# Freezing Honey???



## Hill's Hivery (Jan 7, 2005)

I have read a couple places about freezing honey frames and all. Does this have any effect on the quality? Does the honey crystalize quicker? Will it crystalize in the freezer? How do you unthaw without the added moisture?

Anyone having experience in this, please post or IM me. I will be pulling frames periodically because I don't have my extractor setup yet and this is a VERY viable solution for me if it works.

Thank you in advance for your time and information.


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## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

> freezing honey frames and all.

Yep, we do this with 100% of our Ross Rounds.

> Does this have any effect on the quality?

Not a bit.

> Does the honey crystalize quicker?

Nope - in fact, it halts any crystallization
that might have been in progress. You need
a minimum temperature above that found in
any freezer to get the crystallization process
going.

> Will it crystalize in the freezer?

I've left rounds in my freezer for nearly
a year before eating them or giving them to
my father, and none of them have ever
crystallized. Something with a higher glucose
fraction (like orange blossom honey) would
be the best way to test, but there is a
definite lack of orange trees around here.

> How do you unthaw without the added moisture?

I'm not sure what specific problem you are
citing, but there really is no downside to
freezing honey for even long periods.


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

Wait, if they are frozen would you need to unthaw them? 
We too freeze all our comb honey to destroy wax moth eggs and preserve the quality. Also never had any crystalize in the Freezer, pulled leftovers out the following spring and they were fine. Honey stored at 57 degrees will crystalized quickely, honey stored at O F will not.


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## Hill's Hivery (Jan 7, 2005)

Does the Honey expand in the container like water does? Can you bottle the honey and just store it there?


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

Good honey has 17% moisture or less so it don`t actualy freeze it just gets very stiff and bee stored in glass in the freezer but bee very careful not to "bump" them together.

I have some RRs that have been in the freezer for 4 years and still as good as the first day.


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## John Russell (Aug 8, 2003)

Honey will not expand in the freezer...but some floral sources will crystalize, just very very slowly. 
We froze 300 pounds of canola honey ( wich to be honest, crystalized when you put ice in your kool-aid 40 feet away...) In 8 months it had solidified at -17 C. When thawed, it was perfect creamed honey. The water molecules would freeze first, of course, leaving finite space for the sugars to crystalize. When the water molecules reverted to liquid state when the honey was returned to room temp, the result was short and fine crystal chains wich equaled a nice creamed product.

Not a practical way to do it, but intresting non the less.

J.R.


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