Heating Honey

While heating honey to 150 degrees tends to stall crystallization,  heating honey to 98° causes loss of nearly 200 compounds.  Heating to 104° destroys invertase, the bee enzyme that converts nectar to honey.  Pasteurized honey is heated to 170° and held there for four to five minutes, essentially destroying the nutrition.  Heating honey to high temperatures causes it to burn, changes the flavor and destroys the compounds that have health benefits. For the best honey, the consumer should buy filtered, unprocessed honey locally.

Store tightly sealed liquid honey in a dry place at room temperature for up to 1 year. Store comb and chunk honey for 6 months.  While honey can be frozen, it should not be refrigerated.  When kept at too cool a temperature or when refrigerated, honey crystallizes, becoming gooey and grainy.  Honey can be re-liquefied by placing in the sun or in a pan of hot water over low heat for 10-15 minutes . Do not microwave as it will destroy nutrients.

Honey Substitution

Honey can be substituted for sugar, and sugar substituted for honey. However,
since honey is ounce for ounce sweeter than sugar, you need to use less of it in
most recipes. 

Sugar Substitution: 1 1/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup water = 1 cup honey

Honey Substitution :
1 C. sugar = 3/4 C. honey minus 1/4 C. liquid or plus 4 Tbs. flour plus 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. sugar = 6 Tbs. honey minus 2 Tbs. liquid or plus 2 Tbs. flour plus 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/3 C. sugar = 1/4 C. honey minus 1 1/2 Tbs. liquid or plus 1 1/2 Tbs. flour plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 C. sugar = 3 Tbs. honey minus 1 Tbs. liquid or plus 1 Tbs. flour plus 1/16 tsp. baking soda

Cook cakes and other baked goods made with honey on lower temperature.  Honey softens cookie batters. For crisper variety of cookies, add 4 Tbs. flour for each 3/4 cup honey used.

Honey Conversion Charts