I bought some "local" honey about 2 years ago. It's pretty dark and has a plastic heat seal ring around the lid. It doesn't taste near as good as mine. I had two jars of mine left from last year and several jars of the other from two years ago. Mine from last year has crystalized and there isn't even a speck of a crystal in the other. Should I be suspicious?
Sounds like you already are!
I have a friend that is 67 and been a keeper since he was a boy. If my memory serves me right, I think he said there is a nectar source that doesn't crystalize. Next time I talk to him, I will ask if he indeed said that, and what the source is.
Tupelo never crystallizes. I have a jar of it I bought about ten years ago and there is no sign of crystallization in it yet. Crystallization depends on several things. Water content (faster the lower the water is). Sugar proportions (mostly fructose to dextrose but also sucrose etc.). Seed for the crystals to grow on (other honey crystals, pollen, bits of wax etc.). Temperature (the closer it is to 57 F (14 C) the faster it crystallizes.
sourwood runs a close second to not crystallizing.
I have some wild flower honey that crystallized and poured some sourwood on top of it. Been sitting in the kitchen window for three years now and the sourwood is not crystallized yet.
If someone tries to sell you honey saying it is Tupelo, turn it upside down. Honey starts to crystallize from the bottom up. If there is a glob in the bottom, it is not Tupelo.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Seems like I remember reading about something they sold to either prevent it from crystalizing or would liquefy it.
Sawbee - I can't help it :wink:
I still have a couple quarts from my first harvest last year. I crush and strained through cheesecloth, its pretty clean, I have one noticeably darker, which I assumed was mostly poplar, and one that is much lighter, clover/wildflower, again assumption, but neither of mine have started to crystallize.
The fellow that helped me a lot when I was starting, had some honey that was at least 2 years old and as pretty as when bottled. He said he thought it was Gall Berry. He had cases.
Joe D
Joe,
My gallberry rarely ever crystallizes. It is not pure though. It has a lot of black gum and palmetto in it.
Jim
He had several hives close to a game preserve, lot of Gall Berries there.
Joe D
Quote from: GSF on August 25, 2015, 09:45:12 PM
Thanks for the replies everyone. Seems like I remember reading about something they sold to either prevent it from crystalizing or would liquefy it.
Sawbee - I can't help it :wink:
Sunshine in a bottle? I tell folks to put the sealed jar of crystalized honey on the dash of the car for a little while. (Out in the sun) It will liquify nicely.
I'll be extracting cotton honey pretty soon. Folks say it crystalizes really quickly. I harvested some last year that still hasn't crystalized. Hmmm. Anybody else have experience with cotton honey that crystalizes quickly...or not?
We have honey in Australia that you have to extract and drum up with in hours as it crystallises within a couple of days.
Yapunyah tree honey it is
In Greece the main honey (over 60% of the produce every year) is from pine and crystallize after 2-3 years. We have also honey from thymus vulgaris that crystallize after 6months or after a year.