Did your local raw honey turn into a solid mass of sugar in its jar?
Don't fret and don't throw it away! We can save that honey! Did you know raw honey has no expiration date?
The fact that your honey crystallized is a good thing! Raw honey is the equivalent of honey straight from the hive. Raw honey is taken from the honeycomb and strained to get rid of dirt, wax, and other debris before being bottled.
Unlike regular honey you see in the store, raw honey does not go through a pasteurization or filtration process, which gives raw honey its signature cloudy appearance.
With regular store honey, the filtration process that gives it the clear, consumer-friendly look and runny texture also strips the honey of most of its beneficial by products like pollen, antioxidants, and enzymes.
Decrystallizing your raw honey is easy, you just need a couple tools to help you feel more confident in the process:
A nice digital thermometer. I spent about $30 on mine and it is worth every penny. This will help you instantly know the temperature of the water bath you are using to decrystallize your raw honey. This is important because you do not want to heat your raw honey over 110 degrees!
An Instant Pot with a yogurt setting (optional!). This isn't required but it sure makes decrystallizing your honey a breeze! It will keep the temperature of your water constant, which means no babysitting the settings on your stovetop to make sure you aren't getting your raw honey too hot. I have had success on the medium setting for yogurt, but make sure to use your digital thermometer to test the water in your instant pot to make sure your setting is correct!
If you don't have an instant pot, all you need is a pot of water and a heat safe jar for warming your honey.
Once you have your water between 90-110 degrees set your jar of honey (with NO lid) in the water and stir occasionally until it's workable and runny once again! Voila!