428 
GRANULATED HONEY 
all, and yet one of them turns to a solid 
while the other remains liquid. These in¬ 
stances are by no means frequent; indeed, 
they are rare; yet they occur just often 
enough to excite curiosity. 
The author has seen alfalfa honey after 
it had been in glass jars seven years, and 
was told that it had candied solid within a 
few months after being taken from the ex- 
tracting-cans. At the time (seven years 
after), it was going back to the liquid con¬ 
dition. Some cans were almost entirely 
liquid, and others had streaks of granula¬ 
tion reaching out like the branches.of an 
evergreen tree all thru the package. There 
was every evidence to show that so far it 
had undergone a slight chemical change. 
This change was doubtless due to the con¬ 
tinued effect of light upon the granules. 
HEATING LIQUID HONEY TO PREVENT 
GRANULATION. 
There is no plan that will act as an abso¬ 
lute preventive, but granulation can be de¬ 
ferred for one or two years. Even after 
treatment, if the honey is subjected to a 
freezing and thawing temperature for a 
series of days, it will be almost sure to 
start candying again. Continuous cold 
weather with the mercury slightly above 
zero is not so favorable as alternate cold 
and warm weather. 
After the first few days the honey will 
appear slightly cloudy. This murky ap¬ 
pearance grows more pronounced when the 
action proceeds more rapidly, until the 
point of solidification is reached. But there 
is no excuse for having honey at any time, 
either comb or extracted, kept in a zero or 
freezing temperature; for all practical pur¬ 
poses it is possible to prevent extracted 
honey from granulation for a year on the 
average. 
HEATING TO LIQUEFY GRANULATED HONEY. 
There are two methods of heating honey. 
One is, to put it in a double boiler or vat 
and gradually raise the temperature to 150 
or 160 degrees Fahr., holding it at that 
point till all the honey is melted. It should 
then be put into bottles or tin cans, and 
sealed while hot. Another plan is to lique¬ 
fy the granulated honey slowly, and keep 
it at a temperature of 130 degrees Fahr. 
for three days. It should not go above 
135 degrees when the heat is prolonged. 
The process of melting will be very slow, 
and a continuous slow heat so acts on the 
honey that it will remain liquid much long¬ 
er than when the heat is applied more 
rapidly and ,raised to a higher point. 
For full particulars on bottling honey to 
keep it in a liquid condition, see Bottling 
Honey. 
To liquefy honey in a granulated state, 
or to heat it to prevent its getting into 
that condition, the honey should be placed 
in a double boiler—that is to say, a tank 
with double walls, having the space be¬ 
tween the walls filled with water. This 
may be placed on the stove and filled with 
honey. 
Where one doesn’t have such a boiler, 
and cannot afford one, he can make a very 
good substitute by taking a large wash- 
boiler. Into this he puts some blocks about 
an inch square. On these blocks he places 
one or possibly two 60-lb. square cans of 
granulated honey, with caps removed. Or 
he may put in two or three tin pails, or as 
many as will go into the boiler. Should he 
have something larger than a wash-boiler 
it would be all the better, especially for 
square cans. The honey is then poured 
into the tin pails. If granulated solid in 
a barrel it may be handled with a spade 
after removing the head. Water is poured 
into the wash-boiler until it comes within 
two inches of the top of the pails. The 
whole is then placed on the stove, and 
subjected to a slow heat. When the water 
reaches a temperature of 160, or nearly 
that, the fire is checked; the honey should 
not become any hotter because it may oth¬ 
erwise injure the flavor as well as the 
color. Honey should never be brought to 
a boiling temperature except to kill the 
germs of foul brood, when all such honey 
may be fed back provided it has boiled at 
least one-half hour with a cover on, after 
having been first thinned down with water, 
so it will not burn. Some recommend 
again bringing to a boil just before feed¬ 
ing. 
C. W. Dayton of Chatsworth, Cal., has 
another and very simple outfit to liquefy 
honey. As it can be made out of mate¬ 
rials found in any beekeeper’s yard, at 
very small cost, many will, perhaps, prefer 
it to the double boiler. 
