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  • heating crystalized honey, advice please.

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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #11798  by Mark
 23 Aug 2021, 17:59
Hi
I have given some honey to a friend of mine and it had crystalized, to return it to liquid state he put it in a bowl sitting in very hot water for a few minutes and stirred it till it started to liquify then took it out.
He says its grainy and sweet, but still tastes like honey, not burnt at all.
Is it now completely ruined for consumption or is it ok? (if no use what could it be used for still?) just want to check these things and get advice. many thanks.
 #11801  by Mark
 23 Aug 2021, 18:46
thanks for the reply, yeah he's selling it and thats the issue. as i said he says it tastes fine, but sweet and grainy with no sign of burning, im sure he said it was still partially crystalised or partially reset. I obviously want it to be safe for him to sell to people and as its labelled in my name safe for him and me. just looking for either confirmation its ok or if its a no go and i just give him more of mine and see what he can do with it. If people need more information tell me what and i'll ask him
 #11802  by NigelP
 23 Aug 2021, 19:14
I'm not sure you really want him selling your honey as partially granulated honey, you either need to soft set it or have it as runny summer blossom. In-between is big no no...I sell honey for a living so know what customers want
If it's in jars you need to stick it in an oven at 60C for an hour or so...that way you your HMF levels won't become illegal, something that happens very rapidly at higher temperatures. There are tables telling you how long this takes at different temperatures. google them.
Alternatively if it's setting already it might be better to soft set it...go google soft set honey.
 #11804  by Mark
 23 Aug 2021, 19:21
thanks for the advice, ideally he wants to sell it runny, so 60c for an hour or so yes? they are in tiny bottles as well, would that require a change of label as Its taken straight from the hive/sieved and stored/poured and labelled as such. its raising funds for his church and obviously wants to provide a good and above all safe product so im asking for him and going from there.
 #11806  by AdamD
 24 Aug 2021, 11:23
I would be happy for honey to be at 60C for an hour.
(With OSR honey, it sets very quickly and needs heating to make it clear and runny again before jarring and sale. A 15 kg bucket takes many hours to heat through).
 #11811  by Patrick
 24 Aug 2021, 14:43
No, heating at about 60 degrees briefly should not require re-labelling. You are doing no more than melting the solid crystals back to liquid. If you are handing over honey more than a few weeks after extraction it’s very likely to be starting to granulate.

Honeys vary in their readiness to crystallise, partly down to their differing sugars content and the amount of pollen etc. It’s an entirely natural process but can be hastened by storage in a cool place. Theoretically 13 degrees C is the optimal setting temp - so if he stores them in a nice cool place (as common sense might suggest) it could inadvertently hasten the process.

Cloudy sludge tastes just the same aside from a slight grittiness, but I think it is neither one thing nor t’other.