The Sweet Science Behind Nature's Perfect Preservative

Why Does Pure Raw Honey Crystallise?

Have you ever opened a jar of honey and found it thick, creamy, grainy or even completely solid? If so, don’t worry. Your honey hasn't gone bad, in fact, it's often one of the clearest signs that you're holding genuine, raw, unadulterated honey.

Crystallisation is a completely natural process, and it's something we celebrate.

Honey is made up mainly of two naturally occurring sugars: fructose and glucose.Fructose stays dissolved very easily, while glucose is less soluble. As time passes, some of that glucose naturally forms tiny crystals, gradually changing the honey from a runny liquid into a thicker or solid texture. This is simply nature at work and not a sign that your honey has spoiled or lost its quality in any way!

 Why do some honeys crystallise faster than others?

Not all honeys behave the same way. One of the biggest influences is the type of flowers the bees forage from.

Honey varieties naturally higher in glucose, such as canola, sunflower and clover, often crystallise within weeks.

 Others, which contain more fructose, like Eucalyptus, Acacia, Jarrah, Sidr and many forest honeys, can remain beautifully liquid for many months or even years.

 Our local Fynbos honey is especially fascinating

 South Africa's Cape Floral Kingdom is home to thousands of flowering plant species, making every harvest unique. Depending on which flowers are in bloom during a particular season, one batch may stay liquid for a long time while the next may crystallise much sooner.

Experienced beekeepers even find that, during seasons with particularly high natural glucose levels, honey can begin crystallising while it's still on the honeycomb inside the hive.

 Does crystallised honey lose its health benefits?

 ABSOLUTELY NOT! Crystallisation is simply a physical change. It doesn't reduce the natural goodness or strength. 

A crystallised honey still contains the same natural enzymes and antioxidants. It doesn’t lose its beneficial plant compounds as well as its vitamins and minerals. The antibacterial activity is not affected, and its flavor is still delicious. 

In other words, a crystallised jar is every bit as pure, potent and bioactive as it was when it was perfectly clear. 

What else affects crystallisation? 

Several other completely natural factors influence how quickly honey crystallises, including:

·       Moisture content

·       Storage temperature

·       Tiny pollen grains and other natural particles found in raw honey.Because raw honey is minimally processed and retains these natural particles, it often crystallises sooner than heavily filtered commercial honey.

Moisture versus quality

 Our WILDCURE honey blends are laboratory tested and consistently have lower-than-average moisture levels of around 15-17%.This is actually a positive characteristic.

Lower moisture means that it is more stable and there's less opportunity for naturally occurring yeasts to grow and hence reduces the opportunity for fermentation.

 Always avoid overheating the honey, as high temperatures can reduce some of its naturally occurring enzymes and delicate aromatic compounds that make raw honey so special.

If you enjoy adding honey to tea, coffee or other warm drinks, in order to preserve honey's natural enzymes and many of its bioactive compounds, avoid adding it to liquids hotter than 40°C. Instead, allow your drink to cool slightly before stirring in your honey.

 What about honey's bioactive compounds? 

WildCure blends naturally contain valuable bioactive compounds, including, Methylglyoxal (MGO)Hydrogen peroxide, Phenolics, Flavonoids and Naturally occurring minerals.

These compounds contribute to honey's remarkable natural properties, but they have very little influence on whether honey crystallises. 

Nature's seal of authenticity 

At WildCure, we see crystallisation as a reminder that every harvest is unique and that no two batches of genuine raw honey are ever exactly the same. Think of it as nature doing exactly what nature intended.

Crystallised honey isn't weaker. It isn't spoiled.It's simply real honey being real.