You can restore cloudy or crystallized honey to its original state by placing it in a pan of hot tap water. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes and it will be good as new.
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
I have a half-gallon container of honey that has solidified. Can it still be used? How do I liquefy it again?
By Sandy from Bandon, OR
First, you may want to save some out--I love crystallized honey as a spread. It won't drip from toast or sandwiches like liquid honey does. Then, simply warm the remainder. You can use the microwave, or sit the jar in hot water, and stir periodically.
Pure honey will keep for ever so don't even consider tossing it out. Honey can be softened by placing the container in hot water. since it is such a large container I would only soften a small amount at a time.
Thank you everyone for the feedback! Throwing the container in the dishwasher did the trick, then I measured it out into more manageable sizes and gave part of it back to the daughter with instructions to reliquify if necessary. :-)
Just put the container in a large pot with some water around it and turn the stove burner on low for a while. It will make the honey liquify again.
Put it in a container of hot water for a while. Otherwise you could try microwaving it on low for a short amount of time also.
I don't recommend heating it in a microwave, this can actually cause the liquified honey to recrystalize even faster, plus if it's in plastic, it may not be healthy to microwave teh plastic. Slowly heating it up in a pan of water on the stove is a good way to reliquify it.
Also squeeze a bit of fresh lime or fresh lemon on the amount you need it will work to soften it quickly just a quick mix and it is liquid.
How do you keep honey from turning to sugar?
By Tonya from Langley, WA
Some honey turns to sugar and some doesn't. When that happens the thing to do is put the container in a pan with some water in the pan and bring it to a boil, then turn the burner way down to let it simmer, until the honey liqufies. My former in-laws used to let a bee keeper keep his hives on their farm and in return they were given several gallons of honey, in the natural form, which in turn became sugary as it sat.
Unprocessed(raw) honey is going to crystallize not matter what. It's normal & it doesn't hurt the honey, it's not bad. In one of the archived posts, someone said it's because water gets into it, but that's not what causes it(although it CAN cause it to go bad),it has to do with the amount of glucose(sugar) in the honey. Heating it up will fix the crystallization, like others have said.You can put the jar in a pan of water on the stove, or microwave it. Stir it occasionally to mix. However, the more times you heat it, the more it degrades the quality of the honey.It also allows yeast & bacteria to start growing & the honey can go bad.
Earlier posts say to store it at room temp,that cold temp is bad.Not true. If it is raw, unpasturized honey, storing at room temp can cause it to crystallize faster & separate into layers of crystallized sugar & liquid-and the liquid can grow bacteria & yeast,going bad.You can store it at room temp, but keeping it in the fridge or freezer is best. I have honey that is +20 yrs old in my freezer, in quart canning jars.
It's become very dark with age,but is delicious. I keep a small jelly jar in my fridge or on the counter & re-fill from the freezer as it empties by scooping out what I need into a microwave safe bowl & heating it just until it starts to liquefy. If the honey in my little jar crystallizes, I don't re-heat the whole jar. I just scoop out what I need & heat that in the microwave, that way it doesn't keep heating the larger amount & degrading it.
Those little plastic honey bear containers are cute, but impractical because if the honey gets hard,you can't get it out. It is best to store your honey in an airtight jar or container with a wide mouth so you can scoop out what you need.
My gr granddad was a bee keeper for the last 30 yrs of his life. He taught my mom some of what he knew about it. Also, my mom allowed a bee keeper to keep hives on her property for many years. He had hives all over the state of AZ & would harvest it then sell it on a large scale in Phoenix. In return for allowing him to use her property,he gave her a few gallon jars of honey every time he harvested-fresh mesquite honey is the absolute best!! He's the one who told us to store it in the freezer & not re heat it too many times. I also found info by googling that backs up this info, such as 161.58.48.157/
Set the jar in water and bring to boil. Shut off and let sit. No need to remove the lid. The honey will not turn to sugar again.
Some people say to store the bottle upside down!
My Mom says it works.
I have had my jar of honey for quite some time. Is there a way to soften honey to get it out of a jar?
By Gail Ledwith
I've placed my container of solidified honey into very hot water. Every now and then I stir the honey, and I replace the water as it cools. It takes a little time, but it works.
I take the lid off and microwave 1 minute at a time,stirring each time.
Place enough water in pan to come almost halfway up the jar bring water to a boil remove from heat and place jar in it stir every so often. Or you can, if as glass or plastic jar, place in microwave for about one minute each time take it out replace lid and shake it up, repeat if needed.
Can we eat honey which was kept in fridge, it is crystallised now?
By rd
Has anyone any idea why every time I make parsley honey, once the jar has been opened it has started to crystallize and doesn't stop til fully crystallised in the jar. Each batch made turns out the same. Yes, everything is sterilised before hand.
By Jan
I have a jar of clover honey that was clear when I bought it, but has turned a dark brown color. Is it safe to eat?
By Bob
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
How can you rejuvenate, crystallized and hard honey? Thanks, Joe
Set your jar of honey in a pot of boiling water, lid off and up to crystallization point. Soon the honey will return to its original consistency. How to stop this I have not been completely successful but, I graduate the jar down to the amount of honey and this seems to help. . .
Set your jar of honey in a pot of boiling water, lid off and up to crystallization point. Soon the honey will return to its original consistency. How to stop this I have not been completely successful but, I graduate the jar down to the amount of honey and this seems to help. . .
