tupelo honey
- Acacia honey
The Best Decrystallizing Methods
After learning why honey crystallizes, it’s time to discover the best methods for decrystallizing. Check out a few of the most common and effective techniques.
Hot Water
The hot water method is the best and most effective, meaning you should try this first, if you can. Follow these instructions to ensure success:
- Put your open glass jar of honey into a larger ceramic or glass bowl.
- Heat water on the stove or in the microwave to between 95 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the hot water into the bowl so it surrounds the honey jar, but be careful not to dump water into the honey.
- Monitor the temperature of the water using a thermometer to make sure it stays within the desired range. Leave the jar in the water bath and occasionally stir the honey until it returns to a liquid state.
This process may take up to an hour, but it depends on how much honey you need to reliquefy. Practice patience and monitor the water temperature for the best results.
Microwave
The microwave method isn’t the preferred option, as it can damage some of the beneficial properties of honey. However, the honey will still be safe to use and consume if you use the microwave method. Follow these steps if you’re using your microwave:
- Put the honey in a microwave-safe container with the lid off, then place it inside your microwave.
- Microwave on a medium setting for 30 seconds at a time, stirring the honey between rounds of heating.
- Repeat this process until the honey becomes liquid again, being careful not to burn or damage the honey.
As previously mentioned, this method isn’t preferred, but it can work in a pinch. Ideally, you should use the hot water method whenever possible.
Honey in Plastic Bottles
Some honey is packaged in plastic bottles, which makes the decrystallization process somewhat more challenging. Therefore, you should transfer the honey to a glass container if possible. However, if the honey is too solid to remove from the plastic container, you can create a warm water bath to help soften it enough to transfer it to a heat-safe container.
A Don’t List for Decrystallization
Decrystallizing honey is relatively easy, but you must follow a few rules to ensure you don’t damage your raw honey. Consider this brief don’t list regarding the decrystallization process:
- Avoid microwaving honey unless you’re confident you can maintain a steady temperature and prevent your honey from burning.
- Don’t heat anything in a plastic bottle. The plastic can melt into your honey, making the whole thing unsafe and unusable.
- Don’t boil your honey; overheating it can destroy the beneficial ingredients and enzymes.
- Avoid decrystallizing the same jar of honey more than once. You may alter the flavor by melting it over and over.
Ways To Prevent Honey Crystallization
There’s no surefire way to prevent honey from crystallizing, but you can do a few things to help slow the process.
Seal the Container Tightly
Exposing your honey to air can allow moisture and other particles into the container, which speeds up crystallization. Use a spoon to scoop rather than pour your honey, and keep the rim of the container clean and dry; this will help keep the seal as tight as possible.
Store It in a Glass Jar
Since glass is studier and less porous than plastic, honey stored in glass jars may crystallize at a slower rate than honey stored in plastic containers. Also, the decrystallization process is easier if you have a glass honey jar.
Freeze It
Believe it or not, you can keep your honey in the freezer if you’re not planning on using it soon. Keep in mind, you may have to wait a while for the honey to come to room temperature after taking it out of the freezer.
Store at Room Temperature
Interestingly, many people store their honey in the refrigerator because they believe it’ll help the substance last longer. However, since honey never spoils, you should keep it at room temperature to slow the crystallization process.
After learning how to decrystallize honey quickly and easily, you shouldn’t have to throw out a jar of honey ever again. Visit Crystal’s Raw Honey if you’re looking for natural honey for sale, and keep the jar in your kitchen cabinet as soon as you get it to slow the crystallization process. Although you may use the entire jar before it has a chance to crystallize, knowing this helpful process won’t hurt.
