Monday morning myth: creamed honey is whipped

The truth is that creamed honey is not whipped—not at all. The popular term “whipped honey” is an unfortunate misnomer for a product that is pure honey with no added air.

Whipping is a culinary term for the incorporation of air into a food item. Cream can be whipped. Butter can be whipped. Egg whites can be whipped. Batter can be whipped. Whipping mechanically inserts air bubbles into the substance, making it light and fluffy. Creamed honey is anything but light and fluffy. It spreads well but is heavy and dense.

Far from whipping air into your creamed honey, you should carefully avoid any incorporation of air whatsoever. In fact, after the starter crystals have been stirred into the honey, it is often left to sit undisturbed so any air bubbles come to the surface and dissipate.

The name probably derived from the fact that creamed honey has a lighter color than the honey had before it crystallized, so it looks like air has been incorporated.

Here is an excerpt from the Betterbee website about making creamed honey (emphasis added):

Before we explain how to make creamed honey, it is important to understand what it actually is and what it is not. Creamed honey is not whipped honey. There shouldn’t be any air in your creamed honey. Creamed honey is controlled granulation of honey which results in extremely small sugar crystals. . . .Take care not to mix in air . . . allow any small amounts of air to rise to the surface.

It is easy to see that calling the product “whipped” is both wrong and confusing and gives the consumer an incorrect impression of the product. I’ve even been asked why creamed honey is so expensive if it is full of air—a good question based on a bad name.

Rusty