# What causes honey to crystalize?



## Jas0n Bresson (Feb 3, 2008)

And the follow up would be how do you prevent it? My main concern is that if I have a surplus and don't sell it all the first season, how long do I have. Thanks Jason


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## WVbeekeeper (Jun 4, 2007)

Honeys which are higher in glucose crystallize faster than those with higher amounts of fructose. You can't prevent it, however when stored properly your honey will take a longer amount of time crystallize. Learn how to make creamed honey if you have so much you can't sell it before it crystallizes. You can always heat the honey to melt the crystals back into honey.

http://www.honey.com/downloads/crystallization.pdf


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## ScadsOBees (Oct 2, 2003)

It is also related to the amount of "other stuff" in there that may seed the crystallization...pollen, wax, dust, etc.

Freezing the honey will prevent the crystals from forming, although this only works on smaller qty of honey. I usually bottle a few boxes up and store them in the freezer. Then if the pails get crystallized I'll heat those up to drive the crystals out.

Rick


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## BigDaddyDS (Aug 28, 2007)

Honey crystalizes because of the natural "shape" of sugar molecules, and the fact that honey, in essence, is a super-saturated solution. A "seed" (probably a grain of pollen, but possibly even a speck of dust) begins the crystalization process, and the microscopic crystals begin to collect, gather and form structures, and continue to grow. Ever make rock candy? A similar process is going on here.

How is the crystalization process prevented? Unfortunately, the only way to PREVENT it would also RUIN the honey by destroying the super-saturated nature of it. Even then, SOME crystals would still form when it started evaporating. Because it's a crystaline (sugar) product, crystals just naturally want to form, and it CAN'T be prevented. 

Your last question was, how long do you have before crystalization begins? And the answer to that is dependent on what the bees were foraging on. I'd turn to a copy of "Hive and the Honey Bee" and look up the tables listed in the Honey section. Because different nectar sources have different glucose/fructose ratios, that'll change your "working time" before crystalization occurs. 

I imagine that somewhere out there, someone's experimented with "anti-crystalizing" additives, but I'm unfamiliar with the existance of any such thing. As it's been pointed out, heat (never over 120-degrees F. please) will reliquify your honey, and cold (below 30-degrees F. freezing) retards crystalization. Likewise, it appears that a temperature of 57 to 60-degrees F. will actually PROMOTE crystal growth, and is the temperature target for several makers of creamed honey.

Someone once said here that when their honey crystalizes, you change the label on the jar to "Creamed Honey" and start charging MORE for your product! Good advice!

Regards,
BDDS


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

I would like to add that creamed honey is crystalized honey where small seed crystals promote the formation of small crystals. Crystals around 30 micron or smaller cannot be detected by the tongue which leads to the sensation of creamyness. I have not been able to find information about how one is supposed to "grind" creamed honey to use for seeding. You can buy creamed honey and use it for seed, but if you want to use your own seed crystals, you have to figure out a way of preventing the ever increasing size of the crystals with each subsequent batch. It appears to be a trade secret. The Dyce patent and other reference that I have found say that a meat grinder can be used, but if you look into it, the meat grinder is used to break up the creamed honey so it can be mixed into a larger batch and is not intended to make finer crystals. Does anyone know what equipment is used to grind honey?


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

*crystals on bottom*

So after the honey is in the bottle and it had crystallized, I returned it to liquid form and ended up with a thin layer of white "stuff" at the bottom. I am assuming this is crystals that will not return to liquid form. What does a guy do with it now? Do I re-pour the honey into new bottles to remove the stuff that is left on the bottom? Any other advice?


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## Brent Bean (Jun 30, 2005)

I have made two honey heaters, one form an old medal cooler and the other form a refrigerator. I installed a good thermostat and used some heat tape this controls the temp to within a few degrees.
I can take a bottle of honey totally crystalized heat it to around 115 degrees for 12 hours and it will be totally liquid, top to bottom. By keeping it below 120 degrees it can still be sold as Raw honey. 
If you don’t want to go to the trouble put it in hot water until in re-liquefies, or just take the crystalized honey and just spread it on your toast, it still tastes great.


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## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

Brent Bean said:


> Snipped..........
> If you don’t want to go to the trouble put it in hot water until in re-liquefies, or just take the crystalized honey and just spread it on your toast, it still tastes great.


Brent, that works great. A few years I built a big foam box and put several 5 gallon buckets in there for about 48 hours and held it just under 120 degrees. It took a couple days but worked flawlessly.

JoeMcc


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

How do you maintain the heat at 120?


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## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

Jeffzhear said:


> How do you maintain the heat at 120?


I just used light bulbs and watched it for a day. Once I got the right wattage in there it seemed to stay constant. Left the house at 70 and used a blanket to fine tune the temp. 

I also know they make a thermostat box you can plug into with a high low. I will search and see what i can find.

JoeMcc


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## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

Something like this?

http://tinyurl.com/2rhm9q

Discription sounds funny....but something like that might work...

Still looking

JoeMcc


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## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

http://www.beesource.com/plans/heater.htm


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## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

Here is one I found.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/3UC71

JoeMcc


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## Jas0n Bresson (Feb 3, 2008)

You guys are great! This is like fishing. Throw out the bait and check it later to see what you've caught. Thanks for the replies


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## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

Jas0n Bresson said:


> You guys are great! This is like fishing. Throw out the bait and check it later to see what you've caught. Thanks for the replies



I called a local heating company...they are supposed to get back to me on a thermostat. Too bad you are not local to me...we would have a weekend project....lol 

JoeMcc


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

Attic fan thermostats will work but I don't think they can hold as tight of a temperature range as some of the more expensive thermostats. I purchased one from Hope Depot years ago and wired it for a heat box - worked for me and it was really cheap.


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## Brent Bean (Jun 30, 2005)

A thermostat makes things fail safe without one you could get the honey to hot. The one JoeMcc talks about would work very well. I was lucky to find a couple of thermostats at the power plant I work in being scrapped because they were an obsolete style and I got a scrap pass for them. They work great and keep the temp within three degrees.


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