John Caldeira wrote:

> Storage above 27C (81F) should be avoided, even
> for relatively short times since deterioration in color, flavor, and enzyme
> content is particularly rapid."
>
> I am curious how other beekeepers are storing honey to maintain quality.
> Many sideline and hobby beekeepers such as myself are using a "warm box" or
> "warm room", but now I wonder whether the quality deterioration is
> significant enough to rethink this.  Comments?

This has been discussed in the past and as you note, heat or warm
storage conditions do degrade honey.
Here are two links on HMF, a good indicator of how the honey has been
treated and is a measurement in many countries as to the quality of the
honey.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~jtemp/hmf.html

http://www.airborne.co.nz/HMF.html

The final answer depends of if you are selling or it is for your own
use. If for your own use and you like it, then there is little issue
unless it is held in a warm state for more than a year then you might
start noticing a difference in taste. I would be concerned about feeding
high HMF honey to my bees, but not myself. If you are selling, then it
depends on if you are selling "raw" honey or not. If you are storing it
warm for a long period, you may be selling a less "raw" honey than
someone who warms his honey during extraction or processing and you are
shortchanging your customers.

There have been and will be long arguments about "raw" compared to
"processed" honey, but I am the kind of person who likes what I like not
what I am supposed to like. I would rather have a "processed" fall honey
than a "raw" summer honey just because the basic flavor of the fall
honey is quite pronounced and different. Except for overheating, I have
difficulty telling the difference between processed, especially flash
heated honey, and raw.

The only area I insist on unheated and stored cool honey is for
medicinal uses of honey, for then heat destroys most of the beneficial
qualities of the honey as does long warm storage. But for eating, which
is how most of us use it, the criteria should be whatever pleases you
however stored or treated (even though you are better off storing cool,
even if it means re-liqifying the honey).

Personally, I do not heat my honey and store it in my unheated basement.
The fall honey will crystallize quickly, no matter where I store it and
some summer honeys will remain liquid for years. It is really no trouble
to re-liquify it. To do so, I use a box I made that keeps it below 120F
and liquefies a 40lb pail overnight. I originally constructed the box as
a dehydrator, so is dual use now.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, ME