This year the thought occurred to me that perhaps this change wasn't as terminal as we usually imagined. Low and behold, when I went to www.suebee.com, as the label suggests, I found an interesting bit of information in the FAQs: Honey is supersaturated with sugar and naturally crystallizes over time. And that process is hastened by a drop in temperature. Aha!
In fact, the experts say, when the temperature drops to about 65 degrees Fahrenheit - which it regularly does in our home in the cooler months, and remember this is on an outside wall so it goes even a bit lower - the crystallization process accelerates. So that explains how we got here. But what to do?
Well, that's the really cool part - the crystallization is reversible. Just heat a pot of water, they say, then set the honey in it and wait until it ... de-crystallizes?
We tried it, and it looked like it was working! But I'm not as patient as I should be, I guess. Rather than taking it off the heat and letting it sit while the crystallization reversed itself, I kept the pot on the heat.
Ever notice the warning to not microwave the bottle of honey? It turns out many of the containers are PET, or PETE, plastic. And that stuff doesn't take well to microwaving. Or, as became evident, to serious heating of the contact variety, either.
Suffice it to say our bear-shaped bottle now has a rolly kind of bottom. The honey is fine - clear again and tasty as ever. But instead of just setting it on the shelf in the cabinet (we've switched to keeping it in a cabinet on an inside wall), I now have to make sure it's propped up in the corner. But that's a very small concession to make to have our honey back.
NEXT: The secret of the dry-erase markers.
