Why is it that my honey starts to freeze up with crystals. Then I microwave it and it flows like water. But when it cools down, it is a virtual solid with far more crystals than before?
2007-11-27 05:46:34 · 3 answers · asked by Frst Grade Rocks! Ω 7 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Here is an article on Honey crysalization: http://www.honey.com/downloads/crystallization.pdf
When I heated the honey up, there was no excess water and some evaporation, which just made it worse when it cooled becoming even more supersaturated. :)
2007-11-27 11:24:05 · update #1
I have no proof for you, but here is what I think is happening:
Honey crystallizes because it is 'supersaturated" Basically it contains way more sugar than water. When you reheat in a microwave, the sugar becomes more soluble with the higher temperature. When the honey begins to cool, it will re-crystallize even faster because some of the water has probably been lost in evaporation, making the sugar even more concentrated. Also, any undissolved crystals, even very small ones, will act as nucleating sites to speed up the process even more. (Just an opinion...)
2007-11-27 07:25:48 · answer #1 · answered by green chemist 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
im just guessing its because of the melting point of honey, it crytalises when it is cooled, but when you heat it all the bonds are broken and it loses its viscosity, at room temperature honey should usually be a thick viscous material, crystalisation could also be due to water trapped in it. do the honey test to see if it is pure honey :)
2007-11-27 14:02:58 · answer #2 · answered by Jason_X 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Evaporation?
2007-11-27 13:49:52 · answer #3 · answered by Simonizer1218 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋