Why some honey crystalizes?

Honeybees collect the nectar (sweet liquid) from flowers of the plants to make honey. The properties (taste, texture, color etc) of honey is directly depends on the type of flower foraged by the honeybee.

For example- If honeybees collect the nectar of Mustard flower to make honey, then honey will be light brown in color, high glucose content, sweet, high viscosity (thick) and tendency of crystallization of honey will be very high.

If honeybees collect the nectar of Kalshi flower (Sundarbans) to make honey then honey will be light brown in color with a note of very light vinegary taste, medium glucose content, low viscosity and tendency of crystallization of honey will be very low.

If honeybees collect the nectar of Gokhul and Amora flower (Saranda Forest) to make honey then honey will be almost black in color, smoky woody in taste, medium glucose to fructose ratio, high viscosity and tendency of crystallization of honey will be very low.

Similarly, if honeybees collect the nectar of Van Tulsi flower (Kashmir Valley) to make honey then honey will be very light brown / almost transparent in color, very smooth and mild sweet, medium viscosity and tendency of crystallization of honey will be medium.

Honey is super-saturated solution of two sugars: Glucose and Fructose. Nectar from different flowers varies in its ratio of glucose to fructose and can influence how fast crystallization happens. While fructose tends to remain dissolved, glucose has a much lower solubility and so can crystalize much more easily.

The crystallization will even be different in different kinds of honey depending on the nectar it was made from. Some form tiny, very fine crystals evenly dispersed through the honey. Others have larger gritty crystals. It totally depends on the water content of the honey compared the glucose, the more glucose, the quicker it will crystallize.

When honey crystallizes, it becomes thicker (if tiny crystals are forming) and cloudy as more crystals form). Some crystallization results in a coarse sugary texture and some in a creamy texture.

You can’t prevent it, but you can delay crystallization by keeping your honey in a warm location If you need that flowing golden liquid, place crystallized honey in a warm water bath of about 40°C (100°F) for 15 minutes or more until the crystals dissolve and the honey liquefies.

Just like wine, there is an incredible and huge variety of flavors and colors in honey, depending on its origin.

(Crystallization of honey is very normal, it completely depends on the flora of the region and glucose and fructose ratio in the honey. It can also vary from one honey hive to another honey hive within same forest region and same season)