Runny, Soft-Set and Naturally-Set
I am often asked what is the difference between runny, soft-set and naturally set honey. The easiest way to answer this is that as natural honey (that is unblended, unpasteurised, non-homogenised honey – see below) is made up from the nectar that the bees collect. As you would expect, this comes from a variety of different plants in the locality (current thinking is within a 3 mile foraging range) which are in flower. The composition of nectar from each plant is different but, broadly, will be:
- fructose dominant, e.g. blackberry Rubus fructosis,
- glucose dominant, e.g. oilseed rape Brassica napus,
- sucrose dominant, e.g white clover Trifolium repens,
- or a combination of the above in (broadly) equal amounts.
Fructose dominant honey granulates slowly, but with a coarse grain – typically the runny summer honey. Glucose dominant granulates quickly but with a fine grain – this is the honey used to make soft-set.
Set (not soft-set) honey is runny honey that has been allowed to naturally set. It can be rather hard to “spoon” out of the jar, but is still delicious on toast.
My Honey Has Started to Crystallise, What Should I Do?
The fact that honey crystallises, is the hallmark that you’ve not been sold adulterated syrup (sadly, this is readily available). However, should you so wish the honey can be warmed and returned to its runny state in either of the following 2 ways:
1) Microwave. Open the jar, take the lid off. Use short bursts (30 seconds), wait 20 seconds between bursts, this will keep it from overheating and give you a chance to see the affect. Once honey starts warming up, refit the lid and shaking will help to dissolve the crystals.
2) Warm water. open the container and place in a water bath at 55C (as warm as you can keep a finger in it). Let it stand for about an hour. Repeat if needed.
Where Does Your Honey Come From?
All of my hives are located in the Hillsborough area of BT26. A legal requirement of selling honey is stating where it comes from: mine states Produce of England. Many jars of honey in your local supermarket will state Produce of EU and Non EU Countries, which is tantamount to saying We Have No Idea. Though this may seem trivial, there are copious examples (here and here just to name a few) of adulterated honey.
Baker’s Honey
According to the Honey Regulations (yes, there are such things), honey that has a water content between 20-23%, or has been heated must be sold as Baker’s Honey. As you’ll have guessed, this is meant for cooking and, when compared to using normal honey, will result in an almost identical taste, but will (should have!) cost you less.
From time-to-time a single super (the box where the bees store the honey) may have honey that is slightly over the 20% water content margin. For example, 2 supers from my 2020 harvest had honeys whose water content was 21%. Rather than waste these, I sell this as Baker’s Honey with a shorter Best Before Date.
My Baker’s honey undergoes the same straining process (to remove particles of wax and the like) as my normal honey. I must stress, though, it is not heated. As such, it will appear, visually, the same as honey sold for the table, but its water content will be slightly above 20%.
What to do with Baker’s Honey? Well, some folk use it as a direct substitution for processed sugar in recipes; other recipes state the use of honey (e.g. flapjacks), which of course is more economical if you use Baker’s Honey. Mead is also a great option. There are many, many mead recipes available (this is the one I use, and the results are excellent).