- WHY IS RAW HONEY MORE LIKELY TO CRYSTALIZE THAN FACTORY PRODUCED OR PASTEURIZED (heated above 120*) HONEY?
High-quality, raw honey tends to crystalize faster than other more shelf-stable honey even though honey NEVER expires.
- Our Babe & Honey honey comes from cotton, wildflowers and mesquite bush/tree blossoms. All 3 of these are local to our Buffalo Gap,Tx area and are some of the quickest crystallization pollinating blooms.
- Raw honey also contains small particles of pollen, beeswax, bee glue and other nutrients. That's not a bad thing and they are largely responsible for raw honey's extra health benefits. But those tiny bits and pieces are perfect for the glucose to crystalize on as it becomes undissolved in the honey solution. Those little particles are the reason that raw honey is more likely to form crystals over a pasteurized and fully processed product.
- Some really intriguing facts about honey is raw honey is NOT FILTERED – filtered honey goes through a process where it is heated then rapidly cooled. This prevents it from crystallizing, but the heat also kills most of the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and amino acids and the filtering removes most of the pollen.
What are the benefits of honey?
Besides being yummy, there are health benefits associated with honey. It’s not just lore, studies have shown that honey can help relieve a sore throat.
The Mayo Clinic lists the potential benefits of honey:
- Antioxidants in honey might be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Evidence suggests honey might help relieve gastrointestinal tract conditions such as diarrhea associated with gastroenteritis.
- It may be good for your brain! Studies suggest that honey may offer antidepressant, anticonvulsant and anti-anxiety benefits. Some studies have even suggested that honey has been shown to help prevent memory problems.
- Topical use of honey has been shown to promote wound healing, particularly in burns. Think…chapped lips and look into our lip balm to use on your face, hands and heels.
How to de-crystalize your honey?
We get it…It isn’t as “pretty” on the shelf but use your raw honey even if it is thick and cloudy, it will melt in hot drinks (do not add to boiling water). It can be measured the same volume as if liquified. We hope to keep the integrity of our honey and introduce you all to the joy, health benefits and acquired texture of our honey but here is a tip on how to get it to become flowing liquid gold. DO NOT MICROWAVE please.
If you need that flowing golden liquid, place crystallized honey in a warm water bath of about 100°F (40°C) for 15 minutes or more until the crystals dissolve and the honey liquefies.
Deeper details… time for a little chemistry lesson
- Honey is primarily made up of sugar and water. However, there is generally more sugar than water, and over time, the sugar may “precipitate” out of the honey, meaning it will create crystals that become separate from the smooth, uniform, mixture that comes to mind when you think of what honey should be.
- When we think of crystals, we usually think of precious jewels—but the truth is that many things crystallize. In fact, salt and sugar are both crystals. When you stir salt into water, it looks like it disappears—but in reality, it’s still there; it’s just dissolved into the water. Let that water dry out, and salt crystals will be left behind. Like salty water, honey is a solution, which means that bits of sugar are spread throughout a liquid. When honey crystallizes, the honey molecules spread throughout the liquid come together to form solid crystals, and the more dissolved bits of a solute there are in a solution, the faster that solution will crystallize as it cools down. Mixing more water into a solution makes it crystallize more slowly.
- Heat also changes how quickly crystals form. Every solution has a temperature at which the solid is spread throughout the liquid.
- Honey is made up of a lot more than just sugar and water! Babe & Honey keeps the honey as raw as possible and contains many different nutrients such as pollen.. Babe & Honey honey comes from the nectar bees gather from specific flowers, such as cotton, while other honey is a mixture of different nectar sources.
- There is no need to be alarmed if your honey is crystalized! There is nothing harmful about the crystals, and it is not an indication that it has “gone bad.” It means that you are enjoying raw honey, which probably contains pollen and beeswax that processed honey may have filtered out.
- Raw honey can provide some additional health benefits especially if the honey is local. Our raw honey contains local allergens & it may help reduce allergies. Honey contains pollen which, if taken over time, can help train the immune system to tolerate it.