Dehydration of honey in powder or crystal form is a way to enjoy the wonderful substance produced by bees. Dehydrated honey has many uses in cooking and is a good way to preserve honey for a long time. If you are a big fan of this sweet product, then you will appreciate its widespread use in cooking. Add to tea or coffee, to your favorite baked goods, to the marinade you make to dehydrate bacon or meat. and this is a good way to keep large volumes of honey for a long time if you cannot consume it quickly. I suggest you try this method and give your assessment. Let’s start.
Contents
Honey Powder You Can Make Yourself
The honey powder has a light cream color, but there are exceptions, so dry buckwheat honey powder will be dark. From dry honey, you can make eye drops, suppositories, ointments, tablets, oil – this is not a complete list. Dehydrated honey has antiseptic and antibacterial properties and can be used to treat cuts, wounds, and burns. Its antiseptic properties inhibit the growth of bacteria and destroy infection in wounds. Dehydrated honey can be used in healing balms, ointments. It has anti-aging properties and can be used to make creams, lotions, soaps, scrubs, face masks, body wraps, bath salts, etc.
What is the process of drying honey?
Getting rid of most of the moisture content will allow you to dry it. As a result of the bees’ efforts, plant nectar already contains less water. The water content can be further reduced by going the next step further.
Powdered honey is simply honey that has been dehydrated and ground into small crystals.
Depending on your personal preference, you can grind your final product finer or coarser. You may choose a very fine powder or even a slightly larger crystal resembling raw sugar.
You can buy ready-to-drink honey powder but read the labels carefully. For the content of harmful ingredients.
Anyway, when you dehydrate honey at home, you are in control of any supplements.
Dehydrated Honey Has Many Benefits: Consider Them
One of the main advantages: it can be stored for a long time, almost forever. The main condition is its proper storage. He can crystallize, but this does not change his qualities. This is its natural state, but it is easy to recrystallize. In any case, honey hardens over time, so why not dehydrate it and use it later, it seems to me even more convenient.
Honey originally prepared by bees is wonderful in itself. And you have the right to ask the question: So why dehydrate honey? The answer is so obvious and lies on the surface. It is convenient not only to store honey powder but also to use it in cooking. The taste of honey powder sprinkled on food differs in consistency from liquid, and the aroma that it adds to the dish will be more concentrated and rich.
Powdered honey is easier to store because it takes up less space. It dissolves faster in drinks, especially cold drinks.
Plus, it’s much easier to use when baking because you don’t need to adjust the liquid level in recipes.
In this form, it can be used as a substitute for sugar, but keep in mind that honey powder is sweeter and always dose the dose.
Best Honey for Your Honey-Eating Needs
What honey should you take to get your powdered honey? Bee nectar source is an important factor affecting the taste and color of honey.
When made from various sources of nectar, it is often referred to as “wildflower honey.” If only one source of nectar was used in the first place, you will get varieties such as sour honey, clover honey, or other floral flavors. Light to dark colors is present.
When you are planning to dry it, any variety will work. However, the product that is purchased directly from the beekeeper usually produces the best results. Small-scale producers have the advantage of taking the time to care for each jar carefully. If you cannot contact the beekeeper directly, then you need to go directly to the nearest supermarket. When buying raw honey, opt for thick honey, as this will guarantee you less water and will suit you better.
A description of the honey dehydration process
Ingredients:
Silicone / Teflon Sheets or Parchment
Honey
Food desiccant
Tools:
Dehydrator with pallets/inserts
Food processor or blender
Spoon or spatula
This task will take approximately 1 day and 2 hours to complete.
So, we proceed to the very process of honey dehydration in order to obtain honey powder or crystals for their further use.
You will need silicone sheets or parchment paper.
You can use special silicone sheets that fit your dehydrator trays, parchment, or freezer paper.
If you are using paper, cut the sheets to fit the trays and place them inside. Make sure your dehydrator is on a level surface.
Spread the honey on the sheets in a thin layer
Pour the honey over the leaf if it is still runny, or use a spoon to spread it out on the leaf. Or you can lay out the honey with a pattern. Do as you like, but the layer should not be thick. To add flavor to honey, add flavoring, cinnamon, or ginger.
Spread the honey on the sheets in a thin layer 
Ensure even distribution
Spread the honey across the sheet with a large spoon or spatula. If it is uniform, it is best to have a thickness of no more than 1/8″. Spreading the honey across the paper may be easier if the honey is warmed up a bit. As I spread the honey, I hold one side with a finger and use the spatula to move away from it
Set the dehydrator at 120 degrees
Set the dehydrator to 120 F / 40 C and be patient. The honey should be firm and crunchy. How long it takes depends on your dehydrator, the humidity in the room, and the water content of the honey: usually 24-48 hours. Check it about every 6 hours throughout the day to make sure it doesn’t burn. The honey is ready when it hardens and does not stick anymore.
Dehydration of honey
Separate dried pieces of honey from the leaf
Wait for the honey to cool, but make sure it doesn’t absorb excess moisture. It is now ready for shredding and storage. If you use Teflon dehydrator sheets, the dehydrated honey will peel off the sheet very easily. Removing the honey from the paper will take a little longer and a spatula will help you.
Now you need to grind the dehydrated honey to the desired consistency.
Grind with a food processor or use a blender to the desired consistency.
How to store dehydrated honey
Place the honey powder in a tightly resealable container and place the bag of food-grade desiccant there. This helps to prevent the powder from sticking together, but in any case, sticking will occur, it is inevitable. Do not be alarmed, it is not scary.
Dehydration of honey without a dehydrator
You do not have a dehydrator, but you want to get dehydrated honey, use the option described below. But keep in mind that high temperatures can destroy some of the nutrients in your raw honey.
Place the pot on the stove and start heating the honey. Take a large saucepan, as you need to give space to honey when it bubbles. Use a candy thermometer to reach 300 F / 148C. This is the candy stage.
Do not overheat the honey too much, otherwise honey will burn, we do not need this at all.
Remove from the stove and quickly pour a thin layer of hot honey onto baking sheets lined with silicone sheets (or parchment paper). Allow cooling in a dry place with low humidity. And then grind to the desired consistency.
Tips you need
Experience has shown that round bottom dryers are not suitable for dehydrating honey. This process takes up to 4 days, this is a very long time.
Using the rear-heated square dehydrator, honey dries up in 2 days. From experience, be sure to use a screen under the Teflon sheet.
Honey absorbs moisture from the air and absorbs quickly. This causes stickiness, which we don’t need.
During the drying and grinding process, turn on a dehumidifier or air conditioner in the room if the humidity is high.
Methods for using powdered dehydrated honey
The variety of uses you can find for dried honey will amaze you once it is packaged for easy storage. These are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Use as a sweetener in coffee or tea.
- Good for dissolving in cold drinks
- Sprinkle honey powder on your favorite ice cream
- When drying fruits in a dehydrator, sprinkle them with dehydrated honey
- Use instead of brown sugar
- Take dehydrated honey with you on trips and hikes
Conclusion
Honey is an ideal food for bees, it has a long shelf life without spoiling and provides the colony with food during the long cold winter months. The same thing happens to us. Whether you like it in its usual form or eat honey in combs, honey powder is a good addition to your menu anyway. Dehydrating honey is not such a troublesome process, dehydrated honey is stored for a long time and will be useful for you not only in cooking.
Consider making honey powder without a dehydrator
So we have decided that honey powder is useful and perfectly replaces white refined sugar. If dehydrated honey is properly dried, it is stored for a long time, this is its great advantage. Dehydrated honey is also called “honey crystals”, “dried honey” or “honey powder”. I suggest making dehydrated honey at home, without using a dehydrator, without adding preservatives or other harmful additives.
Homemade honey powder is a healthier option anyway than store-bought powdered honey that contains starch and fructose. In the article below, we’ll show you how to make honey powder without a food dehydrator. When preparing it, you only need those things that are available at your home.
List of ingredients needed to make honey powder without a food dehydrator
1 large skillet
Food thermometer
Honey
Baking tray
Corn starch
Sieve
1 scoop or large spoon
Sealed can
Step by Step Instructions For Making Honey Powder Without a Dehydrator
Step 1: Remove some raw honey from the jar and place it in a large saucepan.
Step 2: Start heating the honey at a low temperature to prevent the honey from burning.
Step 3: Once the honey has boiled like water, check its temperature with an internal food thermometer.
Step 4: It is important to check the temperature so that the honey has the right consistency. When the temperature reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit, caramelize the honey and turn off the hotplate.
Step 5: Now remove the caramelized honey from the pan and spread it evenly over the baking sheet with a measuring spoon or large spoon while hot.
Step 6: After the honey has cooled, you will see that the honey has become so fragile that you can quickly break it apart with your hand.
Step 7: Take a blender, add some cornstarch along with honey chunks and grind the dehydrated honey into a powder. Cornstarch is essential for removing moisture residues from honey. But don't add too much cornstarch, as it won't ruin the original taste of the honey powder.
Step 8: Now take out the powder and break up the soft lumps.
Step 9: The next step is to sift the powder through a sieve to remove any large lumps and your honey powder is ready to eat. It will look like brown sugar.
Step 10: Store honey powder in an airtight jar or airtight bags to extend the shelf life of the dehydrated powder. Dehydrated honey powder needs to be protected from light, moisture, and oxygen.
Benefits of Using Honey Powder
It is a healthy and natural sugar substitute due to its low GI (glycemic index). It contains a lot of minerals and vitamins that we get by consuming it. It has a long shelf life.
You can make delicious baked goods with dehydrated honey. You can use it for icing thanks to its light consistency. This makes the baked goods tasty, moist and soft, rather than drying them out like other sweeteners usually do.
It is the least costly natural sweetener in comparison to refined sugar that is quite expensive.
Warning:
Stay alert when dehydrating honey on the stove. Be careful not to burn it otherwise, the honey powder will taste like a burning sensation.
“Flavored” dehydrated honey
If you want to make “aromatic” honey, you can sprinkle the honey with any of the following spices just before placing it in the dehydrator. Keep in mind this is not a definitive list, experiment with tastes yourself.
Cinnamon
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Citrus zest (finely ground)
Cloves (finely ground)
Nutmeg
Pumpkin spice
Conclusion:
You have received information on how to make dehydrated honey at home, and now you can do it yourself.
Just remember that dehydrating honey is not only easy but also beneficial as the honey powder is a natural sweetener. Storing dehydrated honey is very easy, provided certain conditions are met.
If you have any other method of making honey powder and using dehydrating honey other than those described above, please share with us in the comment box below.