If you only know how to store pure honey, you can add it to your tea, mix it into your cream cheese frosting, or spread it on buttered bread, and the list is endless. The best part? It is also one of the most recombinant and shelf-stable foods I know. To find out where natural honey should be stored, how long it is good for, and the different ways to ensure the pure honey will remain sweet and appealing for as long as possible, we interviewed beekeepers and a food safety officer.
3-Types of Honey
Most natural honey names come from the type of pollen that dominates the area where producers harvest the pure honey. However, all forms of light honey and dark honey fall into three main categories:
Creamed Honey:
Raw and pure honey will crystallize when fructose and glucose bind to pollen, so manufacturers process creamed honey with preservatives to eliminate the chance of this crystallization or granulation. While raw honey has a golden, opaque appearance, creamed honey appears milky and thick.
Liquid Honey:
Natural honey simple syrup or liquid honey is similar to honey in its original form before the bees seal it into their honeycombs. Unlike most forms of thick and sticky honey, liquid honey has a bright and clear appearance with little to no viscosity.
Raw Honey:
Filtered and unfiltered versions of raw honey are often available at your local farmers’ market or health food grocery store. Since producers harvest raw honey through a natural process, this form will retain the most organic properties.
How to Store Honey?
Consider these tips for storing honey at your home:
Store Honey in An Airtight Container:
One hundred percent protection of pure honey from externally sourced contamination sources is extremely difficult to achieve. However, sweet and natural honey must be transferred from the vendor’s container to a better jar with a lid made of glass or a hermetically sealed vessel. You can use plastic food containers or glass mason jars to store honey and keep the moisture content inside the pure honey intact.
Store Honey at Room Temperature to Retain its Flavor:
If you want to maintain your honey’s rich flavor and prevent it from spoiling, store honey in a dark place like a kitchen cabinet where it will not have to endure extreme heat or direct sunlight.
Try Freezing Honey to Avoid Crystals:
If you refrigerate pure honey, you might notice that some cooler temperatures below fifty degrees Fahrenheit can lead to crystallization. Although crystallized honey is not a sign of spoilage or fermentation, some people dislike the inconsistent granulation and crunchy texture. You can opt to freeze honey instead of refrigerating it—the temperatures of a freezer are too cold to allow crystals to form.
Use Warm Water to Thaw Frozen Honey:
If you decide to refrigerate your raw honey, you should always warm the glass jar under warm water and not hot water while thawing it. Otherwise, a sharp change in temperature could make the glass expand and crack or even shatter, and so your pure honey is no longer usable.
How Long Does Honey Last?
Honey is one of the most stable natural foods because the product’s density creates a very high concentration of sugars. The fact is, natural honey is the only food one can have without any second thoughts about the hygienic condition of the food preparation place,” said Frank Mortimer, the master beekeeper at Cornell University and the author of the Bee People and the Bugs They Love.
Shelf Life: It can last for decades, and maybe even a century if it’s kept in proper storage. While natural honey is storable for an indefinite period of time, the quality may have degraded from the moment you bought it, but the honey will be okay for consumption.
Expiration Date: However, natural honey has an indefinite shelf life and therefore no specific date when it goes bad; most producers label their honey with ‘best before’ two years from the packing date. The Food and Drug Administration also advises the use of honey within the one-year limit after its purchase has been made.
How to Fix Crystallized Honey
Did you find it heartwarming that honey stored for a long time can be cloudy? This is called crystallization. It is not prejudicial; in fact, it is a sign of the contrary.
Pollen-rich honey crystallizes faster than most natural honey available in the market, and raw honey crystallizes faster than other honey. Cold temperatures also cause crystals, and sometimes that is planned. Some of the honey that crystallises naturally is intentionally made by many beekeepers among the many types.
What will happen is that your honey stops flowing like a liquid, but do not worry because you can keep your honey liquid if you need to. It is actually very easily prepared—just put the jar into a pan of hot water and stir as it gets warm. Do not overheat it, though. It will change the flavor and the color if the sugars become caramelized due to heat intensifying the heat.
Also, do not use the microwave, as this can heat up very fast and get destroyed. If using the stovetop is not possible, warm water in a bowl will work in its place. It may take a little longer to liquify, and you may need to replace the water if it gets cold, but it will work in the end.
Conclusion
The proper handling of natural honey is one that determines whether the product is going to be preserved well enough intellectually and whether the taste, aroma and even nutritional value of the product will hold as intended. Regardless of where you decide to store honey—in a pantry, a refrigerator, or a freezer—the following guidelines will help you to use it when you want without any compromises. Keep in mind that the type of container used and storing the honey far from humidity and heat can greatly affect the taste and texture of pure honey in the future.
As of now, if you are someone who loves the best quality, organic, and true-to-taste honey, you should try Hitkram products. Stop by Hitkram today to get your honey in a hurry that will help to put the ultimate deliciousness.
