Can honey go bad: at what temperature and how long is stored

Honey is considered a well-preserved product, subject to storage conditions, it can be stored for a long time and not lose its beneficial properties. Consider whether honey can deteriorate, what conditions must be created and maintained to preserve it, and harmful storage factors. How to properly preserve the product at home, is it possible to save spoiled honey.

How and how much to store honey?

Minimum shelf life - 1 year, that is, until next summer, when the bees collect nectar again. But in general, the product can be kept at room temperature for 2 years if it is sealed with a lid, under which air does not penetrate, the humidity does not change.

Honey can be stored in a wide range of temperatures - from -20 degrees to 40 degrees Celsius. Useful properties of the product retains. But the best storage temperature is from -6 to 20 degrees Celsius. If the place where the product is kept is warmer, the possibility of product spoilage and destruction of vitamins increases. Minus temperatures are not terrible for honey. It hardens but does not change properties or deteriorate.

In order not to crystallize longer, sudden temperature changes should be avoided during storage. You can not transfer it from one room to another with a large temperature difference.

Store best in glassware and preferably dark. In addition to glass, enamelware and ceramics are suitable materials. Plastic and especially metal containers are not suitable (the mass will oxidize in them). Banks before laying fresh honey in them must be washed and dried. As for their capacity, you need to take a small volume - up to half a liter.This is due to the fact that when the lid is opened, air will enter, which will not have the best effect on the condition of the product.

It is important that the humidity in the storage place is minimal, because a high percentage of it causes quick spoilage of the product.

You also need to tightly close the jars with lids.

Store them in a dark place where the sun's rays do not fall. They destroy enzymes and vitamins. There should be no foreign odors in the storage area. The product may absorb them, in which case it will not be possible to eat it.

What influences durability

If the honey is harvested not earlier than necessary, and has had time to ferment, with the right content, it should not go to waste. Its carbohydrate and acid composition is balanced, it contains substances that prevent spoilage due to the development of bacteria.

Preservation is affected by:

• temperature;
• humidity;
• light level;
• foreign odors.

It is advisable to store in the cold, because over time at room temperature its quality will decrease. The ideal place in the apartment is a refrigerator or a cold pantry, in your house it is, of course, a cellar.

Refrigerator or cellar protect the product from sunlight. Humidity is also kept at about the same level.

Of course, the humidity in the cellar is high, and there are smells of vegetables, but if you close the jars tightly with lids, then problems can be avoided.

Storage Tips

So, you need to store honey in a dark, dry and cool place. Such a room can be found in any house or apartment. You need to keep it in small glass jars, preferably dark glass. Close them tightly with lids. In this form, the mass can be stored not only for a year or two, but also for several years, without losing taste, smell, color, useful properties.

If honey crystallizes, it will be stored longer, its beneficial properties do not change. To return it to a liquid consistency, you need to slightly warm the portion in a water bath, heating the honey to 25 degrees. It is impossible to raise the temperature too much during the process, this leads to the destruction of vitamins and a decrease in useful properties.

Can spoiled honey be saved?

Fermented honey should be heated for an hour in a water bath at a temperature of 60 degrees. Bacteria are destroyed and the fermentation process stops. But vitamins and other useful substances are also destroyed, so there is no longer any benefit from such a product.

You can store the heated mass in the same way as fresh. Best used as a sweet, add to homemade cakes. If you don’t want to bother with warming up, you can find another use for it - you can make a homemade low-alcohol drink - mead - from a fermented delicacy. For a drink, it will be the best raw material.

If the mass is not only fermented, covered with foam, but has an unpleasant odor and is bitter, it is best to throw it away, as harmful substances have appeared there. Eating it can be dangerous.

Bee honey is stored at home for at least a year. If you need to save it longer, you should keep it in a dark, cool and dry place. Subject to all conditions, it will be stored for years, while you can be sure that useful and medicinal substances will not disappear.However, it is better to use it all the same quickly - within a year, and then purchase a new portion of a delicious fragrant product.

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