Can You Eat Crystallized Honey
Crystallized honey is safe to eat. Honey becomes crystallized or degrades over time but it does not mean that it goes bad or expired. It can be still eaten. Crystallized honey becomes lighter in color or whiter as compared to when your honey was pourable. It can appear grainy.
Sometimes, a beekeeper might offer raw honey deliberately, but this time, there is an element of processing, namely by mixing one part crystallized honey and nine parts liquid honey. Beekeepers can use a controlled crystallization process in order to produce a more dispersible, that is, a creamier honey–or softer-set honey. Crystallization may also be triggered by the presence of microscopic particles of pollen, wax, or propolis, and, again, whether microscopic particles of pollen are present can be dependent upon the honey type, or even on the way that honey has been handled during processing to sell.
Any bits of pollen or flower powder that get into honey while it is being processed will also stimulate faster crystallization. The tiny particles of pollen are why raw honey is much more likely to encourage crystallization than a pasteurized, fully processed product. Pollen in honey may also play a role in the binding process, as it provides the platform on which the sugars can crystallize.
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During the summer, when the weather is hot, the honey stays liquid, but when temperatures cool down in the fall, it even crystallizes inside the hive. Honey is usually liquid when you buy it, but eventually, all honey returns to a naturally crystallized state.
If the crystallized honey has become too solid and you are having trouble spreading it, you can revert it back to a liquid form. If your honey looks solid and crunchy, or has even become totally solid, it is going through crystallization. This actually will worsen the crystallization of the honey as time goes by, and turning the heat on your honey may even impact the quality.
| Properties of Crystallized Honey | |
| It becomes Lighter | Compared to when your honey was pourable, its hue also becomes lighter. |
| Spreads Effortlessly | Honey that has crystallized is entirely safe to consume because it spreads effortlessly without spilling. |
It is glucose that crystallizes, which is why certain types of honey are more resistant to crystallization as they are lower in glucose. Because glucose is less soluble than fructose, honeys with higher glucose content crystallize faster. Honeys that have higher sugar-to-fructose ratios, completely based on their sources, crystallize faster than those that have lower sugar-to-fructose ratios.
The natural sugars in honey (glucose and fructose) will bond and start forming tiny crystals, which may begin making your honey more solid. In simpler terms, we can say that crystals are the natural sugars that are becoming undissolved in honey. Raw, unfiltered honey crystallizes naturally due to the sugars in it.
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Raw honey crystallizes more quickly because it contains tiny amounts of pollen or beeswax that are removed in processed honey, Traci Weintraub explained. Crystallization is actually a good sign, says Weintraub, since it means that your honey is more raw and less processed – since, again, that kind of honey has pollen or beeswax, which increases the crystallization rate. There is no health risk in having your honey crystallize, as this is a natural process that happens even if you keep the honey properly.
This is because crystallized honey is naturally antibacterial because of its high sugar content and enzymatic hydrogen peroxide production. You can use Crystallized Honey just as you would liquid honey, although you may need to first decrystallize it — it is actually easy to do. Crystallizing honey is totally natural, and does not alter the quality or taste of your honey (although the new texture may tell your brain that it tastes a little differently!).
Crystallization will also vary between different types of honey depending on what nectar it is made with. It completely depends on the moisture content of honey as opposed to the glucose, more glucose, faster honey crystallizes. A lower water content of the honey helps keep it from fermenting, but it also allows for easier crystallisation.
Water temperature plays a critical role, since hot tap water does not melt the glucose molecules, whereas boiling water overheats honey and can alter its overall quality. Honey crystallizes in hives when temperatures drop below 50F (10C), while hives will crystallize in containers when your storage facility has cold storage.
To bring the honey back to its liquid state, you can place your cans in hot, almost boiling, water with the lid on. All you have to do is place your honey jar into the hot bath, causing sugar crystals to melt and return your honey to its liquid form. The best way to make a turn is by placing the honey into a warm water bowl and letting it slowly heat up.
You cannot stop it, but you can delay crystallization by keeping the honey somewhere warm by a furnace (not a cold storage room by the side of the outside wall). If you truly want to keep your raw honey intact as you decrystallize, you cannot simply dump your jar into boiling water. That is because when a beekeeper decries honey, there are still tiny bits from the hive left in your honey.
Whether honey crystallizes, or how fast, will also depend on the honeys type, as well as the sugar content. Different varieties of honey have different glucose-fructose ratios, meaning that different honeys will crystallize at different rates. Flower nectars differ in how much glucose and fructose are present, and so the honey made with different nectars crystallizes at different rates.
In general, honey types with higher levels of glucose will generally crystallize at much higher rates, and the presence of pollen or wax particles (both completely harmless) may increase the speed of crystallization in some honeys. Because raw or locally-sourced honeys tend to have more of these particles than their ultra-processed cousins, those honeys tend to crystallize more quickly, sometimes within just a few weeks, despite being completely safe to eat (and likely will for the next 2000 years).
Honey is only going to get worse if it is left to crystallize for an extended period – that is going to lead to the release of more water, which causes fermentation. Honey does not remain in its ideal liquid state forever: All of that sugar naturally solidifies over time, meaning opening up your cupboards for hardened, crystallized honey.
What happens when you eat crystallized honey?
Compared to when your honey was pourable, its hue also becomes lighter. Honey that has crystallized is entirely safe to consume and is preferred by many. Because it spreads effortlessly without spilling, some individuals like it.
Is crystallized honey better than regular honey?
Crystallization of honey is a completely natural process. The crystals only make your honey look thick and grainy, meaning that your honey is still safe to eat. At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference, as some people prefer using crystallized honey over regular honey and vice versa.
Is crystallized honey still healthy?
Crystallized honey is just as nutritionally beneficial and sweet as regular honey. In fact, the honey crystals prove that your honey has a high quality and has not been commercially processed. In other words, it means that the nutritious pollen has not been filtered out and significant enzymes have not been damaged by pasteurization.