Tips for Storing Honey for our beekeeper and good friend Mark Hoffman!

Raw honey has many beneficial enzymes. To preserve those enzymes, honey is best stored at temperatures approximating the inside of the hive. Room temperature is perfect for storing honey because the enzymes are preserved and also raw honey is less likely to crystalize at that temperature. Storing at colder temperatures, such as in the refrigerator, will in time cause the honey to crystalize. Crystallization does not harm the honey, but most people want it liquified for ease of use. Just a few sugar crystals in a jar of honey can lead to crystallization of the entire jar, especially in cold conditions. To prevent crystallization and to kill yeasts naturally in the honey, commercial beekeepers and large food companies pasteurize the honey by heating it briefly at or above 145°F, followed by rapid cooling. Pasteurization is why you never see crystalized honey in the supermarket. This heating, of course, will damage or destroy the enzymes.
 
If crystallized, I heat the honey slowly to the range of 100°F to 105°F, before bottling it for Mint Creek customers. Above these temperatures, which is above temperatures expected in a beehive, the beneficial enzymes begin to be destroyed. If you have crystallized honey you want to melt, try placing it in a location where the temperature can be controlled within 100°F to 105°F. Ovens that can be set to this temperature range provide an excellent means. Heating in a water bath works, but it is harder to control the temperature. I recommend not heating in a microwave oven, as that is sure to degrade the nutritional value.  
 
Honey can be kept for many years as long as it kept sealed and does not ferment. Fermentation can occur in raw honey if its moisture content is too high. Bees remove moisture from the honey by flapping their wings to dry it, after which they cap the honeycomb with wax. If uncapped honey is harvested and later begins to crystalize, its moisture level will rise further, which can cause it to ferment. Fermentation will create bubbles and if the jar is full, honey will spill out of the jar. Should this occur, the best thing to do is remelt it until it has no crystallization, at which point, the fermentation should stop. If, however, you like the taste of a little alcohol in your honey, you don’t need to do anything.