Misc Honey with mold

Gercarson

Veteran Member
Is it possible to just remove the small spots of mold from the top of my honey? Does the honey have to be discarded?
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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Hmmm... real honey, kept sealed, shouldn't mold. However, it is strongly hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air) and if it's not kept tightly sealed and your air is humid, it could absorb enough water to no longer be a strong enough sugar solution, which could allow mold to grow.

Unfortunately, it really can't be considered safe for consumption... while it used to be recommended that you just scraped the mold off the top of jellies or jam and then consume the "clean" food underneath, more recent studies have shown that mycotoxins spread quite a distance through soft foodstuffs beyond the visible mold growth.

The only foods which are considered safe to consume after cutting all visible mold off are *hard* cheeses.

If you have a large container of honey and only a small but of mold on top, you could probably scoop out the mold and a large scoop of honey around it... but it's definitely not recommended.

Summerthyme
 

Gercarson

Veteran Member
I only buy local honey - but this is a "new" place for me - here in NW Florida - tightly sealed and labeled "Pure Honey" and the fellow who sold it to me told me all about his hives, etc.
Not sure what sort of mold (or even IF it's mold) but white spots small and larger on top of the honey. Looks strange and makes me suspicious.
Thank you for this reply.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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Hmmm.. are you sure it's not beeswax? When we extract honey, we often get a bit of a skim of wax on top... unless it's filtered, that's common.

I'd scoop one of those "spots" off the top and rinse the honey off, then see what you have. As I said, honey which has been properly cured by the bees is essentially a saturated syrup, which can't support mold growth. I'll bet it's not mold, and it's probably perfectly fine.

Summerthyme
 

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Beeswax or crystals? The raw honey I get, for reasons I don't know, starts crystallizing almost as soon as I open it. Makes it rather difficult to use out of the bottle after it starts clumping.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
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That is another possibility. Real honey *always* crystalizes, sooner or later. Some types of nectar crystalize much faster than others. You can always reliquify it either in the microwave (I don't recommend that if it's in plastic) or by setting the jar on a rack in a pan of water and simmering it until it's all fluid again.

But Gercarson's issues don't really sound like crystallization to me...

Summerthyme
 

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
Seconding everything Summerthyme has said. There is one other possibility. Once in a while if honey is extracted (removed from the comb) before it's really 'ripe' (still has too high of a water level in it) it will mold. An experienced bee-keeper shouldn't be bottling 'green' honey, though. (Once the bees have capped the cells, the honey inside is 'ripe.' If a comb has too many open cells, the whole batch may end up having too high of a moisture level.) But a good clear close-up photo, if you can manage it, might help us figure it out.

Kathleen
 

Gercarson

Veteran Member
I will not be able to provide a photo - but have decided that it has a high probability of being residual wax. I've taken Summerthyme's advice and followed her instructions.
Thank you all for your help.
 

FireDance

TB Fanatic
With all the junk they keep selling as “real” I personally wouldn’t take a chance on this unless I had bought local. Then I’d probably think about it and still throw it out. If local I might call the people who processed only to give them a heads up. Heck the grands might have helped and done something wrong or something else. But I wouldn’t chance eating it.
 

mecoastie

Veteran Member
Beeswax or crystals? The raw honey I get, for reasons I don't know, starts crystallizing almost as soon as I open it. Makes it rather difficult to use out of the bottle after it starts clumping.

Just set the jar in a pan of warm water and it will reliquify.

As for the mold it can happen if the honey was bottled while too wet. I check all my honey with a refractometer before I sell it. Before you do anything make sure it is really mold and not crystals or wax. Usually when I have a little wax left on top it is in an even layer so spots on top sounds odd to me. Personally that only happens at the end of bottling so I keep those jars for us to use vs sell. Is there any odor like it is fermenting? Bubbles? If the guy is local take it back to him and see what he says.
 
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