Fixing Honey

In high school chemistry class, we did a demonstration on supersaturation.  We added sugar to water over heat, then kept adding more sugar until a thick syrup was formed.  We let the syrup cool, then dropped in a few grains of sugar.  Instantly, the beakers were filled with fantastic sugar crystal formations.

That's fun to watch, and cool to build on a string as rock candy.  (You can also do the experiment with salt.)  It isn't as amusing when it happens in a bear-shaped bottle of honey.  Fortunately, you can fix it.

First, get a saucepan and fill it with an inch or two of water.  Place it over the lowest heat.  Get a heat resistant jar with a wide mouth and place it in the water.  Add the honey to the new jar.  I assume it will be clumpy.  If you can't transfer the honey, set the bear in the saucepan, but keep an eye on it.  The plastic will start to melt if you leave it on too high a heat.  Just keep trying to move the honey every minute or so.

Once all the chunky honey is in the jar, you can turn up the heat a wee bit.  Stir every minute or so until the crystals are gone.  If any remain, the honey will start to crystallize again as soon as it cools.  Remove the jar from the water and allow it to cool to room temperature before covering for storage.  All honey has some botulism in it naturally, but it is dormant.  Factory processing takes care of the issue for the grocery shelves, but there's no reason to create a new seal that may cause problems.

Yes, you may have to do this again, and you won't have a convenient pouring spout anymore, but at least the honey is in a usable state.  Plus, it's in a container that you can run through the process.  It's better than throwing it out because you can't get it out of the bottle.  And next time, buy a smaller bottle.  I don't care how good a deal you got on that 24 oz bear, if an 8 oz bottle is all you can go through before it starts to turn.