By Stephanie Schupska
University of
Georgia
Not much compares to the taste of a warm, homemade biscuit
topped with local honey — until you discover a hard layer of
sugar has formed inside your honey jar.
University of Georgia honey bee experts say don’t toss that
honey just yet. It’s absolutely normal for honey to start to
crystallize over time, said Jennifer Berry, a research
coordinator working in the UGA Honey Bee Program.
The solution to the “hard honey” problem is to warm your honey
jar in the microwave. Depending on the size of the jar, heat
the honey for about 30 seconds to just over a minute, Berry
says. Be sure to take the top off the jar before putting it in
the microwave.
The rate of crystallization depends on the type of nectar honey
bees collect. The blackberry, blueberry, bramble bloom honey
currently for sale by the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences’ entomology department will crystallize
at a different rate than cotton bloom, tupelo or sourwood
honeys.
If you want to learn more about beekeeping, attend the
Beekeeping for Beginners class set for 9 a.m. to noon on
Saturday, Dec. 10 at the State Botanical Garden in Athens, Ga.
The class is the first in a series and will cover the nuts and
bolts of beekeeping.
The class will be held in the Callaway Auditorium and Botanical
Garden Visitor Center’s Classroom A. The cost is $40 for garden
members and $45 for nonmembers. For more information, call 706-
542-6156 or e-mail raf@uga.edu.
(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
