help with Honey..(the kind from the grocery store!)

[disneyred]

hi there .
being on a budget , I decided to buy a big jar of honey (from the grocers) on sale
... after using a bit every week over time .. i had about half a jar left... now i go to look at it .. it somehow is not liquidy any more and its turn somewhat more solid inside .. how do I get it out .. can I somehow revise it .. or is it a lose now and just chuck it in the garbage.. somehow i would love to know how to get it out of the jar to use..
has anyone come across this situation..or is it just me..
how do you keep honey in the same form i bought it in .. does it have to be stored in a special way ..
i need some honey experts....(yeah i know it sounds funny!)

 

[mjkacmom]

Don't buy large jars of honey unless you use it frequently, because it turns solid. You can try the microwave. My dd still uses it in tea after is turns.

 

[maleficentmom]

I had some do this one time and i just cut up the plastic bottle and scraped it out and onto some chicken and baked it and it was fine.(i bake chicken with honey and a bit of butter and pumpkin pie spice,yum)

 

[ceecee]

For some reason, I have found that the honey I buy locally doesn't turn solid as fast (it's supposed to be better to eat honey from your "local bees") you can still use the other, just put a knife in to get it out.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

you can put the jar in hot water and let the honey get soft.

 

[Sadie Chez]

Bee (okay lame I know) very careful putting honey in the microwave in the plastic container. It gets too hot in spots and melts the container before the middle warms up. My dad kept bee's as a hobby and honey becomes like crystals as it ages it's a natural process and is still very good. To bring it back all you have to do is heat it in a double boiler over boiling water. I would advise not heating up the plastic bottle it comes in for many reasons, it can get too hot realeases toxins etc., etc.

Just pour it out of the bottle it came in into a bowl or pan that sits over boiling water and let it heat till it comes to a boil and then cool down and pour back into the container it came in, easy and good as new.

Okay one more warning, really, really don't heat the bottle it came in up, I burned myself badly trying to take a shortcut and just heating the bottle in the microwave, not one of my brightest moments.


Sandy

 

[hipchickie]

you can put the jar in hot water and let the honey get soft.

exactly, it is just crystalized, nothing wrong with it.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

If you have any canning jars, once it is heated you can put it in a canning jar. It might be warm enough to seal the jar and then it will keep better. I agree with previous posters... it is just crystalized and is still perfectly fine to use. Sugar is a preservative and honey is mostly sugar, so honey doesn't go bad easily.

 

[Kies99]

My Wife's grandfather had a friend who put a bee-hive in his backyard and makes honey. I've seen his presentation multiple times.

Honey is the only food product that never goes bad. NEVER. There has actually been honey found in ancient Egyptian tombs that archeologists have softened and used. You can use that honey until it's gone no matter how long it takes.

Setting the hardened honey in hot water or in the microwave is fine to soften it back up. As previous posters stated though, be careful based on the type of container it's in.

 

[toledo13]

Bee (okay lame I know) very careful putting honey in the microwave in the plastic container. It gets too hot in spots and melts the container before the middle warms up. My dad kept bee's as a hobby and honey becomes like crystals as it ages it's a natural process and is still very good. To bring it back all you have to do is heat it in a double boiler over boiling water. I would advise not heating up the plastic bottle it comes in for many reasons, it can get too hot realeases toxins etc., etc.

Just pour it out of the bottle it came in into a bowl or pan that sits over boiling water and let it heat till it comes to a boil and then cool down and pour back into the container it came in, easy and good as new.

Okay one more warning, really, really don't heat the bottle it came in up, I burned myself badly trying to take a shortcut and just heating the bottle in the microwave, not one of my brightest moments.


Sandy

AGREE!!!!

 

[disneyred]

thanks for all the great advice here .. I knew some of you would know !
my problem is that the honey came in a big plastic container with a small spout and I can't pour it out now that the honey has crystalized !..
(i hate for all the honey to go to waste)

 

[mamo-4-wdw]

I just run hot water over the bottle. The honey is still good.

 

[crisi]

Or put in in a hot water bath (less running water), let it sit for half an hour (you don't want to melt the plastic bottle in the microwave - and honey is functionally sugar, which gets REALLY hot) and move it to an old CLEAN glass jar. The jar will microwave easily to refresh the honey in the future.

It only takes maybe 20 seconds in the microwave to soften crystalized honey.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

thanks for all the great advice here .. I knew some of you would know !
my problem is that the honey came in a big plastic container with a small spout and I can't pour it out now that the honey has crystalized !..
(i hate for all the honey to go to waste)

If the container's plastic, I'd just cut the neck of it off to a point I could scrape it out to warm it up and use.

 

[Thumper_Man]

To bring it back all you have to do is heat it in a double boiler over boiling water. I would advise not heating up the plastic bottle it comes in for many reasons, it can get too hot realeases toxins etc., etc.

Just pour it out of the bottle it came in into a bowl or pan that sits over boiling water and let it heat till it comes to a boil and then cool down and pour back into the container it came in, easy and good as new.




Sandy

This is exactly how I do it. My grandmother taught me this.

I just came across this same issue last night. I scooped some out with a spoon and put into a microwave safe container. I microwaved it just enough until it was soft again. I will need to do the rest later but will use the double boiler method.

One interesting fact I learned about honey, it is the only natural food that never goes bad. I love to eat it crystallized too. Just like eating candy.

 

[3boymthr]

If the container's plastic, I'd just cut the neck of it off to a point I could scrape it out to warm it up and use.

I totally agree, cut it down the sides if you need to and transfer it to something else. I recommend something glass as it won't transfer any flavors to the honey. My parents keep bees and it always crystalizes after a while. It's definitely not bad. I've microwaved it if it was in glass, stuck it in a pot of hot water or transferred to the double boiler. Be careful not to boil it though as then you are going to end up with honey sugar and not honey. Of course honey sugar is also good.

 

[luvdzny]

Don't microwave it. DD's best friend is the current Wisconsin Honey Queen. Her advice is to the bottle in hot water. I can't remember why she said not to microwave it, but she did!

 

[pampam]

Once it turns solid, heat will make it a liquid again, but as it cools it usually goes back to solid. It's still good though. I find if I put it in the fridge or a cool cupboard it will turn solid quickly.