Did you ever have honey that separated in the jar and formed two distinct layers? One lighter, solid layer at the bottom, and a darker, liquid layer at the top? If you did, chances are you wondered what was going on and if the honey was still ok to eat. The answer is that layering of honey is a very natural and normal process. And yes, the honey is still perfectly fine to eat! But why does some honey separate into layers?
The role of Glucose and Fructose
Layering can happen after a time in storage. It is essentially when the sugars in the honey split and form visible layers. The glucose sugars crystallise, and the fructose remains liquid.
Honey is a super-saturated sugar solution, of about 80% sugars and 14-20% water. The composition of all honeys vary depending on what types of flowers the bees have gathered nectar from. Primarily, the sugars in honey are Glucose and Fructose. Those two sugars ‘behave’ very differently, sometimes giving rise to the phenomenon which is layering in honey.
Most types of honey are a mix of glucose and fructose and will therefore granulate or crystallize naturally. High glucose honeys such as ivy honey and rapeseed honey (Oilseed Rape or Canola depending on what side of the pond you’re from) will granulate more rapidly than other honeys. Granulation often begins from the bottom of the jar and works its way up. As a result, we will often have a layer of granulated (mostly glucose) honey at the bottom, and a more liquid (fructose) layer on top.
Glucose releasing water when it sets
To aid in this process further, when glucose honey/sugars granulate, they release some of the water that had been contained in that honey. Because sugars are heavier than water, the granulated glucose honey remains at the bottom. The excess liquid is absorbed into the fructose layer on top. So, not only has the two types of sugars visibly separated, you now also have two honeys with different moisture content all contained in the same jar.
What to do with Honey that has separated
For most, what you can do to reconstitute your honey is just to stir it. You could add a bit of gentle heat to melt the granulated honey at the bottom. (Less than 40 degrees Celsius is best or you start destroying some very important enzymes in the honey!)
For beekeepers with a number of jars like this, you need to make sure to store the jars cool to prevent fermentation. This is because although the honey may have had the an acceptable moisture content of below 20% when you jarred it, because of the layering the top layer can now have a higher moisture content. This is because it has absorbed the moisture from the honey at the bottom. Thus, it would be at a higher risk of fermenting than honey that has not layered. This is one of the reasons why soft set honeys should be made in smaller batches on demand.
I hope you enjoyed this read. If you want to learn more about Soft set honey and how to make it, check out this blog: Soft Set Honey
Hanna Bäckmo
Hanna Bäckmo is an award-winning beekeeper, entrepreneur, hobby gardener and internationally published writer. Originally from a small island in Sweden, she now lives in East Cork with her son, two dogs, a flock of rescue chickens and lots of bees. Hanna is the founder of Hanna’s Bees, producing a unique range of natural and sustainable honey, propolis, and beeswax products sold in Ireland’s leading Gift & Artisan food stores and select US outlets. With 70 colonies of Native Irish honeybees, she is a passionate bee-advocate and educator and is an Ambassador for the Native Irish Honeybee.
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Halfway into my first summer as a beekeeper a man in a white van drove up and parked outside my gate. He got out of the van, opened the gate and without as much as a hello uttered: ’You have bees.’ That encounter was the start of a long, enriching and wonderful friendship. The man in the van was Leo, and he was to become my mentor over the next few years. Until the playing-field was levelled, and we became partners in crime.
I always thought of mentoring as something other people availed of, probably a bit too fancy for me. And anyway, I have always had a rebellious mind and was never too keen on taking advice or accepting authorities. I just never though that mentoring was for me! I was going to create my own path in life and learn from my own mistakes. And then Leo opened that gate and let himself in.
Why does some Honey Separate into layers?
Did you ever have honey that separated in the jar and formed two distinct layers? One lighter, solid layer at the bottom, and a darker, liquid layer at the top? If you did, chances are you wondered what was going on and if the honey was still ok to eat. The answer is that layering of honey is a very natural and normal process. And yes, the honey is still perfectly fine to eat! But why does some honey separate into layers?
The role of Glucose and Fructose
Layering can happen after a time in storage. It is essentially when the sugars in the honey split and form visible layers. The glucose sugars crystallise, and the fructose remains liquid.
Honey is a super-saturated sugar solution, of about 80% sugars and 14-20% water. The composition of all honeys vary depending on what types of flowers the bees have gathered nectar from. Primarily, the sugars in honey are Glucose and Fructose. Those two sugars ‘behave’ very differently, sometimes giving rise to the phenomenon which is layering in honey.
Most types of honey are a mix of glucose and fructose and will therefore granulate or crystallize naturally. High glucose honeys such as ivy honey and rapeseed honey (Oilseed Rape or Canola depending on what side of the pond you’re from) will granulate more rapidly than other honeys. Granulation often begins from the bottom of the jar and works its way up. As a result, we will often have a layer of granulated (mostly glucose) honey at the bottom, and a more liquid (fructose) layer on top.
Glucose releasing water when it sets
To aid in this process further, when glucose honey/sugars granulate, they release some of the water that had been contained in that honey. Because sugars are heavier than water, the granulated glucose honey remains at the bottom. The excess liquid is absorbed into the fructose layer on top. So, not only has the two types of sugars visibly separated, you now also have two honeys with different moisture content all contained in the same jar.
What to do with Honey that has separated
For most, what you can do to reconstitute your honey is just to stir it. You could add a bit of gentle heat to melt the granulated honey at the bottom. (Less than 40 degrees Celsius is best or you start destroying some very important enzymes in the honey!)
For beekeepers with a number of jars like this, you need to make sure to store the jars cool to prevent fermentation. This is because although the honey may have had the an acceptable moisture content of below 20% when you jarred it, because of the layering the top layer can now have a higher moisture content. This is because it has absorbed the moisture from the honey at the bottom. Thus, it would be at a higher risk of fermenting than honey that has not layered. This is one of the reasons why soft set honeys should be made in smaller batches on demand.
I hope you enjoyed this read. If you want to learn more about Soft set honey and how to make it, check out this blog: Soft Set Honey
Hanna Bäckmo
Curious about the world of bees and honey? Join our newsletter to learn something new each week.
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Halfway into my first summer as a beekeeper a man in a white van drove up and parked outside my gate. He got out of the van, opened the gate and without as much as a hello uttered: ’You have bees.’ That encounter was the start of a long, enriching and wonderful friendship. The man in the van was Leo, and he was to become my mentor over the next few years. Until the playing-field was levelled, and we became partners in crime.
I always thought of mentoring as something other people availed of, probably a bit too fancy for me. And anyway, I have always had a rebellious mind and was never too keen on taking advice or accepting authorities. I just never though that mentoring was for me! I was going to create my own path in life and learn from my own mistakes. And then Leo opened that gate and let himself in.
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