Why does Honey crystallize?

June 12, 2021

Why does Honey crystallize?

To some, it may come as a surprise but yes, honey does crystalize over time and within good reason. The largest misconception regarding honey crystallization is what we’d like to first clear the air for. To many honey consumers, crystallized honey is intuitively perceived as the ‘spoiling’ of honey or Honey is adulterated with other types of SUGAR, whereas it is in fact, the opposite. Honey crystallization or granulation is a natural phenomenon where honey transforms from a liquid state to a semi-solid honey state. This occurs in pure honey and aids in preserving nutrients and quality. In addition, we feel you’d find crystalized honey easier to spread as well as richer in flavor!

So, what’s the science behind crystallization?

Honey’s composition is such that 70% makes up carbohydrates while less than 20% is water. Now because of this, the amount of sugar that remains dissolved in the honey itself is too high and so honey granules or crystals begin to form. If you’re wondering why the crystallization isn’t consistent, that’s because of the two main types of sugar in honey; fructose and glucose. Which is why some of your honey crystals are smoother and finer than other chunkier and larger crystals.

What determines honey crystallization?

In the aforementioned paragraph, we spoke of honey consisting of glucose and fructose. The ratio between the two is one of the determinants in honey crystallization. Glucose is the main cause of crystallization and determines how much, how fine and how long the crystallization process will take. Other factors include temperature and humidity.

Can you decrystallize honey?

Reversing the effects of honey crystallization is rather easy. The process requires simply heating the honey (Indirectly). You can find the steps below:

Take a Glass of Water and heat the water, till it is Warm (NOT BOILING HOT). Remove the same from the flame.
Place your crystallized or granulated Twig of honey in the warm water Glass till it reaches ½ or 2/3 the height of the Twig.
Remove the Twig once the honey is smooth and runny and Store in a cool dry place

Why crystalized honey is a good thing

Now that we’ve shared with you how to de-crystalize your honey, we wonder why you would even want to do that. Considering crystalized honey is actually really high-quality honey, why would anyone want to reverse the quality upgrade? the honey has undergone supersaturation of glucose and fructose.

As you can see, the crystallization of honey is not at all the ‘spoiling’ of honey but rather a gift of nature, wherein an already delicious sweet tasting, beneficial ‘syrup’ of sorts, not only just got tastier but healthier too!

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