I saw this eucalyptus honey that was white and creamy yesterday. I came across this honey at the local farmer's market and I tried a straw of it. It actually tasted amazing and didnt have as much eucalyptus punch as I expected but was very soothing to the palate. Im curious what you guys may think of making a batch with this sort of "white-ish" honey or if anyone has ever tried it.
White "creamy" honey
- Thread starter essence3d
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Hi, essence3d! Welcome to "GotMead?" !!
What you saw and tasted is some crystallized honey. Honey is essentially a "super saturated" solution of sugars in water, with some other minor ingredients. Some varietal honeys, including eucalyptus, tend to form minute crystals of sugar over time. That has to do mostly with those non-sugar (and non-water) components of the honey, some of which which can serve as trigger points for the growth of the sugar crystals.
Although there is a theoretical danger of spoilage organisms taking root in the watery remains surrounding those sugar crystals in honey that has crystallized, I've never had any problems using it in a mead. But, I don't tend to keep honey around very long so if I do have any that has crystallized, it hasn't been that way for more than a few weeks. If you are unsure of the age of your honey, if it has crystallized, you might want to play it safe and use honey from another source.
What you saw and tasted is some crystallized honey. Honey is essentially a "super saturated" solution of sugars in water, with some other minor ingredients. Some varietal honeys, including eucalyptus, tend to form minute crystals of sugar over time. That has to do mostly with those non-sugar (and non-water) components of the honey, some of which which can serve as trigger points for the growth of the sugar crystals.
Although there is a theoretical danger of spoilage organisms taking root in the watery remains surrounding those sugar crystals in honey that has crystallized, I've never had any problems using it in a mead. But, I don't tend to keep honey around very long so if I do have any that has crystallized, it hasn't been that way for more than a few weeks. If you are unsure of the age of your honey, if it has crystallized, you might want to play it safe and use honey from another source.
Down under, they sell creamed honey, where I believe they wip the honey to add air to it, making it lighter in texture, and hence the creamier colour.
Melaleuca (ti-tree or paper bark) is a honey that goes candied quickly, but it is a yellow/golden colour rather than cream colour.
You should be able to get this from Florida now that it has become a pest in the Bayou
Melaleuca (ti-tree or paper bark) is a honey that goes candied quickly, but it is a yellow/golden colour rather than cream colour.
You should be able to get this from Florida now that it has become a pest in the Bayou
Wayne is right, that creamed honey is crystallized honey. It is done with a starter that has finer crystals than naturally crystallized honey and mixed in a 10:1 ratio. I see no advantage of use in a mead as the flavor would be the same as the original honey, but it would be more expensive.
Dean
Dean
