The Honey Myth That Has People Throwing Away Perfectly Good Jars

Crystallised does not mean spoiled.

You reach for the honey, find it gone thick, cloudy and grainy, and assume it has gone off. Into the bin it goes. But that jar was almost certainly still perfectly good, and here is why.

Honey crystallising is completely natural. It is simply the sugars in the honey settling into a solid form over time, especially when it is stored somewhere cool. It is not mould, and it is not spoilage.

To bring it back, sit the jar in a bowl of warm water and stir gently until the crystals dissolve. Avoid the microwave or boiling water, which can overheat it and damage the flavour and texture.

Store honey in a sealed jar at room temperature, not the fridge, which speeds up crystallising. Kept dry and covered, honey lasts an incredibly long time. That grainy jar deserved a rescue, not the rubbish.