crystalisation: over saturated sugar or yeast?

[limyw]

I have a question: honey crystalisation is due to sugar saturation or the activation of yeast?

[BjornBee]

Both play a part. The make up of honey, dextrose being the main item, equates directly into how fast a honey chrystalizes. Usually, with exception of tupelo, honey higher in dextrose levels will granulate faster. (Its the saturation of dextrose)

But studies have also clearly shown that taking such impurities such as pollen and other particle matter from the honey will also greatly reduce the onset of granulation. If you took two samples of the same honey and filtered one, and not the other, the one filtered will granulate later as opposed to the one not filtered.

So both play a part.

Many say that you can control the filtering but not the dextrose. I say.....I don't want to control either one....  :-D

[Michael Bush]

>I have a question: honey crystalisation is due to sugar saturation

Sugar saturation and the particular mixture of sugars, as Bjorn pointed out is the cause.  Seeds for crystals speed the process up.  But that saturation is necessary to keep it from fermenting.

> or the activation of yeast?

The activation of yeast does not CAUSE crystallization, but crystallization can cause pockets of more moisture to form and cause activation of the sugar tolerant yeasts.  In other words sometimes, if the concentration of sugar is low enough (moisture is high enough) and it crystallizes, the  crystallization can cause fermentation.

http://www.masterbeekeeper.org/dyce/creamhoney.htm