De-Crystallizing Honey – DIY

One of my best harvests this summer was from a few hives that had been near a LOT of mesquite trees while they were in bloom.  The honey is some of the lightest, sweetest honey that I have seen.

Unfortunately, though, mesquite nectar tends to crystallize.  Quickly.  Did I mention that it gets granular and crystallized fast?  It does.  Really…

Honey is a mixture of fructose and glucose (and amino acids) – and every flowering plant that created nectar – makes the nectar at different ratios of glucose to fructose.   Once the bees dehydrate the water from the nectar (from about 80% water to about 17%-18% water) – it becomes a supersaturated sugar solution.   Eventually – natural honey WILL crystallize – the “when” is determined by flower source (factored out to sugar ratios) and moisture content.   Some honeys will stay liquid for years – and some will crystallize almost before we can spin it from the frames.

Here’s a shot of my last jar of my personal stash of mesquite tree honey:

The entire jar has crystallized almost solid.

The fix is to warm it.  I put this particular jar in my truck – with the windows rolled down a bit to keep it from getting too hot.  A few hours later, I checked it – and it was completely liquid again.

Here it is AFTER being in the cab of the truck for about 2 hours.

Be careful not to get the honey too hot.  If it gets above about 130 deg. F, then there is a potential to destroy beneficial enzymes in the honey.  So, keep the honey to a range of about 100-110 deg. f. to keep the beneficial aspects intact.