Topbar Beekeeping

I'm an urban topbar beekeeper in Albuquerque, NM. I manage hives in backyards and small organic farms within city limits. These hives are probably pollinating your veggie patches right now. Visit my website at: http://brownsdowntownbees.com/

11/30/11

Crystallized Honey

I was just in the middle of making a nice hot toddy with honey from my hives at Central and Atrisco when I took out a gigantic scoop of honey and realized that it had crystallized sometime during this week. Eeeeek! What does that mean...
Liquid honey snuggled between two jars of fully crystalized honey
Public Service Announcement: Anybody who has purchased honey from me that was harvested in September from AMYO Farms..... you're honey is probably crystallizing on you right now! Don't freak out. This is totally natural and what raw honey does. You will see the crystals forming in the bottom of the jar and within a few days, the entire bottle will harden up. Also, why haven't you eaten that honey yet?!

Here is the scientific stuff on why honey crystallizes. Honey is a mixture of sugar (fructose and glucose) and water. In nature, glucose is usually in a solid state, while fructose is liquid. Different types of honey have different ratios of glucose and fructose. When there is a lot more glucose then fructose, the honey will crystallize faster.

I also didn't heat the honey and gave it a rough strain before pouring it into the glass jars so the crystals start forming around tiny particles of yummy pollen and propolis.

Long story short, your honey is perfectly normal honey. We Americans think of honey as being liquid, when really, it should be crystallized. That's how you know it hasn't been heated or diluted with corn syrup, etc while being processed. Another hot toddy please!