You are searching your pantry room or kitchen cabinets for a particular item when you come across the honey jar put there, and you get appalled! The honey product you bought a while ago is no more in its liquid form; rather, the honey has become granulated. You try to use this jar, yet it is messy to spread the honey on anything given its semi-solid state and gritty structure. In all probability, you will throw away the jars with granulated or grainy honey following the basic reasoning that in such cases the honey is spoiled and has expired and hence should not be used.

People’s logical conclusions in such situations are that the honey products they had bought are of poor quality, adulterated, or in the best case scenario, have not been stored properly. Many among those would even go father and see that as customers, they have been duped and that the honey they had bought is not natural honey. Consumers have many misconceptions about honey: first, they believe that crystallization reflects but the lack of the honey’s purity and genuineness. Second, consumers consider only the brilliantly clear honey that is devoid of any opaque or murky substance as good quality honey.

In reality, the opposite is true. To begin with, the misinterpreted crystallization of honey is the speaking proof that the honey is natural. Actually, honey crystallization or granulation is an attribute of pure natural honey.  Honey experts would certify that the “Honey cristallization is often referred to as granulation, is a naural phenomenon. Once separated from its honeycomb and wax cells, honey tends to crystallize. Furthermore, crystallization by no means affects the quality of honey; it simply alters its external characteristics, and consequently its color and structure. As to why honey crystallizes, the answer is quite simple: as honey is a highly concentrated sugar solution than contains almost 70% carbohydrates and 20% water or even less, this sugar excessive solution is unstable. Glucose would with time become separated from water and form these granular lumps or crystal forms.

Going back to your honey jars in the pantry room or in your kitchen which show signs of honey crystallization, don’t discard them thinking they are not good for consumption or they are spoiled. Neither have they expired since in reality honey does not have an expiry date.