Kitchen Tip: How to Decrystallize Honey – 2 Easy Ways

Learn how easy it is to decrystallize honey so you don’t have to throw it away!

Have you every opened your pantry to find your delicious, liquid gold honey suddenly completely crystallized?

Its a bummer, but the good news is there is no need to toss it out.

It hasn’t gone bad at all, thanks to the antibacterial properties of honey it can actually last for several years.

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We use a ton of honey in our house.

Once I discovered that Logan was willing to try just about anything if it was dipped in honey, I made sure to always have a nice, large bottle on hand.

The problem, though, with buying the larger bottles of honey is that they tend to crystallize over time.

We aren’t going through them as fast as the smaller containers.

Why Does Honey Crystalize?

Crystallization of honey is a natural process and, though not convenient, is nothing to worry about.

Simply put, the glucose in the honey is precipitating out of the liquid honey.

There are a few factors that can affect how quickly your honey crystallizes.

That will depend on factors like the conditions under which your honey has been stored and the variety of honey that you have.

Higher fructose honeys will last longer without crystallizing.

Honey stored at colder temperatures will crystallize faster than honey stored above 70 degrees F.

Which explains why we have more of a problem with this during the fall and winter months than we do in the summertime.

You can actually still use honey it crystallized form, so long as you can get it out of the container.

It will soften and dissolve when added to a cup of hot tea just fine.

How to Decrystalize Honey

There are a couple of ways to fix your crystalized honey, all of which are really pretty easy.

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Decrystalize Honey By Soaking in Water

My favorite way to decrystallize honey is to boil water in my tea kettle, then place the jar or container of honey in a large bowl or pot and pour the hot water around it.

Let it soak for several minutes until the honey has softened and liquified itself again.

How long it needs to soak will depend on how crystallized it is, how cold it has been stored at, and the quantity of honey.

Naturally, a larger container will take longer than a small amount.

If needed, replenish with additional hot water if it is taking a long time.

2. Decrystalize Honey in the Microwave

Another way to decrystallize honey is to place the honey in a microwave-safe container, with the lid removed.

Then, microwave the honey over medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between microwaving sessions.

Continue until it has been decrystallized.

Be careful not to scorch or boil the honey.

What I don’t prefer about this method, is that you can’t really do this with crystalized honey that comes in a plastic bottle.

The microwave can warp the plastic.

I tried this before and my bottle definitely came out shrunken and misshapen, so you really need to remove the honey and put it in a glass or ceramic container.

But, that can be kind of difficult when the honey is stuck in its solid state.

Unless the container has a wide enough mouth to scoop the honey out and transfer it to another bowl or jar that is microwave safe!

5 Favorite Uses for Honey

Honey isn’t just for adding to a cup of hot tea. Here are a few of our favorite uses for this delicious, sweet liquid gold.

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Natural Cough and Sore Throat Remedy:

Honey is the perfect addition to Homemade Cough Syrup.

It helps coat the throat and will draw pus from wounds and has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.

Plus, it makes the whole concoction taste a lot better.

Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes:

One of our absolute favorite easy chicken dinner recipes – in terms of taste and the fact that it takes literally 10 minutes max to whip up – is this Honey Mustard Baked Chicken.

Chicken is baked up to sweet, tender perfection in a sauce of honey, fresh rosemary, and dijion mustard.

I also love this easy Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry in a Honey Ginger Sauce.

Baking:

Honey is a great sugar substitute in baking, especially in recipes like this Honey Corn Bread Muffin.

When substituting in recipes that originally call for sugar, you won’t need to use as much honey as sugar to achieve your desired sweetness.

This is due to honey’s high fructose content.

These recipe for Baked Almond Joy Donuts is another baking recipe that calls for honey.

Drink Sweeteners:

Honey is great for sweetening drinks because it dissolves a lot easier than granulated sugar does.

That means you can eliminate making a simple syrup.

Try: Candy Cane Hot Cocoa, Sparkling Pineapple Mint Juice, and Raspberry Orange Yogurt Smoothies.

Condiment:

Honey is great drizzled or used as a dip for many things.

Kids can dip homemade chicken tenders in honey.

Drizzle it on top of pancakes or waffles in place of syrup.

I also love it glazed on top of this Honey Marmalade Mustard Glazed Corned Beef (perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!).

What are some of your favorite uses for honey?

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How to Decrystallize Honey

Learn how easy it is to decrystallize honey so you don’t have to throw it away!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Honey

Instructions

Soak in Hot Water

1. My favorite way to decrystallize honey is to boil water in my tea kettle, then place the jar or container of honey in a large bowl or pot and pour the hot water around it.
2. Let it soak for several minutes until the honey has softened and liquified itself again.
3. How long it needs to soak will depend on how crystallized it is, how cold it has been stored at, and the quantity of honey.
4. Naturally, a larger container will take longer than a small amount.
5. If needed, replenish with additional hot water if it is taking a long time.

Microwave

1. Another way to decrystallize honey is to place the honey in a microwave-safe container, with the lid removed.
2. Then, microwave the honey over medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between microwaving sessions.
3. Continue until it has been decrystallized.
4. Be careful not to scorch or boil the honey.

Notes

What I don’t prefer about the microwave method, is that you can’t really do this with crystalized honey that comes in a plastic bottle.

The microwave can warp the plastic. I tried this before and my bottle definitely came out shrunken and misshapen, so you really need to remove the honey and put it in a glass or ceramic container.

But, that can be kind of difficult when the honey is stuck in its solid state. Unless the container has a wide enough mouth to scoop the honey out and transfer it to another bowl or jar that is microwave safe!

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Nutrition Information

Yield 16 Serving Size 1

Amount Per Serving Calories 64Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 1mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 0gSugar 17gProtein 0g

GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.

This post for How to Decrystallize Honey originally appeared on Food Fanatic.

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