Many products can retain their qualities for many years. Remember how canned goods can be found in grandma's cupboard that are many years old. A jar of honey can last even longer.
Honey is truly a unique product that can remain edible for a long time. To understand why this is the case, it is worth paying attention to its composition. It mainly consists of sugar and water, with a ratio of approximately 80% and 20% respectively. Since sugar has hygroscopic properties and can draw water out of bacteria, it is extremely difficult for them to reproduce and survive in honey.
Additionally, honey has a high viscosity, which deprives bacteria of the oxygen necessary for their life processes. Finally, honey has high acidity. All these factors make it extremely 'unwelcoming' for microorganisms.
These properties of honey are largely due to how bees collect nectar. The nectar itself contains a lot of water, but the insects dry it out by flapping their wings. When they fill the honeycomb, their stomach enzymes break down the nectar into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Interestingly, we use the latter for treating wounds!
Can honey go bad?
Although honey is difficult to spoil, it is still possible. This most often happens with products that have added sugar and other components. Natural honey can be stored for years without losing its properties.
By the way, many people mistakenly believe that when honey starts to 'crystallize', it has gone bad. In fact, during the crystallization process, glucose simply separates from the water, and such honey is still suitable for consumption.
