Will honey crystallize in the summer?

The crystallization of honey causes a lot of trouble. In fact, honey is a physical characteristic that will change with the extension of time and changes in temperature. Honey will also crystallize in the summer as long as the temperature is suitable.

1. Why does honey crystallize? First of all, we need to understand the basic composition of honey. Honey contains a variety of nutrients, and sugar accounts for about 80% of the total substance, of which fructose and glucose supersaturated solutions account for 85-95% of the total sugar, and sucrose accounts for about 5%. Since glucose has the characteristic of easy crystallization, the glucose will gradually crystallize when the separated honey is placed at a lower temperature (0-14 degrees) for a period of time. Therefore, the crystallization of honey is actually caused by the glucose in the honey, which mainly depends on the ratio between glucose and fructose (not easy to crystallize) in the honey, that is, the percentage of glucose in reducing sugar. Generally speaking, when the content of glucose and fructose is equal to 1:1, crystallization is slow; when the ratio is 1:2, crystallization generally does not occur; when the ratio is 1:0.9, that is, the glucose content is higher than the fructose content, crystallization occurs quickly when the temperature is suitable. For example, the ratio of glucose to fructose in locust flower honey is about 2:3, so it is not easy to crystallize; while the ratio of rapeseed honey is about 18:17, so it crystallizes very quickly.

2. Honey crystallization is a problem often encountered in the process of consuming honey. With the extension of time and changes in temperature, especially in winter, honey tends to change from liquid to crystallized state, and the color changes from dark to light. Most types of honey appear milky white or white after crystallization, with delicate or rough translucent crystals. This change in honey often causes some people to misunderstand, thinking that it is caused by mixing white sugar into honey. In fact, this is a natural physical change in honey, not the result of adding sugar.

3. The crystallization rate of honey is related to the glucose crystal nuclei, temperature, moisture and honey source it contains. The glucose crystal nuclei in honey are very small, and there are also pollen grains in honey. Under certain conditions, the glucose in honey grows and crystallizes around these tiny crystal nuclei. The more crystal nuclei there are in honey, the faster it crystallizes. The speed of honey crystallization is also affected by temperature, and it is easiest to crystallize at 13-14℃. If the temperature is lower than this, the viscosity of honey increases, causing the crystallization of honey to be slow; if the temperature is higher than this, the solubility of sugar increases, thereby reducing the supersaturation of the solution and slowing down the crystallization. In addition, completely crystallized honey generally has a lower water content. Immature honey with a high water content will slow down its crystallization rate or fail to fully crystallize due to the reduced supersaturation of the solution. Different types of honey have different crystallization properties. For example, a few honey such as sweet clover honey, locust honey, jujube honey, and codonopsis honey are not easy to crystallize; while rapeseed honey, wild dam honey, and cotton honey are very easy to crystallize.