More info on crystalization of honey

[susan rudnicki]

From a Dutch website about raw honey—with good photos of examples–
http://www.montcobeekeepers.org/Documents/Honey_Crystallization.pdf

The speed of honey to crystallize depends not only
on its composition, but
also on the presence of catalysts, like seed crysta
ls, pollen grains and
pieces of beeswax in the honey. These minute partic
les serve as nuclei for
crystallization. Raw honey (unheated and unfiltered
) contains bits of wax,
pollen and propolis, and crystallizes faster. Honey
that has been
processed (e.g. heated and filtered) will remain in
its liquid form longer
than raw honey due to the elimination of nuclei, wh
ich encourage the
growth of glucose crystals. Honey prepared for comm
ercial market is
usually heated and filtered. Heating and filtration
of the honey dissolve
any sugar crystals and remove foreign particles tha
t might be present in
it. Therefore, the crystallization is hindered.

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