Crystallization in Honey

Raw HoneyWe get this question a lot: Why does some of your honey crystallize more quickly than other honey, or more slowly than the last batch I bought from you? Why is this lot more liquid than the one I just picked up at the store?

It’s a very good question. We are constantly buying and harvesting honey throughout the year, and each load we bottle comes from different plants. The bloom-cycle of the flowers bees forage on changes all the time (most flowers bloom for two weeks or less), so the honey we bottle is essentially coming from different plants during the course of a year.

This means that each lot of honey will act differently than the last. The flower nectar bees make honey from is sugar-water. Each flower source has a different fructose to glucose ratio in its nectar, and depending on that ratio, the honey that is made from it will crystallize more or less quickly.

If the nectar has a low glucose ratio, the honey made from it will crystallize slowly. If it has a high glucose ratio, the honey can crystallize within days of harvesting- in fact, it can crystallize while still in the comb!

Raw Honey SquiggleSome people think that raw honey means the honey needs to be crystallized, but this is not true. Raw honey simply means that it has been extracted from the hive and then bottled- no filtering through fine-mesh filters to remove pollen, and no pasteurization of the honey (see the Raw Honey Amendment from the state of Utah). all our honey is warmed to a maximum temperature of 110 degrees F, if at all, and contains all the living enzymes and pollen grains the bees imparted to it. It is a natural product, and as such, we invite you to enjoy the subtle, delightful differences of each honey harvest.

About Rebeca Krones

Rebeca Krones, Owner, Tropical Traders Specialty Foods My love of food began while growing up in Costa Rica and the rainforest of Peru, where I was exposed to many varieties of exotic fruits, vegetables and cuisine. My dad, Michael Krones, was a beekeeper back then and still is. When I was 16 my family and I spent two years living and sailing on a boat, and I was the designated cook as we traveled from San Francisco, CA, down the coast of Mexico and eventually to the Hawaiian Islands. This experience taught me a lot about sourcing local foods and ingredients. After earning a degree in Art History from Oberlin College in Ohio, I worked at several fine arts museums and galleries before returning to my love of food while working at Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, CA. I founded Tropical Traders with the intention of introducing the incredible honeys my dad produces to other people. My unique life experiences have made this possible. Aloha!
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