Spring vs Summer/Thick set vs Runny

Honey Facts

What is spring honey?

Spring honey is lighter in colour, usually has more delicate flavours and is made from, (for example) dandelions, willow and sweet chestnut catkins, early fruit blossoms, hedgerow flowers and often OSR (oilseed rape).

Spring honey often crystallises quickly due to higher glucose to fructose content and lower moisture content

What is summer honey?

Dependent upon what the bees find to forage on, summer honey can come from the nectar of wildflowers, tree's like Lime, blackberries, clover, lavender, field crops like beans and borage and garden flowers.

Summer honey usually remains clear or runny and can be light to very dark, and almost black (field beans), dependent upon the nectar source

How to make set honey thinner

All UK honey will eventually set, but there is a simple way to change the consistency.

To retain the natural qualities, heat the honey slowly in a saucepan of water, for an hour or so. Once it has melted it will likely stay 'runny' for a few weeks

(Some people use a microwave, so if you do, take care with the timings and the heat, so as not to lose the good properties of natural honey or have breakages)

What are the properties of raw honey?

At Cotswolds Honey, raw honey means honey in its natural state; strained three times at the point of extraction to remove any wax etc.

Our honey may look like it is thicker or cloudy than shop brought honey which is often heated to a temperature above ~95°F/35°C.

Heating above this temperature removes all the natural properties like antioxidants, pollen, propolis and beneficial enzymes.