I have some runny, clear honey in a jar.
How can I turn it into soft-set honey?
I think honey sets over time, but how long does that take? Is there a way to speed it up? Should the jar's lid be on/off?
I've tried researching for answers but every single permutation and combination of search terms I try just gives me answers for the opposite problem.
Something I think most people are unaware of:
Runny and set honey are made from different types of nectar.
For example, rape (which is grown a lot where I live) will result in very hard setting honey. We had to be careful to extract the honey as soon as the comb was full or it would set in the cells and is then impossible to extract.
This is often not known because most runny honey will crystallise when stored somewhere too cold.
Set honey (such as that made from rape nectar) will need to be constantly stirred whilst it sets to avoid the crystals forming too big and causing it to be solid - just like ice-cream!
Disclaimer: I have no idea if this will give you the result you desire, but theoretically it should work.
As I said, most running honey will set if stored somewhere cold, therefore I would suggest you use an ice- cream maker to set your running honey, or refrigerate it - but be aware that you will need to stir it often to avoid the aforementioned issues.
You will then need to keep that honey somewhere cold to avoid it melting again. It's pretty cold here in the UK so a cupboard is usually cold enough.
References: Beekeeper for 6 years and long time honey and bee enthusiast!
Also just to note that there is no set line for which flowers produce set and runny honey it's a sliding scale - most store bought honey is just a big mix from different flowers. I believe it's something to do with how saturated with sugar the necar was.
What you are describing is most likely creamed honey, which is also known by a variety of other local names including whipped honey (for those in the USA I think). This is honey that has been induced to produce micro-crystals by a couple of different methods. Basically these boil down to addition of seed crystals to the honey that then initiate a chain crystallization process.
From my reading around this, you need to be aware that crystallized honey has a tendency to ferment, so you generally need to Pasteurize the honey before initiating the creaming process so as to kill off any yeasts that might grow and ferment the honey. You can do this by rapidly heating to 150 F/66 C for 15 min (warning: PDF, see section on fermentation), then cooling rapidly.
For the creaming there are a couple of different methods - you will want the Dyce method (Patent link). In summary you need honey that has been Pasteurized, then heated to over 150 to dissolve crystals, then rapidly cooled to between 60 F/15 C and 75 F/24 C. You then add 10% already creamed honey (get it from a shop...) to your honey and stir. Let sit at 55 F/13 C for about a week and it should be done.
The PDF linked above and here has a nice summary and full explanations.
