# re-liquifying honey



## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

yes...


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

yes...


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## kayakdg (Sep 17, 2002)

*honey warmer*

If it is already in jars put it in the oven on warn setting. It will be lquid in a cuple hours Dan


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

yes...


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## beegee (Jun 3, 2003)

You just want to use a low power setting and don't let it boil or scorch. I nuke my plastic dispenser bottle if it cyrstallizes. The microwave will melt a plastic honey dispenser(don't ask...)


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

dashboard of the truck on a hot day with the windows rolled up
I'm cheap

Dave


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## moonlightbeekeeper (Jul 4, 2007)

*do we try to sell our honey as having good nutrients?*

do we also tell our customers that our honey is better than buying it at the store because the enzymes that are there provide a good immune booster? If so we really need to delve into this subject deeper. I have always been told that if you use a microwave oven to re-liquify your honey that you are destroying the good nutrient in it after some research i found this site.
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01565.htm 
try to find out more and post it here please


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## Jeffrey Todd (Mar 17, 2006)

yes . . . but . . .


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## shughes (Jan 17, 2007)

I use a seedling mat inside a Styrofoam cooler for 12 hours. works well for a couple dozen bottles and gradually reliquifies granulated honey.


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## indypartridge (Nov 18, 2004)

drobbins said:


> dashboard of the truck on a hot day with the windows rolled up
> I'm cheap
> 
> Dave


Another vote for the dashboard!


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

A case of bottles in the trunk works too


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## ME Beekeeper (Mar 21, 2008)

Yes, on a small scale.  A bottle at a time.  I try not to over do it, but it's easier and faster then putting it in hot water. 

Larry


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## power napper (Apr 2, 2005)

Sixty watt bulb in old stripped out refrigerator works great for jars, supers, five gallon buckets.


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## BGhoney (Sep 26, 2007)

We had this come up a couple months ago, a thread to ask a scientist.com.
If I remember right, they tested heating and anything above 100 degrees can change the taste and over 120 starts to kills enzymes. It stated heat is heat, if you micro do it on defrost and dont let it get hot spots.

Told my wife to heat it for 1 minute, she didnt put it on defrost, it was a plastic blob.

Like others, I'll do a jar at a time for my own use but use a slow, light bulb type approch for selling honey.


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

you betcha


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

It doesn't help that the National Honey Board has incomplete/misleading directions such as this in their "honey handling tips" section. On high microwave settings, honey can overheat within 30 seconds.

http://www.honey.com/consumers/honeyinfo/tips.asp
"_If your honey crystallizes, simply place the honey jar in warm water and stir until the crystals dissolve. Or, place the honey in a microwave-safe container with the lid off and *microwave it, stirring every 30 seconds,* until the crystals dissolve. Be careful not to boil or scorch the honey._" (my emphasis) 

The instructions should recommend a low power setting.
I tell my customers to use *defrost* for 30 seconds at a time.
Sheri


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## jjgbee (Oct 12, 2006)

*Bottle black sage it doesn't crystalize*

I saved a bucket of orange for an englishman that liked crystalized honey. It was nicly crystalized when I gave it to him. He put it in the cab of his truck and then went to the beach for the day. The next day he calls to complains that the honey was liquid.


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

Good point Sheri. Microwaving a plastic bottle of crystallized honey for 30 seconds on high power will only partially reliquify it. Some of it can still remain solid while the stuff at the top will be thin liquid, and boiling. The plastic will become soft and deform where it is in contact with the boiling honey. Ask me how I know..... 

Low power and stirring is the key.


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

beegee said:


> You just want to use a low power setting and don't let it boil or scorch. I nuke my plastic dispenser bottle if it cyrstallizes. The microwave will melt a plastic honey dispenser(don't ask...)


My husband melted a bottle of honey in the microwave at work. Ouch.


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## papa (Oct 4, 2010)

I tell my customers to NEVER microwave honey. The heat is too high and will change the flavor, destroy the healthful benefits of the enzymes in the pollen, and dehydrate it to the point it can't be liquefied anymore.

I recommend running water in the sink to a temp that is as hot as you can while still being able keep your hand in it, then stopping up the sink and filling it to the level of the honey in the container. Leave it in the water bath until the water is cold or if you are in a hurry, watch it until it is liquid again.

I don't even like the recommendation on the labels you can buy from bee suppliers that say to heat water on the stove, take it off the heat, and then place the container in there, as it could be too hot.


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## papa (Oct 4, 2010)

For us beeks, a warming closet or old freezer with a light bulb and thermostat set at 95-100 works great! Even then, prolonged heating at this temp will change the flavor and color of the honey.

Here is the 'stat I use if you are comfortable wiring it up: http://www.amazon.com/Vktech-Electr...F8&qid=1409071739&sr=1-39&keywords=thermostat

If you aren't comfortable wiring this up, Walter Kelley sells this for a few bucks more: http://www.kelleybees.com/Shop/17/Honey-Harvesting/Honey-House-Extracting/4061/Heat-Limit-Control


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

I'm with papa, I have right on my rear label, DO NOT MICROWAVE.


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## Bee-wildered (Oct 18, 2004)

I put it on my front porch for the day....


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

indypartridge said:


> Another vote for the dashboard!


I put two jars on my (black) dashboard on a medium-hot day, with the windows rolled up, and by the time I got back in the car at 2:00 the jars were too hot to hold, and the honey was very clear and had the consistency of water.

I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm sure I ruined it.

I had more success leaving the honey elsewhere in the car, with my sunshade on the windshield. The car gets pretty toasty here (LA) in the summer anyway, easily 90+ degrees. After a day or two of this, the honey is liquid enough to flow if I invert the jar, but it hasn't turned clear, and the taste hasn't changed.

I'm with the low, slow crowd on this.


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## Ryan Williamson (Feb 28, 2012)

I like the dashboard of my van for colder months and prefer moving the honey back in the vehicle at this time of year. I put a fan blowing on the jars in case boxes and keep a wireless remote thermometer with the sensor on the honey. I work from home so I can adjust the doors for ventilation to keep it from getting too hot. I try to stay around 100 degrees. Some day I hope to have room to have a hot box but you can't beet the price of free solar heat!


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## Russ (Sep 9, 2001)

I had a 5 Gal. Bucket of Crystallized Honey I put in a Black plastic Trash bag and closed it and set it out in the sun for a day. I used an Infrared Thermometer and by evening it was 109*F. Worked Great. Like others have said, you can't beat FREE Sun shine.


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