Dont throw out your crystallized honey. Eat it. Its delicious and perfectly safe.

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What Do You Do With Crystallized

Honey?
By Gwen Pearson
03.07.14
12:36 PM
Follow@bug_gwen

Crystallized honey is still gooddont throw it out!

For some reason, there is a perception that honey that crystallizes has gone bad or that it
is a sign of contamination. No! Its actually a sign of high quality honey. Dont throw your
crystallized honey out, unless you like to waste delicious food.
 Crystallized Honey on Oatmeal.
Honey is a super-saturated solution of two sugars: glucose and fructose. Since its super-
saturated, its a natural chemical process that some of the sugars eventually come out of
solution. Honey will even crystallize when its still in the comb.

Crystallized honey on a bagel.

Crystallized honey is delicious in tea, on yogurt, on a toasted bagel, and on oatmeal. Its a
fabulous spread glaze for cooking chicken or stir-fry, and
This is where I realized that I needed to stop listing and taking photos of honey on things,
because I kept eating all my photo models.
Back to the science.
Three things make honey more likely to crystallize:
1. Temperature
2. The ratio of glucose and fructose in the honey
3. Pollen
Lets break down whats happening in your honey, and what you can do about it.
Temperature
Honey will crystallize in the hive if the temperature goes below 50F (10C), and honey will
crystallize in your containers if you have a cold cupboard cabinet. Finding a warmer spot to
store your honey will slow crystallization.
Its fairly simple to turn your honey back into a smooth liquid again by heating it. The best
way to do this is by to put your honey in a bowl of warm water and slowly letting it warm up.
If you happen to have an ultrasound machine that produces waves at 23 kHz lying around,
that works too. Microwaving overheats the honey and doesnt heat evenly, so thats not
recommended unless you are in a hurry.
The problem is, as soon as your honey cools down, it will begin slouching back to chunky
again. The simplest way to deal with this is to embrace your lovely honey lumps, and acquire
a taste for crystallized honey. After a few sessions of heating and cooling, your honey will
loose that wonderful aroma of summer, and just become yellow sugary goop.
If you really must have smooth runny honey, try heating a smaller batch, rather than the
whole container. Honey also keeps best in glass, rather than plastic, and glass is much better
for reheating.
The ratio of glucose and fructose in the honey
Honey is a super-saturated solution of two sugars: glucose and fructose. The proportions of
these two sugars are characteristic of the plants the bees fed on to make their honey. Its the
glucose that crystallizes, so some types of honey are more resistant to crystallization
because they have low glucose.
Alfalfa and clover honeys crystallize quickly; maple, tupelo, and blackberry honeys
crystallize slowly. There really isnt an easy way for someone who isnt a honey foodie to
know which honeys crystallize faster or slower, but this is a good excuse to experiment with
the flavors and aromas of different plant honeys.
Pollen
Pollen in honey is normal, and acts as a sort of honey provenance. Pollen in honey verifies
what plants the bees are feeding on. Bees are fuzzy, so while they are drinking nectar to
make honey, they get covered with pollen. Its sticky stuff but, you know, it is plant sperm.
That junk gets everywhere.
Honey with pollen in it is great honey, but crystallization happens faster when there are
small particles available to build on. Fresh, raw honey has a lot of those in the form of pollen
grains.

Pollen Grains in Honey. Image: Specious Reasons/Flickr

Because Americans tend to be a bit paranoid about cosmetic defects in food, a lot of honey is
now filtered to remove pollen. This does creates a more shelf-stable honey, and it is clearer
and brighter in color. Basically, its cosmetic surgery to make your honey pretty.
The problem with pollen-less honey is you dont know where it came from, or what kind of
plants the bees were feeding on. Filtering has a shady side effect: it makes it easier for
honey to be processed and shipped longer distances (like from China) and means that many
different kinds of honey can be blended together undetectably.
Yes. I am talking about honey-laundering.
How can you get the best honey? Buy local. And by local, I mean look for honey that is not
part of a chain store brand, but something from a beekeeper that is in your state, with a
traceable address and name.
Embrace your crystallized honey. Its the result of a natural process.
Photos: Gwen Pearson
Homepage image: Christopher Rose/Flickr

Gwen Pearson has a PhD in Entomology and runs Get Your Nature Geek On, a small
company focused on science communication and websites for nature and research centers.
She blogged under the pseudonym "Bug Girl" for many years. Gwen's early career was spent
teaching in academia. Her research focused on female insect behavior in pheromone
communication systems. She currently serves as Network Coordinator for the Organization
of Biological Field Stations.
Read more by Gwen Pearson
Follow @bug_gwen on Twitter.
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- T RA V E L A G E W E S T
Tags: cold, Food, foodie, honey, honey laundering, pollen, pollinators, temperature
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Jointhediscussion

Nekheny 3daysago
Ihadnoideathattherewerepeopleouttherethatthrewoutcrystallizedhoney.Honey
doesn'treallygobad.
10 Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod Nekheny 3daysago

Iamconstantlyamazedhowmanypeopledon'tknowthiscrystallizationisn'tabad
thing.Includingseveralmembersofmyfamily,whentheyreadthispost!

It'slikekeepingtomatoesintherefrigeratoreitheryouknowyoushouldNEVERdo
it,oryoudon't.
3 Reply Share

3p0ch GwenPearson 2daysago

Pleaseexplainthistomatoesintherefrigeratorthing.
3 Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod 3p0ch 2daysago

Thechemistryoffruitripeningisprettyfascinating.
Twodifferentthingshappenwhenyourefrigeratetomatoes:some
aromaticandflavorchemicalsstopbeingproduced,andcell
membranesstarttobreakdown.Basically,ripeningstops,andthefruit
startstodevelopa"mealy"texture.

Youalsodon'twanttosliceatomatotoofarinadvanceofwhenyou
wanttoeatit,becausemanyofthearomaticcompoundsthatmake
tomatoesdeliciouswillwaftawaybeforeyoueatityoulosesomeof
thefullflavor.
5 Reply Share


FullMetalPizza GwenPearson 2daysago

Justonething:Tomatoesarerefrigeratedallthewayfromwherethey
arepickedtothesupermarket.Doesn'tthataffecttoo?
Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod FullMetalPizza 2daysago

Itdoes.Butifyouletthemwarmupacoupledaysbeforeyoueat
them,theywillregainsomeoftheirflavor(andtheflavorwon'tget
worse!)
3 Reply Share

Norweglish 3p0ch 2daysago

Ifyoulikeblandtomatoeswithlittletastethenyoushouldkeepthem
cold.Tomatoeslikemanyothervegetablesandfruitareharvested
beforetheyhaveripenedproperly.Duetoprofit,shelflifeandallthat.
Theymaybered,buttheirtasteisnotproperlydeveloped.

Leavethemonthekitchencounterinstead.Theydon'tgobadfrom
that(Ifyouconsumethemwithinareasonabletime),quitethe
opposite.
1 Reply Share

Sound_of_Mind GwenPearson adayago

Thesesamepeoplealsodon'trefrigeratetheirapples...
Reply Share

OliviaAmbrogio 3daysago
Idesperatelywanttosharethisusingtheterrificphrase"honeylaundering,"butthepunloses
itssavor(ifyouwill)withouttheleadin.
Thanksforinspiringinmeaterrificcravingforhoney.
15 Reply Share

NelsonBarley OliviaAmbrogio 2daysago

Yep,that'sgottagointhelistofnewwordsandphrasesforthe2014dictionary
update!
Reply Share

AntoninCaors 2daysago
Yetanotherwonderfulexampleofculturaldifferencesoccurringonverycommonitems:in
Europe,youcanevenbuyjarsof*fully*crystalizedhoney.Andthesearesometimes
perceivedasbetterquality!
6 Reply Share

AntonioTejada 2daysago
Ididn'tknowtherewerepeoplefoolishenoughtotrashcrystallizedhoney.Heck,herein
Ididn'tknowtherewerepeoplefoolishenoughtotrashcrystallizedhoney.Heck,herein
Europe,halfthehoneyonthemarketis"creamed",i.e.semicrystallizedwithsmallcrystals.
5 Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod AntonioTejada 2daysago

EuropehasaverydifferentrelationshipwithfoodthantheUS:)
5 Reply Share

AntonioTejada GwenPearson 2daysago

True,butwhichplacehasthebetterfoodorfoodculturedependsonwherein
EuropeandwhereinUSAyouarecomparing!(WeAmericanstendto
romanticizeEurope,sometimesjustified,oftennot.AndEuropeanstendto
lookdownonAmerica,sometimesjustified,oftennot!)

I'lltakethefoodscenesofNY,SF,DC,Miami,orSeattleanydayoverthe
foodscenehereinSwitzerland...::sigh::
Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod AntonioTejada 2daysago

True.ButIhopeanyonetryingtopassoffVelveetaascheesein
Switzerlandwouldbequicklyescortedtotheborder:D

4 Reply Share

AntonioTejada GwenPearson 2daysago

WhenevertheSwissgivemegriefoverAmericanprocesscheese,I
lovetorubintheirfacesthatitsinventorwasSwiss!:D
2 Reply Share

Norweglish 2daysago
Honeyisalsogreatforpreservingpsilocybincontainingmushrooms.Adddriedmushrooms
inpowderedformandmixitup.Youwillhavebluemagichoney.
2 Reply Share

NateTodd 3daysago
Myhoneycomesfrommyneighbourwhokeepsbees.Whenitcrystalizes,weslowlyreheat
itinslightlywarmerthanroomtemperaturewater.Itthenstayssoftforalongtimeagain.
(weeksatleast)
2 Reply Share

MarkFergerson 7hoursago
Whileyou'rewarmingitwithwater,whynotdumpitintothewaterandmakemead?
Reply Share

ungenannt 9hoursago

Yes.Iamtalkingabouthoneylaundering.
Hah.
Reply Share

MLundberg 17hoursago
AssomeonewhojusthadLangneseCountryCreamyHoney(aGermanbrand)onhertoast
thismorning,I'mgettingakickoutofthisarticle.Andasuddendesiretotakeupbee
keeping!
Reply Share

FullMetalPizza 2daysago
Microwavingworksinapinch...honeyseemssotunedtotheMWfrequencyitmeltsin510
seconds,tops.Ofcourseyouarenotmeltingthewholepotbuttheportionyou'regoingto
use(23spoons).Stayclosebecauseafter6secondshoneyactuallystartstoboil.Nothing
worksbetterforasorethroatthathothoneywithlemonjuice.
Reply Share

kukiniloa 2daysago
ThankyouGwenPearsonforthatinterestingread.Canyoupleasecommentonwhether
pollenhassomeparticularlyuniquenutritionalcharacteristics?
Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod kukiniloa 2daysago

Ingeneral,eatinghoneywithpollentoaffectallergieshasveryweeksupporting
evidence:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...(behindapaywall,sorry).

Pollenitselfisnutritious(containsvitaminB),butitseemslikeanawfullotofhassle
togotoforsomevitaminB.Ifyoudonothaveallergies,itwillnothurtyoutoeatit.

Manyclaimsaremadeforthenutritional/sexual/magicalpropertiesofbeepollen,and
franklytheyarebunk.TheUSFederalTradeCommissionhasseveraltimestaken
actionagainstpeoplemakingexcessiveclaimsforbeepollenandroyaljelly,somost
sellershavetonedbacktheirlanguageto"might"and"could".

http://www.ftc.gov/newsevents...

PDF:http://www.ftc.gov/sites/defau...
1 Reply Share

Norweglish GwenPearson 2daysago

Seemslikemoreofahassletofilteritout.Sowhynotleaveitinthere?
Improvestasteandmightevengivesomesortofmicroscopicimperceivable
healthbenefit.
1 Reply Share

Tom2D Norweglish 2daysago

Therewasanarticlesomewhererecentlyonhowfilteringoutallpollen
 Therewasanarticlesomewhererecentlyonhowfilteringoutallpollen
waspartofthemasqueradeyouwoulddo,andprobablysomedo,to
disguiseChinesehoneyaslocallycreated.It'soneofthemanyplaces
wedoneedlabelingandfoodpuritylaws.Idon'twantto"feellike"I'm
supportinglocalbeekeepersandagriculture,Iwanttoactuallysupport
themandletthemkeeptheprofits.AndlikeMsPearsonsays,filtered
is"prettier"andmanyconsumerswouldn'teatablemishedapple
muchlesscloudyhoney.
1 Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod Norweglish 2daysago

AsIexplainedinthearticle(*ahem*),itmakesthehoneyprettyand
slowsthecrystallizationprocess.Iagree,leavingthepolleninis
better.
Reply Share

DougKrahmer 2daysago
Iheatupcrystallizedhoneyinthemicrowaveondefrostleveluntilitliquefies.ThenIpourit
intoacleancontainerwhileit'sstillwarm.Thisisimportantsinceanyremainingcrystalswill
causeittorecrystallizeaftercooling.It'sgoodasnewafteritcools.
Reply Share

Commuted 2daysago
Iblameditonbeingcutwith,orhavingnaturalflowerdisacheridec12h2201,AKAtable
sugar.
Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod Commuted 2daysago

Nope!Crystallizationisnaturalandcanhappeneveninthecomb.
Honeyisfiltered,butveryrarelysweetened.
2 Reply Share

AhmedSayid 2daysago
youcanheatup/steamthecrystalisedhoneyandgetitbacktoflowingformhoney
Reply Share

AdrianMorgan 2daysago
PersonallyIbuybothrunnyhoney(foruseindesserts)andcreamedhoney(foruseon
toast).Idisfavourcrystallizedhoneywhichoverhereisusuallycalled"candiedhoney"
notbecauseit's"bad"butbecauseit'sinflexible.ButifIdogetcrystals,I'dratherwarmit
thanthrowitout.

MosttimesthatIencountercandiedhoney,it'swhenvisitingotherpeople.

Theword"crystallize"isthebestargumentthereisfortheAmericansuffix(izeinsteadof
ise).That'z'addsalovelybitofvisualonomatopoeiathatsomehowspreadsthroughthe
wholeword."Crystallise"doesn'tlookcrystallineatall.
 wholeword."Crystallise"doesn'tlookcrystallineatall.

Ifyoulookupthe(short)Wikipediaarticleoncreamedhoney,Imadesomeverymodest
contributionstothatacoupleofyearsago.Butitremainsaneglectedarticle.
Reply Share

onewaydown 3daysago
http://honestcooking.com/your...

"Crystallizationisanaturalprocessandbywhippingcrystallizedhoneywithhoneyin
normal(liquid)state,youbreakuplargecrystalsformedincrystallizedhoneyandmakeits
texturecreamyandsmooth."
Reply Share

GwenPearson Mod onewaydown 3daysago

Actually,makingcreamedhoneyisabitmorecomplexthanthat.ButIdoagreethat
itisverydelicious!

http://www.masterbeekeeper.org...
1 Reply Share

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