How To: Get Honey out of the Jar

A few years back, my dad saw chestnut honey on sale and got a little bit sale-happy. I think he bought about 5 jars. If he actually used honey, that would have been great, but he doesn't use honey. In fact, my dad doesn't really like sweet things. I think he just liked the idea of chestnut honey.

Instead, we ended up with 5 unused jars of honey, which my dad told me not to touch while my mom secretly begged me to use as much as possible. I used a lot of honey. (I'm not sure my dad ever noticed.)

Honey is a pain to get out of the jar, and even worse to get out of the measuring spoon. It also sticks to everything, including the seams on the lid. This is particularly unhelpful when you're trying to be inconspicuous about your honey usage!

Next time a recipe calls for honey, try this instead:

1. To open the jar, run the lid under hot tap water for a few minutes. To prevent it from sticking shut next time, wash the lid with hot soapy water and wipe the threads on the jar down with a damp, hot paper towel before sealing the jar.

2. To get the honey out of the jar, microwave it! Honey is incredibly viscous at room temperature, but as it heats up, it becomes more and more liquid. If you stick the jar in the microwave for about a minute, you'll be able to easily pour it out of the jar. Be careful, though! Hot sugar syrups burn! If you're not a microwave person, just putting the honey in a hot water bath will also help but it's a lot less convenient.

3. To get honey out of a measuring spoon, skip the measuring spoon and use your food scale. Honey weighs about 21g (.75oz) per tablespoon, or 340g (12oz) per cup. Don't have a scale? Hot honey will also come out of a measuring spoon more easily, so microwave it first. You can also use the Alton Brown method, and just eyeball it. D suggests cutting your losses, using a size larger measuring spoon and just licking it clean when you're done.

What are your tricks for getting honey out of the jar? What about peanut butter? Let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com!


Want to make something with honey?