A life hack –

So, I was eating one of those S.bucks protein snack packs the other day (hey, for me, it’s like supporting a local business) pondering how the peanut butter is the best part, when it hit me…… uh, I could make this and keep in my desk at work. Well…. Prepare to have your mind blown with my ingenuity! This is a perfect use for crystalized honey and those last few, moderately annoying scoops of peanut butter in the jar. No one paid me to post this, my personal honey stores aren’t crystallized yet and I am, after all a member of PSBA, who sells some delectable honey, that happened to crystalize, which is totally normal and fine.

Easy 1-2-3

1. Scoop out your peanut butter, for every ½ cup add about 2 teaspoons of honey.
2. Mix it up and store in an airtight container. If you like it sweeter add more honey.
3. Enjoy! Toast, apples, crackers, knife, spoon….

Maybe next I will kick it up a notch and make my own peanut butter (roasted nuts, coconut oil)…..

Key Bee Learning point: crystalized honey isn’t a bad thing. It doesn’t mean it is old or nor spoiled, just a different texture. In fact, crystallization is a sign that a honey is pure and natural, not cut with corn syrup or other atrocities. Honey crystalizes because it is a super saturated sugar solution (say that 5 times fast). There are several kinds of sugar molecules. Honey is made up of fructose and glucose. The composition varies with year/batch based on what the bees are eating. The honey pictured above is primarily raspberry, which tends to crystalize quicker versus some of my other honey which has a larger blackberry component, Fructose is more soluble in water, meaning it will easily remain in a liquid state. Glucose, however, is less soluble and more likely to crystalize. Once it starts crystallizing it may go quickly crystallize the entire jar or no, gets chemically and geometrically complicated. One thing that will speed it up is the presence of a “seed” crystal. Small bits of pollen or wax form the foundation for crystal structures to build. Extra processing usually removes all these delicious little bits… Lastly, the storage temperature can impact honey; temperatures between 50 and 60 F allow for the quickest crystallization, cooler and warmer help prevent.

How to prevent:

• Store at 70-80 F
• Filter honey well (80 micron), if harvesting

A great resource on honey crystallization.