Creaming honey

Creaming steers honey's own crystallisation so that it becomes creamed honey: a little honey with very fine crystals is worked into liquid honey, and the new crystals grow small and even instead of coarse. Only honey goes in, and EU law does not treat the result as a separate type.

Everything starts with the seed, which must itself have very fine crystals. Without one, FAO suggests milling a set honey in a meat grinder or mortar. The batch then grows in steps of 1 kg seed to 9 kg liquid honey, and part of each batch is kept to seed the next.

For mixing, the liquid honey is warmed to no more than 24–28 °C: enough to stir easily, too little to dissolve the seed. Air must not be whipped in, and the honey rests a few hours before filling so that bubbles can rise.

Filled jars then stand in a room at about 14 °C and, depending on moisture, are firm after 10–14 days. For a softer cream FAO gives two variants: the set honey is warmed in a room at 28–30 °C and stirred, while the honey itself stays below 28 °C; or the seeded honey is stirred slowly near 20 °C and sets in two to three days.

Codex bars chemical or biochemical ways of influencing crystallisation, and the specification of heather honey from Bory Dolnośląskie excludes creaming.

Why this matters to you: kept for months above 20 °C, creamed honey can separate, with crystals sinking and a liquid layer on top. That is a storage effect, not a fake. For a honey with a protected name, check its specification first.