How to Decrystallize Honey

This guide helps you understand how to decrystallize honey without damaging the nutritional profile. When your container of delicious golden honey turns into a semi-solid, gritty mess – don’t panic. Your honey has likely crystallized – a natural process. Whether you are an experienced honey connoisseur or newcomer to this sweet delight – you can have your honey back in liquid form in no time at all.

If you are a long-time consumer of raw honey, I am sure you have experienced times it has “turned to sugar”. This is a common description for honey undergoing crystallization. Thankfully, decrystallizing honey is not difficult.

Why You May Need to Reliquify Honey

The natural process of crystallization can be alarming to someone who does not understand why it is happening. As raw honey begins to change large, gritty crystals form. As they continue to grow, the entire jar can become solid.

Why Honey Changes Form – Sometimes

Honey bees make honey from many different sources of plant nectar. The watery nectar is different from honey and the sweetness differs a bit from plant to plant.

The chemical composition of various nectar sources and their levels of sugars can result honey that crystallizes quickly – or not. This is why some types of honey crystallizes fast and others do not.

Reverting Honey Back to Liquid Form

Most people prefer honey in a liquid state. Thankfully, you can re-liquify your honey without destroying it’s raw properties. This raw food is alive with enzymes, antioxidants, pollen (collected by bees) and other natural goodies.

Heat will melt the sugar crystals that are forming in the jar or container. But, too much heat will harm the integrity of your honey. The trick is to restore it back to liquid using a slow controlled heat.

Materials

While there are several ways to decrystallize honey, the most common method involves a pan of hot water on the stove. You only need a few materials for that.

• saucepan
• water
• heat source

Process

The easiest way to bring honey back to a liquid state is the slow and easy route. We want to create a “hot tub” figuratively speaking for our jar of honey.

1. Be sure your honey is in a heat safe container (spoon it out into a glass jar if necessary). I like to add a lid on top – loosely. (This prevent water from getting into the jar).

You can also transfer the contents to a medium sized bowl if you want to remove it from the container. But, this extra step is not necessary.

As we begin the process, it is a good idea to have a lid on the jar. Honey should always be stored in a jar with a tight fitting lid to protect it from moist air. A high water content in your honey will cause fermentation or spoilage.

2. Fill a pan with several inches of water. Place your jar of honey in the pan. You do not want to submerge the jar in water. (Do not let water cover the top of the jar.)

Water only needs to go up to the level or height of honey in the jar. Don’t let water get in it.

3. Gently, heat the water until it becomes very warm. It should not boil. Once you see steam starting to rise – it is time to turn off the heat source – or remove the pot from the heat.

Now, let your jar of honey sit in this hot water bath until the water cools. Once that happens – tighten the lid on your jar of honey and gently shake it. Do you still see any crystals floating? If so, repeat the process.

Expert Tips

• the water bath is easy for glass containers. (But don’t worry if your honey is in plastic, we can use another method-that I will discuss shortly.)
• for the process of de-crystallization, there should be a little excess room in the jar to allow room for expansion.
• don’t get your water too hot. Water boils at 212°F-but we don’t want to get our water that hot! (Use a thermometer to heat a small amount of water in a saucepan to about 110 – 115° F.)
• you can also heat water in a tea kettle and then pour it into a large bowl – sitting your honey jar in the water.

Melting Honey – How Hot is too Hot?

This is a common debate among honey connoisseurs. Isn’t the whole idea of raw honey to have some that has not been heated? Yes, that is true. But, how hot is too hot.

Most researchers agree that temperatures over 110° F damages enzymes and anti-oxidants. And, anything over 140° F ruins the natural properties completely.

While 110° F may seem to be quite hot, keep in mind that it probably gets that hot or hotter in the hive.

Bees do regulate the inside hive temperature through hive ventilation. However, they are still at the mercy of mother nature and can only control sections of the hive.

Gentle warming to a reasonable temperature should not damage the beneficial enzymes. This can be accomplished easily-if you take your time.

How to Decrystallize Honey in a Plastic Bottle

If you need to decrystallize a plastic honey bear (or similar), you have some extra considerations. Putting a plastic bear or any plastic container in very hot water may result in melting the bear.

And, as we have already discussed the microwave is not a good option either. You will melt your bear and ruin the nutritional value of your honey.

You have a couple of options. If the honey is thick but not solid, perhaps you can transfer it to a glass jar. And then, proceed with a hot water bath.

What if the honey is solid in your plastic container? Create a water bath similar to the one outlined earlier. But, this time keep the water temperature lower than 100° F.

It will take a while, but you may be able to loosen it enough to pour it out of the plastic. Once it is in a glass container the task becomes easier. Then, you can proceed with the first method of a hot water bath that is warmer.

Setting the plastic container in a warm sunny window is also a good way to get things headed in the right direction.

Another Option

Do you own a car? Some people report excellent results decrystallizing honey in their car. If you live in a region with warm temperatures, you may be able to heat your glass jar inside the car on a sunny (not hot) day.

How hot the car interior gets depends on the season and your location. It is important to monitor the inside temperature of the car to avoid damaging your raw honey.

Decrystallize Bulk Honey

Beekeepers often store their seasonal honey harvest in sealed 5 gallon buckets. It is not unusual for some of it to turn solid in the bucket.

Others who practice bulk food storage may experience granulated honey in large containers too. For home use, scoop out the amount that you think you will use soon.

Put it in a glass bowl or jar and proceed with the hot water bath method. This allows you to avoid exposing the whole bucket to heat unnecessarily.

Another option for bulk storage is a bucket wrap heater. This product fits around the bucket and gently warms the contents back to a liquid state. You can get them in various sizes – even 2 gallon.

Warming Cabinet

Beekeepers often bottle their honey in smaller jars. When you sell honey it is hard to know what size container your customers will want.

The problem is that most consumers don’t understand granulated or crystallized honey. They fear that it is damaged in some way. In truth, it is just as nutritious as liquid – but it doesn’t sell as well.

A warming cabinet is easy to make and use. It works wonders when you have several jars of to warm. If you don’t have the materials to make one like mine – you can use the same principal to create a warm box to hold your jars that need to be converted back to liquid form.

Final Thoughts