Ths is one of the 2 most common feedbacks that we receive about the honey that we sell via the VaanaVizha store. The other being crystallization – but that is for another blog during winter.

The photo below was shared by my cousin Bharati, from Mumbai who orders honey from our beekeepers regularly. If you have ever experienced this with the honey that you have bought from us, please read on.

Why does pure honey froth up?

Honey frothing or forming a white layer of foam on top is usually a natural sign of raw, unprocessed honey. Honey is composed mainly of sugars (fructose and glucose) and a small amount of water. However, the water content of honey can vary according to a number of factors. These include the floral source, climatic conditions and the way in which the bees have processed it. When the water content of honey exceeds 20%, the enzymes present in honey can lead to fermentation.

Is the honey and the froth safe to eat?

The honey and the frothy layer on top are safe to eat since the froth is just a natural collection of trapped air bubbles, pollen, and beeswax rising to the surface.

Please check if :

• If it smells strongly fermented or alcohol-like rather than sweet. If it tastes sweet with no sour smell, you can continue using it.
• While very rare due to honey’s antibacterial nature, discard it if you see actual mold growth

If the honey doesn’t have mold or doesn’t smell like beer, taste a bit – a teaspoonful or lesser. If tastes very sharp and funky, it has started undergoing fermentation.

You should double boil the honey to halt the fermentation process.

• Why it works: Heating the honey kills the active wild yeasts and drives off the excess moisture that triggered the fermentation in the first place. This stabilizes the honey so it won’t ferment any further.
• The trade-off: While double boiling saves the honey from souring completely, heating raw honey above 40°C (104°F) destroys its beneficial live enzymes and delicate raw flavors.

How to Double Boil Fermented Honey Safely?

1. Prepare the water bath: Place a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a gentle simmer, then turn off the heat.
2. Protect the jar: Place a small washcloth or silicone mat at the bottom of the pot so your honey jar doesn’t touch the direct heat of the stove burner.
3. Heat gently: Loosen the cap of your honey jar (do not seal it tightly, as air needs to escape) and place it into the hot water. If you purchased the honey in plastic bottle, please transfer it to a glass jar.
4. Monitor temperature: Keep the honey in the warm water until it reaches about 60°C to 65°C for roughly 10–15 minutes to effectively pasteurise the yeast.
5. Cool and seal: Remove the jar, let it cool completely, and wipe away any moisture from the lid before sealing it tightly. Store it in a cool, dry pantry away from humidity.

Fermented honey is completely safe to eat and works beautifully in cooking, baking, or making marinades where its slightly sharp, tangy flavor profile adds depth.

Please do not rely on refrigeration to fix fermented honey.

• Why it fails: Refrigeration only slows down yeast activity; it does not stop it. More importantly, cold temperatures drastically accelerate crystallisation, making the honey grainy, thick, and harder to pour.

What should i do to prevent this from recurring?

Raw honey is a living food, and it absorbs moisture from the air, which is what tips it towards fermentation. You can’t change how the honey was made, but you can control how it’s stored. A few habits make a big difference:

• Keep it airtight, always. Honey pulls in moisture from the surrounding air, so close the lid firmly after every use. Glass jars with a tight lid are best. If your honey came in a plastic bottle, consider moving it to a glass jar once you open it.
• Use a clean, dry spoon every time. Even a few drops of water or a wet spoon can raise the moisture level locally and start fermentation. Never double-dip a spoon that has touched food, tea or your mouth.
• Store it in a cool, dry cupboard. Avoid the shelf next to the stove, a sunny windowsill, or anywhere steamy. Warmth and humidity are what wild yeasts love, and this matters even more in the monsoon months.
• Don’t refrigerate it. As mentioned above, the cold doesn’t stop the yeast and it speeds up crystallisation.
• Buy what you’ll finish in a few months. The longer a jar sits half-empty and repeatedly opened, the more moisture it picks up. Smaller jars used up sooner are safer than a big one that lingers through the rainy season.
• Never add water or mix it with anything wet in the jar. If you want it thinner, warm only the portion you’re using.

None of this makes raw honey fussy. It just needs the same care you’d give any unprocessed food: keep it sealed, dry and cool, and it will keep well for a long time.

A closing note

Frothing honey can look alarming, but as we’ve seen, it’s most often a sign that the honey is raw and unprocessed, and that nothing has been done to it to hide its natural character. Now you know how to check it, rescue it if needed, and store it so it doesn’t happen again. If a jar from us ever arrives or ages in a way that worries you, please don’t just put up with it or throw it away. Send us a photo on WhatsApp or write to us at hello@vaanavizha.in, and we’ll help you figure out what’s going on. And keep an eye out for our next honey post this winter, when we’ll talk about crystallisation, the other big question we hear from you.

How our honey is handled

We keep it simple. Our beekeepers harvest the honey, we strain it through a muslin cloth to remove beeswax and pollen, and we bottle it. We don’t heat it, blend it or process it in any other way. The flip side of that is that every batch is a little different, because honey’s water content depends on the flowers, the weather and the season. Honey harvested during humid or rainy weather can carry more moisture, and that is when frothing is most likely to show up. That’s why the storage habits above matter, and why we’d rather you tell us when something looks off than quietly put up with it.

Regards

Sudhakar