What can you do about honey that has set?
At this time of year a lot of raw honey sets - becomes fairly solid. At the end of the winter the honey has been in a jar for up to six months, during this time, if it is raw, its character can change quite a lot. And also honey sets quicker when the temperature is cooler in winter.
Many people haven't come across this phenomena before, if you have lived in a country where the average temperature is 25 degrees then honey generally doesn't set, except for a few varieties which have more glucose.
So, if you prefer your honey runny then this is a problem. But there is something you can do about it - although it is not quite as straightforward as you might think.
This is a natural process and if it happens is a good indication that the honey you have bought is probably raw (processed honey is heated to 70 degrees or more, which delays the setting of a honey crop by about a couple of years). We blogged about this recently - see here.
However, this can be an irritation if you like your honey runny.
Normally we advise customers to put the honey on a radiator to return it to liquid. However, a few customers have found this hasn't been working properly, so I investigated. You can see what I found out in this 'very exciting' video.
PS: Also worth looking at this wikipedia section on the physical properties of honey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Physical_and_chemical_properties
