In a message dated 22/11/98  15:35:30, you write:
 
<<
 Hello to All!
 Another question!  It is said that fermentation is more likely to happen
 after honey crystalises than at any other time.  would some body please
 tell me why this so .  I need an answer invery simple lay person's
 language - Science is not my forte.
 Many thanks in anticipation
 Sr. Catherine Duffy.
  >>
Trying to keep the ideas simple:-
Honey is a solution of sugar crystals in water. Most of the sugars are
monosaccharides which are rings of six carbon molecules with attached hydrogen
and oxygen molecules. These are fructose and glucose. Ignore the fructose for
the moment, because it is very very soluble, but let's look at the glucose.
This sugar is much more likely to come out of solution and grow into crystals.
When it does so, it discards a molecule of water each time it forms a
crystalline bond. (This molecule of water is not part of the sugar molecule,
but is water that is weakly bonded to the glucose in the solution.)
 
Imagine then that the water content of your honey before it started to
crystallise was,let's say 19%. As it crystallises, you now have two components
- a solid crystal part, and the liquid portion that is left between the
crystals. This liquid part has absorbed all the water that has been cast off
by the growing crystals. Consequently the water content of the liquid part may
be up to say 23%, which is an environment in which yeast can thrive. That is
why you get the curious situation of a honey which is more likely to granulate
when it has crystallised than when it is liquid.
 
The topic is fascinating, and one which I wish I understood better.
 
Regards
 
Matthew J Allan
Thornes of Windsor, England
and Bee Biz