For de-crystallizing honey, microwaving it can turn out to be a time saver when serving quick meal recipes. The following method will need your little cautious effort and some additional tips to learn how can you microwave honey the safest way.
Microwave honey by placing the glass jar with its metallic lid taken off. Or scoop out the required amount of honey and microwave it inside a heat-resistant microwaveable bowl. To soften the honey, set up the microwave at a low or medium power limit. It takes 30-60 seconds for de-crystallizing honey within a controlled temperature of 35-40°C.
It is thus vital to discover why honey crystallizes? And what are the favorable steps for a controlled melting process to prevent it from overheating in the microwave?
Table of Contents
Is It Safe To Microwave Honey?
Microwaving honey is safe when you figure out the perfect heating temperature for keeping the antibacterial activity unaffected. It is best to choose microwaveable bowls that contain heat-resistant features and help evenly distribute heat.
The most suitable microwave-safe bowl for reheating honey is Pyrex Jar due to its handling of thermal shock resistance in the microwave. However, you can also microwave the glass jar containing honey by removing its lid before reheating.
Also, the safest way is to draw out a chunk of crystallized honey for melting it in the microwave as it prevents the rest of the honey from repeated microwave thermal heating.
Types Of Microwave-Safe Glass Jars For Softening Of Honey
Here is a list of microwaveable glass jars for keeping your stored honey fresh and easy to be microwaved when crystallized. However, ensure to remove their plastic or metallic lids before placing them in the microwave.
- Elwiya Mason Jar Syrup and Honey Dispenser
- Ball Regular Mason Canning Jar
- Stoneware Pot with lid and wood honey dipper
- Honey Dispenser no drip glass
How To Microwave Honey?
When microwaving honey in its glass jar, take off its metallic lid, as it can lead to causing sparks in the microwave. Also, it is to ensure the crystallized honey gets to be microwaved in an open space for its proper melting.
Next, gently warm the honey at a low temperature and set up the power limit up to 30%-50% grade. First, carry out the heating process for 30-60 seconds and stir it to check whether the granules are dissolved or not?
For this reason, the last round for microwaving honey usually requires less than 30 seconds until it is completely liquefied. Keep in mind the honey crystallizes again when left cooled. Thus, you will have to repeat the following heating process for its consumption in a melted form.
How Long Can You Microwave Honey?
Here is another convenient method that follows a proper timeline and prevents the risk of overheating the honey:
- Microwave honey by taking a handful of amounts as per the requirement of specific meal prep in a microwave-safe bowl. By doing so, you only de-crystallize the honey in small portions without affecting the whole honey continuously with heating temperature.
- Next, set up the microwave at a low power limit between 20%-30% to maintain a low heating temperature up to 35-40°C.
- The honey starts to get completely melted within 30 seconds of duration. Now, it is ready to be served as a warm topping on your delicious meal.
Why Does Honey Crystallize?
The raw honey contains different natural sugars and gets crystallized when kept at cold temperatures. Their granular structure depends upon the proportion of sugars present inside them.
With higher fructose density, the honey don not crystallize. However, in creamed honey, there is more glucose content that enhances the crystallization formation.
Another factor that leads to the crystallization of honey is the storage temperature.
Honey begins to form crystals faster when placed at room temperature or cooler places below 35°C. Thus, you can use a honey jar with a dipper to keep the honey fresh and store it within the temperature limit of 10-20°C.
To prevent honey from getting crystallized more often, you can also freeze it in bulks for its later usage. It ensures to restore honey’s flavor and hold back its enzymatic activity. When desired for its usage, thaw it at room temperature or microwave it at low heating temperature.
Can You Microwave Honey In A Plastic Container?
You cannot microwave honey in a plastic container as it gets warped at microwave heating temperatures. Also, it is unsafe due to its leaching of harmful chemicals inside the food.
Instead, you can use microwave-safe glass jars, as mentioned above, to carry out the heating process. They are durable and sturdy enough to retain the structure of honey without getting overheated. Always ensure to set up the microwave at an optimum power limit for safe and ideal heating of honey.
However, if the honey inside the plastic container is hard enough to be scooped out, use the hot water bath method to soften the honey.
For this purpose, fill a pot with warm water to ensure it covers 75% of the plastic bottle and bring it to boiling. Next, to ensure the honey is heated slowly and gradually, let it cool down below 60°C. Now place the honey container in the middle of the pot until the honey gets softened for 30 minutes.
However, if the water gets cool, boil the water and repeat the warming process.
Conclusion
To conclude, the first step towards microwaving honey is by removing its metallic or plastic lid as their interaction with microwave radiation can cause a harmful reaction resulting in burn injury or explosion.
Now, set up the microwave at the optimum power limit and heating temperature. Ensure not to exceed these limitations as overheating will damage the antibacterial property of the honey.
Next, take intervals of a few seconds and stir the de-crystallized honey to heat it evenly. If you find any crystals present, microwave them for less than 30 seconds.
Lastly, take out the microwave-safe honey jar using hot pads. And the honey is ready to be served as warm topping syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to eat honey that’s crystallized?
Yes, crystallized honey remains fresh in its texture and flavor for a longer time. Its crystallization is a sign of its raw and healthy nature. Thus, it is preferred to be topped on various meal recipes due to its non-dripping granular form.
Is honey toxic when heated?
Honey, when de-crystallized, at extreme heating can lead to its reduction of nutrient activity and denaturing of enzymes. It also leads to detrimental effects when consumed in an over-heated form. Thus, ensure to soften the honey in the microwave with a controlled temperature limit of up to 35-40°C.
Should you refrigerate honey?
When storing honey, use an air-tight container and place it in a cooler location below 35°C. Refrigerated honey usually causes the hardening of crystallized honey and makes the softening process take longer. Thus, avoid refrigerating it unless you need to prevent it from sunlight or heated surrounding.
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