Honey is Cyrstalizing -- How do I prevent this?

[GageFamilyBeekeeping]

How do I keep honey I am bottleing from crystalizing in the jars? Most of the time it rarely happens but once in a while I lose a whole batch, why?

[KQ6AR]

Its not lost or damaged. If you gently warm it not over 110F it will still be raw honey.
Almost all honeys crystallize, honey from some flowers crystallizes faster than from other flowers.

If you don't mind loosing some of the healthful benefits of raw honey you can heat it hotter.

[Vance G]

You can easily and cheaply make a box or booth to stack your crystalizing honey in and reliquify it. I use a large cardboard box. A lazyboy comes in a large box! Or a smaller one as required. I bought a 1500 watt controller designed for reptile lights and heaters. it goes to 104 and I put a space heater in or a couple evil 100 watt incadescent bulbs work great too. The temp slowly comes up and in a day or so, your lost batch is good as new. Then I throw away the box cause you can always get another.

[Grant]

Before I built a low-temp honey warmer, I had several cases of pint jars crystalize. Not knowing what to do, I swapped out the label making a new one that said, "Spoon Honey." It's honey you eat with a spoon.

It was a big hit with most of my customers saying, "I've never heard of this before."

In England, or so I'm told, they want "set" honey to insure it has not been adulterated by corn syrup.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[sqkcrk]

Label it as RAW and raise the price. Which doesn't answer your question.

If you want your bottled honey to have some liquid shelf life you have to heat it. I heat honey to 140 degrees before bottling. Liquidity is maintained for quite some time that way.

[MrHappy]

It was also talked about a week or so ago that if you put the honey in the freezer after bottling it that it will take longer to crystallize. If I understand correctly though, if it gets warm again then it will crystallize faster. But not sure. I think it's like making candy and once you get one crystal to form because it has dried to much, then the whole batch will turn.

[mgolden]

Just liquified some honey in the kitchen oven. Used a 100W bulb in a trouble lamp and temp went up to 120F.

Left it in for 1.5 hours. Works like a charm.

If you desire a lower temp use a 60W bulb.

We use our oven this way for raising home made bread in the bowl and in the bread pans

[snl]

How do I keep honey I am bottling from crystalizing in the jars?

If you've the room, put it in the freezer...........(that is before it crystalizes)

[mgolden]

Check article from yesterday under Bee Forum/Crystalized Honey. Don't think my link works below. See post #9, Katharina and link to an article on Crystallization


http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...ht=crystalized

[sqkcrk]

If you are not heating your honey during the extraction process or during the bottling process you will have a hard time keeping it from crystalizing. How are you extracting and bottling? Using any heat?

[NasalSponge]

Take a trip to Whole Foods or your local health food store and you will find most all the honey for sale at these places is crystallized.

[Myron Denny]

A neighbor has a discarded upright freezer he uses as a warming box. He uses a 20 watt light bulb in the summer. He uses a 60 watt bulb in the winter. The bulb is on all the time, the non working box is used for a keep warm box not a keep cold box. We used this same principal and it works!
Myron Denny