Raw Honey
Why Does Honey Crystallize?
Last updated: 2026-09-28
Short answer
Crystallization does not mean honey has gone bad. It is a natural process driven mainly by glucose content, pollen and storage temperature, and it is faster in blossom honeys than in honeydew honeys such as pine honey.
What drives crystallization
Crystallization depends on composition, supersaturation, viscosity, the fructose/glucose ratio, moisture, seed particles such as pollen grains, honey age, storage temperature and heat history.[1]
Blossom honeys generally crystallize faster because they contain more of the less soluble glucose; honeydew honeys contain less glucose and crystallize more slowly.[1] Most honeys begin to crystallize within weeks or months at room temperature.[1]
That is why our raw wildflower honey can crystallize while Turkish pine honey usually stays liquid for long — pine honey is low in pollen and glucose.[2]
How to make it liquid again
Crystals dissolve with mild heat.[1] In practice, put the closed jar in a warm — not boiling — water bath and stir now and then. Overheating raises HMF and lowers enzyme activity.[3]
Related products
Frequently asked questions
Is crystallized honey safe?+
Yes. Crystallization changes texture, not safety.
Related articles
Sources
- Evaluation of factors affecting crystallization of disparate set of multi-flower honey samples — Grégrová A. et al. — Agronomy Research 13(5):1215–1226 (2015)
- Characterization of Turkish pine honey by carbon isotope, melissopalynological and physicochemical analyses (373 samples) — European Food Research and Technology (2023)
- Council Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey — Annex II (composition criteria) — European Union