How Raw Honey Changes: Shelf Life, Crystallization, Colorization

by Lisa Johnson
Here is the true fact...honey has and indefinite shelf life. It is true!

Archaeologists have found viable honey located in the pyramids. This is all based upon the chemical make up and properties of honey.

How is Honey Made

A very important thing to know about honey is how the real stuff is made and its water content.

Honey bees forage for nectar. The nectar is transported by the honey bee in their honey stomach. This s the first exposure to the enzymes honey bees add to the nectar. These enzymes brake down the sucrose of the nectar into fructose and glucose.

The honey bees further this honey production by evaporating the solution. When this solution is evaporated to 17% water, the honey bees have completed the honey making process.

Myths of “Spoiled” Honey

Let's address some concerns people bring up when their honey changes.

Crystallization

“Oh No!! My bottled honey is all crystallized. I must throw out my honey because it is spoiled!”

Wrong!!

Honey is a supersaturated solution. This means there is very little water. There is less than 17% water present in the solution. Chemically, supersaturated solutions are effected by temperature.

We have all heard of (or made) the recipe for simple sugar syrup. One cup of sugar to ½ cup of water. When you mix that in a pan, it doesn’t come together easily. Once heat is added to the mixture is all comes together and forms a beautiful syrup or a supersaturated solution. The fact that honey crystallizes at 56 degree F tells you that in cooler temperatures, the honey crystallizes. In the summer heat your honey liquefies.

The honey is not spoiled. Honey changes its crystalline structure due to temperature change naturally!

Color Deepening

“Oh No! My honey is dark – it must be spoiled!”

Another myth is broken.

Dark honey is not spoiled. Honey is derived from nectar. Each nectar has a distinct flavor and color. The color of honey can range from water white, to light amber (like Black Locust) to dark (such as Buckwheat). These colors are natural to the varietal of honey.

When honey is stored for a long period of time, honey will darken.

Over a long period of time, honey will experience a brake down of its invertase enzyme. The break down allows a chemical product known as hydroxymethylfufural (HMF) to form. This is a natural chemical reaction that occurs in honey. This is why when honey is held long term like the honey found in the pyramid, it has darkened. The honey is not “spoiled”. It has just darkened over time due to a natural chemical occurrence in the honey.

Extending Shelf Life for Other Products with Honey

Honey has an interesting component that helps to extend its shelf life. It is hygroscopic in nature.

Think of honey as a dried out sponge. If that dried out sponge is dropped into water, it will expand by drawing in water. Bakers take this component and use it to their advantage. When baking with honey, it draws the moisture so the baked goods come out of the oven moist.

With honey being a supersaturated sugar solution it is far sweeter than ordinary white sugar. Typically ¾ cup of honey replaces a full cup of white sugar. The combination of using less amount of sweetener and creating a more moist product, makes honey a very useful item on the shelf.

Storage

A jar of honey is best kept on your kitchen counter. You don’t need to put it in your refrigerator. If you did put the honey into your fridge it will crystallize because your fridge is colder than 56 degree F.

There are nostalgic beekeepers that have kept their first jar of honey. After 30 years (or more) the honey has darkened but is as good as the day it was jarred.