If you use local honey, you may find that it has crystallized and that is a good thing. It's proof that the honey has had minimal processing.
Some people even wonder if the honey is safe to eat. It is. Crystallization is a sign that your honey is not only safe, but also has not had some of its flavor and goodness removed.
Wired Magazine ran an article, What Do You Do With Crystallized Honey? that defends crystallized honey and explains why this happens. I agree with them when they tell you not to microwave an entire jar of honey. In addition to degrading the product, there are horror stories of melting plastic honey bears and tales of clean ups after honey was overheated.
This is the same advice I've had from beekeepers. I do as little as possible to this pure product after I buy it.
Making Crystallized Honey Easier to Use
When I bring home a still liquid jar of my favorite honey from Foppema's Farm, I transfer its contents into canning jars. If I get lazy and the honey crystallizes before I rejar it, I use a spoon and a silicone spatula to scrape it into a wide-mouth canning jar where it's easy to use by the spoonful. This jar becomes my honey supply for hot beverages and cooking. If I need a more liquid form of honey, it's easier to heat as much as I need.
Since honey is our primary sweetener, we normally buy it in large, tall jars which make it difficult to retrieve every last sweet bottom bit. But, if you only use a little, consider buying smaller jars. Then you can reach in with a butter spreader or dinner knife and gather what you need.
Your solid honey will quickly turn liquid when you spread it on toast or spoon it into a hot cup of tea. If you're mixing it into a cold drink, just melt it in a bit of hot water or microwave just as much as you plan to use. But, leave your main supply in its unadulterated crystallized form.
Want more kitchen tips like this one? Check these posts:
Sweet additions for your stews and soups
A great tip for fish chowder
Variations on a soup theme
How to keep artisan bread fresh
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Writer: Penny Cherubino
Photos: © 2010 Penny Cherubino
