SC - Butterscotch flavor

[WyteRayven@aol.com]

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> 
> I'd hung onto this one for a long time with no
> opportunity to reply...now's as good a time as any, I
> guess:
> 
> - --- CorwynWdwd at aol.com wrote:
> > "Unprocessed" honey has a tendency to crystallize. I
> > can only assume that 
> > cold would speed this along, as gentle heat will
> > rapidly reliquefy it. I 
> > don't know that either condition will affect
> > "freshness" of honey. 
> > 
> I find crystallized honey all the time in friends'
> cupboards and I microwave it.  Most, I've found, are
> reassured when it resumes something like a normal
> appearance and have no problem using it--although
> one insisted on using it "just for cooking".
> 
> > Processed honey doesn't crystallize as easily, which
> > is apparently the point. 
> > Get rid of all the pollen and other "thingies" in
> > natural honey and there's 
> > nothing for crystals to condense onto. Of course you
> > get rid of much of the 
> > flavor too.
> > 
> > Crystallized honey is a yummy spread though, I
> > sometimes feel a little guilty 
> > when friends want to throw out crystallized honey
> > because it's "gone bad" and 
> > I offer to dispose of it for them... but I have
> > explained it to people 
> > before, about half still want to get rid of it, go
> > figure.
> > 
> Yeah, that's really weird.  I take it you mean they
> refuse to give it to you and throw it out, thinking
> that you don't know what you're talkign about and it
> really has "gone bad"?
> 
> I was brought up that honey never really can go bad,
> and pre-microwave, one of my occasional winter day
> chores was to gently heat a small pan of water and
> reliquefy honey.
> 
Crystallized honey is indeed one of honey's 'natural' states.  Some 
of the pasteurization commercial honey undergoes is to prevent 
crystallization.  On the other hand 'spun' honey is just micro-
crystallized honey.

Crystallized honey will self ferment.  The crystallization drives 
water out of the crystallized portion diluting the other portion 
lowering the sugar concentration and making the 'watery' portion 
more likely to ferment.

Honey contains at least one compound which acts as an anti-
biotic.  This is one of the reasons it is relatively difficult to ferment 
compared to sugar water.

Aeddan ap Trahaearn
Shire of Mooneschadowe
Kingdom of Ansteorra