# Crystallizing Honey: a question



## power napper (Apr 2, 2005)

Equally!


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Congrats, but why?


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## dgl1948 (Oct 5, 2005)

I wonder how many readers have seen minus 40.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

That's not the point.


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## The Honey House (May 10, 2000)

http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/temperature 

233.1 Kelvin









This really belongs in the Everything Honey Forum.

[ January 05, 2006, 09:25 PM: Message edited by: The Honey House ]


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

I had four supers of 04 honey in the freezer that didn't crystalize at all until I took it out and extracted it last November.

So what gives?


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## dgl1948 (Oct 5, 2005)

Right.-40Fis the same as -40C. Honey will not crystalize at these temps. It simply freezes.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

And the prize goes to dgl1948 for turning in the correct answer.

I don't know about the freezing part though.

It took 2 hrs and 27 minutes.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

You beat Dee on OrganicBeekeepers by about an hour. Bee-L hasn't replyed yet. Though I think that they posted it.


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

I thought by your 'congrats' statement that you were infering that honey crystalizes even below freezing, which it does not.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

No, I wasn't infering anything. Or if I was it was that people should read the question and then answer the question that was asked.

The real story is that I was telling a friend of mine about something on another list (obkprs) and he thought that I should ask the question that I asked. So I did. And I find it interesting that a beesource person got it before and orgbkpr person and the Bee-L folks have only had one reply and haven't gotten it yet after almost 4 hrs.

As far as crystlizing below freezing is concerned, the way I understand it, it won't. The optimum temp for the promotion of crystalization of honey is 57 degrees F. Any temp above or below that will retard the process. Temps below slow the sugar molecules to a point where they can't move to get together. At least that's the way it was explained to me.

Mark


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

57 degrees F is the ideal temp if your making Creamed honey.

[ January 06, 2006, 06:45 PM: Message edited by: Joel ]


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## John Russell (Aug 8, 2003)

Honey will still crystalize if frozen. Just very very slowly. The best creamed honey I ever tasted was canola honey, frozen for a year at -18 celcius.
Very fine, very nice texture.

J.R.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Like Joel says, 57 degrees F is the optimum temp to promote crystalization. Anything above or below that temp will impede the process.

Minus 40 degrees C and F are the same temp. I was just trying to see how many knew that. And how many actually understood the question as it was written. I knew the answer that I wanted.


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

While honey may not crystallize while frozen, I think it does crystallize quicker once it's brought back to room temperature. Maybe it's due to crystals that are formed while cooling down and warming up -- not sure. If so, then maybe flash freezing would be better.

On a related note, are wax moths really an issue with comb honey as they are much more attracted to brood comb? I've always frozen mine to "be safe" because no one wants to hear a customer complain of worms crawling in their honey, but if you let comb honey sit around (at room temperature) for a week or two and no larva emerge, is it safe to say that none will ever emerge?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>On a related note, are wax moths really an issue with comb honey as they are much more attracted to brood comb? 

It will get wax moths in it. I would freeze it.


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