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The chemical secrets that help keep honey fresh for so long
Honey is a natural sweetener, and bacteria loves to feast on sugar. But honey is remarkably resistant to spoilage. What's behind its ability to beat the bugs?
We are always fighting a losing battle against these organismsEven food that's been put through a gauntlet of preservation procedures usually has a limited shelf life, as you might know if you have ever opened a jar of butterscotch sauce from the back of grandma's fridge, sealed in 1985, to find a thick carpet of fuzz within. We are always fighting a losing battle against these organisms, and whether it's a whiff of vinegar that tells us the Lactobacillus has had its way with the orange juice, or black mould spots on the inside wall of the peanut butter jar, the signs of their presence are often unsubtle, and unavoidable. The bees concentrate the nectar on the way to the hive, removing some of the water, use enzymes to raise the acid content in the fluid discouraging some forms of microorganisms from growing, and break down the sugars into simpler ones, then decant the stuff into honeycomb chambers.
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