by Texas Homesteader ~
It’s just a fact, sooner or later that delicious honey will crystallize. Is there any way to fix it? Or is it ruined?
Don’t throw it away! It’s simple to restore crystallized honey to the smooth sweetness you love. Come see how.
Is Crystallized Honey Bad?
It’s said that honey is the only food product that has no expiration date. That means it’s still good to eat for the long haul.
When honey’s crystallized, it’s just as edible as when it’s smooth. But you may want different textures for different foods.
For instance, smooth is better for making a honey glaze or stirring into yogurt. Crystallized might be fun for stirring into hot tea or adding a little sugary texture to homemade granola.
Is Honey Good For Seasonal Allergies?
I’ve heard that consuming local honey daily is good for seasonal pollen allergies. It’s thought that because local honey is produced by the bees using local plant’s pollens, you’re getting a tiny daily dose of those pollens to desensitize your body to reacting to it.
According to the Mayo Clinic, they haven’t really been able to duplicate those results in the lab. But they do confirm that in addition to being a cough suppressant and anti-inflammatory, honey contains small amounts of local pollens. And allergy treatments often treat with small amounts of allergens. So they indicated the theory wasn’t far-fetched.
So whether that’s an old wives tale or proven scientific fact, I really can’t say for sure. But what a delicious way to stack the cards in my favor!
Ways To Enjoy Eating Honey
If eating local honey is good for allergies, I might as well enjoy it. And I often do! Here’s where I enjoy honey:
-
- Honey stirred into Homemade Yogurt along with a handful of berries for breakfast.
- Honey Glaze on Homemade Chunky Apple Bread.
- Honey’s an ingredient in my Homemade Honey/Oat Sandwich Bread.
- Pumpkin Granola sweetened with honey.
- Honey Sweetened Smoky BBQ Sauce.
- Homemade Honey Graham Crackers.
- Homemade Whipped Cream – No powdered sugar – sweetened with HONEY!
- Honey/Ginger Haymaker’s Punch for Healthy Hydration.
I only store my honey in glass. (yep, I hate those plastic honey-bears of honey) These pretty vintage syrup jars help make Pouring Honey Easy.
But occasionally crystals will form in the honey making it too thick to pour. No worries! Since my honey’s in a glass jar it’s easy to bring it back to its former pourable sweetness.
Hot Water To Melt Crystallized Honey
To melt those crystals you can slowly heat the glass jar containing crystallized honey.
In the past I’ve heated some water in a pot on the stove (not boiling). Then I turned off the heat and slowly lowered my room-temperature honey jar into the water to melt the crystals.
Extreme temperature changes are not good for glass & I’ve always been afraid to get the water too hot. So I always err on the side of caution when using this method.
I hate the possibility of over-heating my honey anyway. I know raw honey has many health benefits and I want to maintain as much of the healthy goodness as possible. So this method is used sparingly.
Using Free Solar Energy To Melt Honey Crystals
It’s hot in Texas during the summer and I enjoy using solar power in many ways. So that Texas heat will slowly heat my jar of honey to melt & dissolve those crystals.
I place my honey jar on our picnic table on a hot sunny day and just wait. The sun heats the jar slowly. And as it does those crystals dissolve back into the honey.
Voila! The honey returns to it’s sweet pourable former self.
By using solar energy I’ve not only incorporated an environmentally-friendly method of heating but it also removes that fear of extreme temperature changes.
So it’s my go-to method these days.
Car Dashboard Trick To Melt Honey Crystals
I’ve also on occasion placed the jar with crystallized honey on the dashboard of our truck as it sits in the driveway on a hot summer’s day. I’ll unscrew the lid just a bit to make sure pressure doesn’t build up inside the jar.
Then I place the jar of crystallized honey atop a kitchen towel on the dashboard. The towel assures no honey drips on the dashboard.
With all the windows rolled up, this method does the trick much faster than placing the jar on our picnic table. That’s because the temps inside the truck get much hotter much more quickly.
So I keep an eye on it and remove the jar as soon as the honey is melted. I prefer my raw honey to be as untouched by heat as possible. So only enough heat to melt the crystals is what I’m after here.
Squeezable Plastic Honey Bear Jars? Nope!
Many times honey is sold in those cute bear-shaped plastic jars. It’s convenient for pouring honey that’s for sure.
But I prefer to Use Syrup Jars for ease in pouring honey.
Remember, those cute little plastic bears tend to melt if they get too warm. And I’ve always been extremely wary of heating plastic that comes into contact with my food.
So I can’t vouch for how to fix crystallized honey contained in plastic. Other than to cut that plastic jar open and scoop out the crystallized honey into a glass jar and proceed from there.
You can take a preemptive step now though. If you currently have honey in a plastic bottle, why not transfer it to a clean glass jar right now while it’s still pourable?
Any clean glass jar will do and you’ve just practiced the art of repurposing.
Pat yourself on the back for your environmental moxxy and enjoy that honey for years to come!
~TxH~
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References:
Mayo Clinic – Honey For Seasonal Allergies
In the winter we always have pots of water on top of the woodstove. We use the water for washing and dishes. If my honey crystallizes I just take the lid off and float the jar in the warm water. Mine is in a plastic container and it has been warmed this way many times. I don’t use a lot of honey but always like to have some on the shelf. – Margy
Hot water does a good job too – great post! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up.
Great Tip!! I have used the microwave before in a few increments at a time…but I like the idea of the sun doing for you!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday – Hope to see you again this week!! Have a great week!! Pinned!
What a Great tip! It has happened to me and I will definitely do this the next time! Thanks for sharing on Happiness is Homemade Party Link!
I like the idea of using solar power rather than the microwave to de-crystallize the honey! Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Janet
I used to LOVE the little bears, but I’ve managed to crack a few of them, which causes quite a mess in the cabinets to clean up. I just moved to New Mexico and am enjoying local honey here, which is all in glass jars. But I can’t figure out a clean, easy way to use it without getting honey all over the outside of the jar or all over my hands and my plate….
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing. Bet my dad knows that as he kept bees. Sometimes we don’t learn everything from our parents tho – like this brilliant trick!
For the first time last year, I had honey start to turn, but like you said it was so easy to fix! The sun idea is great! I set my quart jar in a pan of boiling water and it only took a few minutes to soften back up. Thanks for sharing it on today’s Blog Hop!
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I have had great success just setting the container of honey with the lid tightly shut, on the top rack of the dishwasher when I washed the dishes. Came out like new!
Such a simple and effective idea! I have some crystallized honey at the back of my pantry that I was just wondering if I should throw away. Thanks for saving me from myself!
This is so great to know! With two honey crazy kiddos our honey doesn’t have much time to crystalize, but I’m glad to have a trick up my sleeve when it eventually happens:) Thanks for sharing at the Homestead Bog Hop!:)
This is my first time visiting your blog, I’m enjoying it! 🙂 That’s a neat idea to melt it in the sun, I will have to try it out. I have a bunch that’s crystallized on me.
I also get my local honey by the quart. I split it into 2 pint jars. One goes in the cupboard, the other in the freezer. The bee lady told me to store in the freezer or the cupboard, never the frig. When the pint is low, I take the one from the freezer and let thaw on the counter.
If I don’t eat the pint fast enough, I put the jar in the pan and then heat the water. LOVE honey!
I warm mine up with warm water… and I also am careful not to overdo the heat… I don’t want to kill any of those wonderful enzymes. After reading your post, I am wondering WHY I have never thought to use solar heat to do this… so simple, yet I never thought of it. Thank you. 🙂
I use honey mixed with apple cider vinegar as a facial a couple times a month. Recently my honey bear started to crystallize, so today I warmed it for a few seconds in the microwave, and continued with my facial regimen, but this time the crystallized honey worked as a scrub as I removed it from my face. Leaving my skin even more soft than the normal regimen.
I just poured my honey into a glass jar yesterday to rid of crystallization. I just zapped it for a bit in the microwave. I’ve used set the container in warm water too liquify it again. Never thought of just setting out in the sun though.
I’ve heated it in a pan of water before but using the sun’s power is genius! I live in Oklahoma and can do the same thing here. For some reason my local beekeeper sells honey in plastic jars and it crystallizes so much more quickly in plastic. I’ve started pouring it into glass when I bring it home now. Thank you for sharing at the HomeAcre Hop; I hope you’ll join us again this Thursday.
Thanks for the tip. I don’t use a lot of honey so this is a big problem for me.
I have some honey I need to work with and so I’m glad to see your advice here. Thanks for linking to TTF!
So glad to learn that you can save the honey. I’m feeling pangs of regret for my past wastefulness.
Ha! Honey doesn’t last long enough in my house to crystallize! My husband and daughter both eat it right off the spoon! And I mix a small cup of water, 2 tsps Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, and 1 tsp of honey for all of us every night and we drink it for the many, many health benefits it provides!
I have a massive tub of crystallized honey, but I don’t live in a hot country. I do have a sunny conservatory though, so might try that. Thanks for the tip!
Zoe – Maybe place your crystallized honey in a lidded glass jar & place the jar on the dashboard of your car on a sunny day? Heat inside a closed-up car can really jump & I’ve heard of people using that for heating up various things. Just a thought…
“I don’t enjoy the thought of putting a spoon of drippy sweet honey in my mouth” WHAT?!? Dang, I love licking the honey off the spoon! LOL!!
I also buy local honey in quart jars but I actually transfer it to a ‘honey bear’ to make it easier to measure for my baking. I was having trouble holding and pouring from the big jar with my slowly progressing arthritis. 🙁