The last 2 batches of honey I took have turned into creamed honey within 2 weeks.
I kept the jars of honey in a warm place place, rotated them regular but they still creamed.
I don’t mind as its very nice but why does this happen?
When the honey went through the double strainer there were a few crystallised pieces in the strainer. I can see some cells have hardened honey in them but the bees are feeding on whatever they want.
Can’t say for sure but my guess is The temperature and the honey must be in ‘the candy zone’. There are seed crystals in it. You’ll have to warm it a little more than you did to melt all the seeds.
But don’t warm it above 60 or 65degC… Above that temperature it really just becomes glorified sugar…
Your honey has a high glucose fructose ratio. The higher the glucose the quicker the honey will crystallise, even in the comb as you have found out. If you want to keep it runny for longer then warm it to 40 degrees C overnight to make sure all the crystals have disappeared then store at lower than 10 degrees.
Some years my honey sets very quickly. I don’t like the gritty texture of most naturally setting honey and I haven’t the facilities to store lots in the fridge or freezer so I set it on a small crystal
Should I warm it before I bottle it?
How would you warm a 20L plastic tub?
You can buy warming “belts” from honey suppliers, but the simplest method is to put it in a large shipping box with an old style 40W incandescent (not CFL or LED) light bulb inside the box. After 48 hours, it should be warm enough to have dissolved everything. If you are worried about overheating, you can buy a simple thermostatic switch from eBay, and just keep the temperature set at about 45C, or less if you have plenty of time.
Interesting, like keeping home brew warm.
Because I’m off the grid only run on batteries so have always had to monitor power consumption.
That method is doable.
Would I be able to turn my creamed honey back to liquid and stay that way?
I think you’re getting crystalized honey, not creamed.
I think Dawn is referring to something like this. A simple box with a lamp and a cheap thermostat, simple to make and works a treat. Set your temp so that it will not get above 43C and your honey is as good as gold.
This year some of my honey candied (crystallized) and it was virtually creamed- all by itself. Must have had small crystal seeds. I think dee’s method to seed it with creamed honey if it’s going to candy anyway is a good one. I prefer super fine particles to grainy crystals.
