Still confused about creamed honey....

[AliciaH]

My honey is all turning cloudy.  Did research here and discovered that, yes, my 2010 harvest meets all the criteria for early crystallization.  To make things more fun, it's all in individual jars.  So, some questions: 

1) If I move all the jars to a warmer part of the house, will the honey eventually clear?  Or will it stay cloudy?

I'm going to use my honey for gifts and am also trying to sell it.  I don't think the cloudiness looks all that great.  So, if it won't clear:

2) Do I need to dump it all back into a larger container and try creaming it?

3) If I understand correctly, I will need to stir/crush the honey to keep the crystals small?

4) If I do #3, then will the honey cream or do I need starter?

5) How long this takes will depend on the honey, correct?  But will it get to a point where it stops on its own or will it just continue to crystallize?

My biggest concern is that I would need something to start the process.  In WA state, if I add anything to the honey then I need a certified kitchen, which I don't have. 

Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks!

[Robo]

You can make seed by taking some of your crystallized honey and smashing it down with a mortar and pestle.  The whole idea in creamed honey is to control the crystal size so it is smooth and not gritty.

[Kathyp]

if the crystals are very fine, sell it as creamed honey.  you can explain to people how to warm it if you want to, but people seem to like it as is.  if you like the consistency, save some so that you can have starter and control the process next time.

all mine crystallize pretty quickly this year, but it's a fine crystal so i'm no even going to worry about it.

[hardwood]

If you want to turn it back to honey put the jars in hot water-almost boiling but not quite-off the heat and wait for it to "melt". Make sure to fully submerse the container to get the crystals off the lid etc. Crystals act as a template for further crystallization.

If you want to make creamed honey do as Robo says. Scrape as many crystals as you can into a very fine sieve and rinse and dry. Grind them up into as fine a powder as you can. Re-liquify the rest of the honey (so you don't have those large crystal "templates" getting in the way). Put your crystal powder back in the honey and stir really well. Honey crystallizes best at lower temps (55F is ideal) so after seeding your containers with the powder store in a cool spot...I use the fridge and it works well.

Give it a week or so to "cream". The size of the crystals dictates the mouth feel and the smaller the seed crystals the creamier the honey.

Good luck!

Scott

[rdy-b]

  good advice-would like to add that you can seed with store bought creamed honey or
make your own seed-we seed at a rate of 10-1-honey- seed- whieght or volume dosent mater-RDY-B

[AliciaH]

Thanks for the info, everyone!  I opened one of the jars this afternoon and didn't get a gritty feel from the honey.  My husband tasted it and said if he concentrated really hard that he could, whatever that means, LOL!  But it is definately cloudier than when I bottled it.  I have the honey in my kitchen now, which is considerably warmer than where the honey was being stored. 

If it is crystalizing and the crystals get bigger, then I guess my game plan will be to restrain, warm the honey, crush the crystals and reseed the batch?  Oh, yea, then move it back to the diningroom where this all started to begin with? :)

[AllenF]

Yes, you can always start over with the creamed honey.   I have never tried to make it on purpose, but my wife loves the stuff.   She will mix it with cream cheese on her bagel every morning.  Maybe one day I get the nerve to make it and save a little money. 

[edward]

If you heat honey over 36-40oC you will destroy all the healthy antioxidant and enzyme's in the honey !

The taste wouldn't bee any different but most of the heath benefits of honey will bee gone.

To warm it up to 36oC takes at least 24 hours in an enclosed space with a temperature 0f 36oC

 edward  ;)

[tecumseh]

an alacia h snip followed by >tecumseh comments...
1) If I move all the jars to a warmer part of the house, will the honey eventually clear?  Or will it stay cloudy?
>I would say if you set it on some kind of heater yes it will clear, at 'room temperature' likely no.

2) Do I need to dump it all back into a larger container and try creaming it?
>perhaps no... go to a paint store and look for one of those small stainless steel stirring devices they make for paint.  it looks like a small propeller on a stick.
3) If I understand correctly, I will need to stir/crush the honey to keep the crystals small?
>stir vigorously with a sharp device.  the idea is that you cut the honey crystal which is  why it is creamy and not crunchy.
4) If I do #3, then will the honey cream or do I need starter?
>sounds like it is already started?
5) How long this takes will depend on the honey, correct?  But will it get to a point where it stops on its own or will it just continue to crystallize?
>a lot depends on temperature*.  once started it can go pretty fast and is not likely to stop. you would want to chill honey to refrigerator (not freezer) temperature to maximize the crystalization/creaming process.

*the chemical composition (varieties and percentages of the various sugars) of honey is extremely varied.  here at refrig temperature honey will quite quickly crystalize (as it will in the back of my pickup on a cold day)... yet I can place comb honey in the freezer (for adding chunk honey to a jar) which never crystalizes. 

 

[Robo]

AliciaH,

I have found the "European style" much more palatable than Dyce and worth the extra work,  though I usually just "cream" once a day and not two.   Here is a good write-up of the process -> http://www.beeworks.com/informationcentre/honey_processing.html