Crystallized honey is not something you will typically find available for purchase from most honey retailers.  Big honey producers dislike it for a variety of reasons, and as a result many consumers are unfamiliar with it and therefore become concerned when their honey begins to crystallize.  Here at Maran Atha Homestead, we value crunchy honey just as much as runny honey, but we understand that many of our buyers may have some questions.

“What exactly is crystallized honey?”

Honey is made by bees collecting nectar and storing it in their comb.  The raw nectar is around 70-80% water, and in order to get the nectar to be shelf-stable and never spoil, the bees evaporate the water out of the nectar, making a much more concentrated sugar solution, on average around 18% water and 82% sugar.  Since this solution has more sugar than water, it isn’t just concentrated, it’s super-saturated.  Crystallized honey results from the sugars in the honey coming out of solution and forming solid crystals, in exactly the same way rock candy is made.  This process is entirely natural and even occurs in the comb in the bee colony under certain conditions.  Most honey bee colonies eat some crystallized honey as part of their diet, and certain honey varieties are prone to crystallizing.   

“Does all honey crystallize?”

No, it does not.  All honey is composed of a variety of different sugars, like glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose, and each honey’s unique mixture gives each honey different properties.  Some honeys are naturally very inert, and almost never crystallize, even after many years.  Usually, these honeys are higher in fructose, which is a more stable sugar molecule.  Honey from trees, like sourwood, tend to behave this way.  Honeys from shrubs and vining plants, like blackberries and multiflora rose, tend to be higher in glucose, which is more unstable, and these honeys crystallize easiest and quickest. 

“I’ve never had honey from the grocery store crystallize.  Does it mean the honey is really old or going bad?”

Honey essentially never goes bad and age has very little to do with honey crystallizing.  As previously discussed, some varieties of honey will always crystallize regardless of conditions and time, and some will never crystallize regardless of conditions and time.  However there are some factors that make crystallizing more likely or more rapid. 

First is temperature.  Honey is most prone to crystallizing in temperatures around 55F.  So store liquid honey at room temperature, in a warm location, or in the freezer if you’d like it to remain liquid.  Constantly varying temperatures, like in a garage, attic, or frequently opened refrigerator can also help honey crystallize, so you could store it here if you like your honey crunchy.    

The presence of particulates in honey also makes crystallizing more likely.  Just like when you make rock candy and put a string in the syrup for the crystals to grow on, small particles of wax, pollen, or general hive debris in the honey can provide a surface for crystals to attach to and grow.  Raw, unfiltered honey contains these microscopic particulates, as they contribute to honey’s flavor and healing properties.  Commercially produced honey is usually forced, at high temperatures and pressures, through an extremely fine filter to remove these particles, which prevents crystallization, but also removes many of the honey’s benefits.  Here at Maran Atha Homestead, we never heat our honey, and we only run it through a stainless steel strainer no finer than a window screen.          

“My honey started crystallizing and now it’s bubbling a little and smells kind of yeasty.  Are you sure it’s not going bad?”

Yes, we’re sure.  When honey crystallizes, the dissolved sugars in the honey come out of solution to form solid crystals, leaving the remaining liquid honey more watery than it was when it was bottled.  This lower concentration of sugars can create conditions where dormant yeasts and beneficial bacteria can begin to multiply in the honey and ferment it. 

Honey that is crystallizing, fermenting, or both, is not going bad, it is simply aging, like a fine wine or a good cheese.  Grocery store honey is not only filtered but pasteurized to kill any yeasts and lactobacilli who could ferment the honey.  But pasteurizing also destroys all beneficial enzymes, microorganisms, healing properties, and delicate flavors of the honey.  Our honey is always raw and never heated at all, much less pasteurized. 

For more information about fermented honey, click here

“Okay, so I get that crystallized honey is good quality honey, but is it actually delicious?  How do I use it?”

Crystallized honey, or “crunchy honey” as it’s affectionately known in our household, is just as delicious as runny honey.  Varieties that have big crystals are in fact crunchy in texture.  Some honeys have a finer crystal texture which is gritty, but not exactly crunchy, which is still nice on the tongue and would be comparable to sticky cane sugar crystals.  Honey with super-fine crystal texture is often marketed as “soft-set” or “creamed honey”.  As this has become popular with consumers of late, and some honey producers try to manipulate conditions to cause honey to crystallize in this manner.  Because all these crunchy honeys are more solid than runny honey, they are less messy and great for spreading on toast or biscuits and for scooping heaping spoonfuls into tea and coffee mugs.  Their added texture also gives a pleasant crunch when added to yogurt or paired with goat cheese.