Worldwide Beekeeping

Beekeeping => Products Of The Hive => Topic started by: Jen on December 08, 2017, 12:23:45 am

Title: Freezing Honey For Winter Storage
Post by: Jen on December 08, 2017, 12:23:45 am

A fellow beek ask me, if he stores his honey frames in a bin in the garage all winter that it would turn to sugar. But if you pull it from the hive and freeze it for a few days, then put it in the bin for winter storage, then it will remain honey?

Title: Re: Freezing Honey For Winter Storage
Post by: apisbees on December 08, 2017, 01:02:25 am

IT CRYSTALLIZES! It does not turn to sugar. Sugar is sucrose crystals, Crystals in honey are Dextrose sugars that are closely related to sucrose but the bees have converted it to an inverted sugar that the bees can use with out having to previously process it, like they do with sugar syrup or to sugar cakes placed on the hive.
Crystallization is somewhat dependent on temperature. Heat it to pasteurization and it will take the longest to form crystals when stored at any temp. freezing will slow crystallization to almost a stop put when moved and stored in a warmer temp the crystallization will speed up again.
Leave it on the hive, if it crystallizes so what, the bees can handle honey that has crystallized.