I would like to add a few things to this thread.
 
Some years back the commersial beekeeping organization in sweden, EKOBI,
did a
study on honey crystallization to find out how we can better control the
process.
A summary of this work can be seen at
http://www.kuai.se/~beeman/krist_e.htm.
 
I use the word crystallized and not creamed. Creamed can lead to the
misunderstanding
that air is beaten into the honey, that is not the case. To control the
process
we need to understand how it works. A detailed report of the project is
only
available in Swedish, so I will try to explain the basics.
 
The crystallization starts below approximately 50 degrees C. The fastest
crystallization is obtained at app. 14 C. The finest grain is obtained
at a
lower temp, but then the process will go slower, so a mean value of 10 C
has showed to be suitable for good result at reasonable time. (This is
for a
honey with 48% fructose, 35% glucose, and 17% water)
 
The old way to do it was to simply take any fine grain honey and use it
as a
starter to supply the nucleus for the process to start. Then stir the
honey
at a low temp for a number of days. This will require a lot of power and
expensive machinery when done on a larger scale.
 
With the Ekobi method there is no longer a need to stir all the honey
for days.
A starter is made that holds a large number of extremely small
crystalls, so
many that no more stirring is needed when the starter is mixed into the
liquid
honey. This way you only need to stir 1-3% of the honey at the low temp.
 
The starter is made at 10 degrees C, and stirred twice a day until it
becomes
white and creamy. The starter is now ready to use, and must be used
within a few
days. During the crystallization process small crystalls move to form
crystall
patterns, they move towards each other to form larger units. When the
starter
is stored glucos molecules move from small crystalls to the larger
crystalls,
creating a larger grain starter that is useless for the purpose. The
same thing
will happen if the starter is warmed up. The starter must be used while
the
crystallization process is still going on in it!
 
When the starter is mixed into the honey, there are a few things that is
important.
To avoid warming up the starter prior to mixing it in, a small amount of
liquid
honey is slowly mixed into the starter during stirring. That way the
starter is
diluted at the same time it's slowly warmed up. The diluted starter is
immediately
mixed into the rest of the liquid honey, and stirred until completely
mixed. It is
possible to mix the starter into honey that is up to 30 degrees C.
Crystallization
should then continue below 17 degrees C.
 
Depending on the glucos and water content of the honey, it might become
too hard
in the jars. If so, wait one or two days after mixing in the starter
before filling
jars. No stirring is needed during this time.
 
With this method the small and even some commersial beekeepers can
manage to
produce a perfect "creamed" honey with only a refrigerator to cool the
starter.
 
---
Regards
 
P-O Gustafsson, Sweden
[log in to unmask]    http://www.kuai.se/~beeman/