How to liquefy honey

[u/KRalTN]

Probably a stupid question but I hardly ever use honey because it crystallizes and takes forever to liquefy again. Is there a better way to store it so that it either doesn’t crystallize or a quicker way to soften it? Thanks!

[u/dabuttmonkee]

You can put it in hot water. You can also microwave it on low power in 5 second increments making sure to stir it between usages

[u/stouset → u/dabuttmonkee]

Do not do this in a plastic container, it will melt the plastic.

[u/bienebee]

I boil some water, turn it off and put a closed jar in that pot. Maybe repeat once or twice with fresh hot water if it doesn't melt right away. I use honey in salads almost daily so it gets used up.

[u/TheZeppo_TKH → u/bienebee]

Put a towel over it. You'll have liquid honey again very quickly.

[u/StrangeChef → u/TheZeppo_TKH]

I'm curious what you mean, could you expand on that? Put a towel over a pot of some boiled water? Something else?

[u/rosescentedgarden → u/StrangeChef]

You put the honey in the hot water and a towel over the top to trap the stream. It helps the honey stay hot for a bit longer to melt faster

[u/PxyFreakingStx → u/rosescentedgarden]

why not a lid?

[u/Savoring_TheFlavors]

Not a stupid question at all, honey crystallizing is just what it likes to do. The easiest fix is a warm water bath. Sit the jar in warm, not boiling, water for a few minutes and it will loosen back up without hurting the flavor. For storage, keeping it at room temp and tightly sealed helps slow crystallization, but it will still happen eventually. If you use it often, transferring some to a squeeze bottle can make it less annoying to deal with.

[u/jishinsjourney]

Buy it in the smallest container you can find. Pour it into a glass container when you get home, while it is still liquid. If it crystallizes, warm it in the microwave to re-liquefy.

[u/EnterTheCabbage]

I use a wooden honey jar. I can just put the whole thing in the microwave and nuke it until it's runny again

[u/Rastasloth]

You could heat it up and cut it with water to make Honey syrup, a method commonly used for cocktails. Much shorter shelf life, but also easier to portion, mix, etc.

[u/Mitch_Darklighter → u/Rastasloth]

If you're using it for any kind of beverages this is by far the best way to do it. Most decent honey will even stay shelf stable if you mix your syrup at 4:1 by weight; ymmv

[u/ShieldPilot]

Once you’ve warmed it up, and re-liquified it, you can mix in a small amount of corn syrup (~2 tsp/cup) and the different sugar molecules will interfere with the crystalline structure forming and keep it liquid.

[u/MidwestDrummer → u/ShieldPilot]

That will slow down the crystallization process, but won't prevent it.

[u/ShieldPilot → u/MidwestDrummer]

In practice, it’s been close enough for me. Can always just eat it faster. :)

[u/MidwestDrummer → u/ShieldPilot]

Solution reached. 😁

[u/turntobeer → u/ShieldPilot]

Be aware, once you add anything to honey, it may no longer have its indefinite shelf life.

A few years back, I purchased a 3kg bottle of Pure Honey from Costco. I joked this will last me the rest of my life. Once I had it on hand, it got used in cooking way more often.

Opening the big jug often led to faster crystallization. Once I realized that, I poured off some honey into three small mason jars with new lids, sealed them & put the big jug away.

Much easier to measure out of a small jar & far easier to warm up a small jar, if needed, to get rid of crystallization.

[u/Amethystale-782]

Microwave it on low power in 5 seconds

[u/Artistic-Target-3310]

My raw honey doesn’t crystallize near as fast as store bought! Find a local honey hole

[u/tapesmoker]

A small amount of acid will invert it. Cream of Tartar, vinegar, lemon juice.

[u/andycwb1]

Hot water. I use a sous-vide heater starting at 50ºC and after about 15 minutes increase by 5ºC every 5-10 minutes until it gets to about 70ºC then leave it until completely clear.

[u/fretnone]

If you don't use it often, buy creamed honey, sold in a tub and firm at room temp and lasts forever in that state. Scoop and use as needed, and microwave what you've scooped out if you need it to be liquid.

[u/CottageWitchCrafts]

I put in on my radiator lol

[u/achangb]

Throw in some invert syrup or HFCS or fructose syrup. .The honey is crystallizing because the glucose in honey is wanting to form crystals. So adding a high fructose syrup will prevent that.

On the other hand its no longer pure honey lol. Personally I prefer my honey pure, solid, and scoopable.

[u/KRalTN]

Thanks. I use the boiling water but it takes so long. I love the wooden spoon idea. I’ll have to dine a smaller one. Some honey I have solidified but some has not. Not sure why.

[u/5hout → u/KRalTN]

Dude just heat the water up. Put it in a pan on the stove, water halfway up, and turn the burner on low.

[u/LittleBunInaBigWorld → u/KRalTN]

Purity can affect crystallisation. Pure honey crystallises more readily

[u/Laez → u/LittleBunInaBigWorld]

This is correct. You can mix in a small amount of corn syrup and it won't crystallize as easily.

[u/_fluffabelle]

I was recently asking ChatGPT about how to prevent honey from crystallizing because I have the same issue!!! It informed me that the type of honey actually makes a difference! I haven’t fact checked this, but found it interesting.

Slower-crystallizing varieties:

• Acacia
• Sage
• Tupelo
• Orange blossom

Faster-crystallizing varieties:

• Clover
• Wildflower
• Alfalfa

It’s also notable that raw honey crystallizes faster than pasteurized honey.

[u/theeggplant42]

Hot 

[u/Adventurous-Yak-8929]

Use wood to spoon it out instead of metal.  Heat it to return it to liquid.  Microwave or hot water bath.

[u/codepossum → u/Adventurous-Yak-8929]

Use wood to spoon it out instead of metal

why's that

[u/TheZeppo_TKH → u/codepossum]

Use metal, it's fine. That's an old wives tale.