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Most foods are destined to die very soon; to have a very short life, often dictated by industry. However, there are some staple foods such as soya, rice, peanuts and honey that seem to last forever. The reality is that honey, if well preserved and undisturbed, such as excess moisture or bacterial growth, can last a lifetime in the pantry, but why?
The secret of this sweet, viscous, golden-coloured fluid lies in its chemistry. As Compound Interest explains, its low moisture and high sugar content are the key ingredients, which is achieved by bees going out to collect the nectar, and dehydrating it. ‘The nectar can contain up to 70% water, and this water must evaporate to produce the honey consistency we are all familiar with.
‘The bees achieve this by fanning the comb with their wings to encourage the rapid evaporation of water from the nectar mixture,’ adds Compound Interest. That flapping reduces the water content to 17% – an arduous mission that can take up to three days of work.
The low water content is what makes the honey last a long time. ‘At 17%, its water content is much lower than that of bacteria or fungi,’ the website explains. ‘Honey also has a low water activity; this is a measure of the amount of water in a substance that is available to support microbial growth.’ This means that most moulds and bacteria cannot grow.
Smithsonian Magazine notes that archaeologists have found jars of honey from thousands of years ago inside ancient Egyptian tombs. Among them is the tomb of King Tutankhamun. In 1922, when his tomb was excavated, archaeologists found a jar of honey and, according to McGill University in Montreal, got to taste it. ‘To their amazement, they discovered that it was as sweet as honey’.
