Honey for long term storage?

[threeheadeddog]

I have access to a local honey farmer and I had heard that honey is one of, if not the only food item that has no shelf life. I had heard that honey has been successfully removed from tombs in Egypt and eaten without harmful effects. Is this true? If it is true does honey have any nutritional value(I have a jar but since it is "real" honey and not store bought there is nutritional label)?

So is it worth buying a few jars and putting on my "just in case shelf" or am I misinformed?

[huklbrry]

I have read the same about honey and its near infinite shelf-life. I remember reading/hearing that honey does have alot of health benefits but Im sure you can use "the Google" to find out more info on the specifics. Stay away from store bought honey in the plastic bear for instance. It is cut with corn syrup.

[MikeCharlieUniform]

I have access to a local honey farmer and I had heard that honey is one of, if not the only food item that has no shelf life. I had heard that honey has been successfully removed from tombs in Egypt and eaten without harmful effects. Is this true? If it is true does honey have any nutritional value(I have a jar but since it is "real" honey and not store bought there is nutritional label)?

Raw honey is practically miracle stuff. It'll keep pretty much forever, provided it's sealed properly and stored at "room temperature." Keep it below 98 deg F. It's mostly sugar (fructose and glucose) with small amounts of vitamins. It's antibacterial and antiseptic. When used as a wound dressing it'll actually generate hydrogen peroxide in small quantities. Some studies (not yet replicated, IIRC) have shown that it aids in burn healing as well. It's a tastier sweetener than pretty much anything else out there.

If left in storage for a while, it's likely to solidify into a crystalline structure, but it can be safely warmed under low heat to re-liquefy.

The only real risk (other than watery honey possibly decaying or fermenting) is botulism - the spores exist in very low quantities naturally in honey, despite being unable to *grow* in honey. So infants (< 1 year) should not eat honey, but it's not a risk to people with a "mature" GI tract.

If you want to try your hand at making alcoholic beverages, add some water and yeast (and time) and you've got mead.

(Professing to it's use medicinally, I had a dog who became paralyzed, and developed sores on his hind "elbows" that actually exposed bone early in the recovery process from his surgery. Dressings would stick; we applied honey, which kept the area moist and free from infection, and kept the dressings from sticking to the wound... and those eventually healed with almost no visible scarring.)

A tea sweetener that can be used like neosporin and never expires? Yes please! If you can get raw honey, you should definitely keep some of it on hand, IMO.

IANADoctor.

[Outlander Systems]

Get as much as you can get your hands on.

I burn through probably two small bottles of honey a week making my signature "Viking Chili".

Honey is righteous stuff. I once was bold enough to brew up some mjöd with a buddy of mine. It was absolutely delicious. It was a PITA to make, and took a couple of months of racking, siphoning, and re-racking, but it was righteous.

[chadbag]

I basically store my sugars in the form of honey and agave syrup. Both are much healthier for you than sugar. Honey stores well. Don't know how long Agave Syrup will store.

I have only one 25lb bag of sugar in my storage. Everything else is honey or agave.

Go for it.

[Just a Jarhead]

+1 to all the above.

In addition it is widely accepted that regularly eating honey stave's off many common allergies. It aids your immune system against allergies. Our body chemistry changes every 7 years, so while you may not have any allergies today, you may in the future. Regular digestion of honey can have positive effects. I put some in my post workout protein shake every day. My appreciation for honey started in the Marine Corps as a young lad, in bootcamp our Senior Drill Instuctor would recommend we put lots of it on toast at morning chow before PT for a quick energy boost. In short, no food storage plan would be complete without it IMHO.

[threeheadeddog]

Actually the reason I went looking for raw honey originally was because I have had allergies ever since moving from MT to the South.

I just figured with the wealth of information available here that it would be a good topic and one I had genuine interest in.

Keep the info coming, I have already learned much.

[Stump70]

To keep it from crystallizing, it can be frozen until needed and it retains all the healthful qualities.

[Icculus]

I keep seeing "raw honey" mentioned. What exactly is meant by this. Is there a difference in shelf life be raw honey and what I can only guess is its opposite; "processed honey"? Should I be looking for something specific or is everything you might find at your grocery store good for storage as long as its stored in glass (I'm guessing the little plastic bears aren't the preferred method )

EDIT:
Ok so a little google action turned up this link which answered a couple of my questions
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/raw-honey.html

Most of the honey found in the supermarket is not raw honey but “commercial" regular honey, which has been pasteurized (heated at 70 degrees Celsius or more, followed by rapid cooling) and filtered so that it looks cleaner and smoother, more appealing on the shelf, and easier to handle and package. Pasteurization kills any yeast cell in the honey and prevents fermentation. It also slows down the speed of crystallization in liquid honey. On the downside, when honey is heated, its delicate aromas, yeast and enzymes which are responsible for activating vitamins and minerals in the body system are partially destroyed. Hence, raw honey is assumed to be more nutritious than honey that has undergone heat treatment.

So I guess the only question is does this pasteurization affect the shelf life at all or will both processed and raw honey both store equally well?

[Abraxas]

I keep seeing "raw honey" mentioned. What exactly is meant by this. Is there a difference in shelf life be raw honey and what I can only guess is its opposite; "processed honey"? Should I be looking for something specific or is everything you might find at your grocery store good for storage as long as its stored in glass (I'm guessing the little plastic bears aren't the preferred method )

EDIT:
Ok so a little google action turned up this link which answered a couple of my questions
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/raw-honey.html


So I guess the only question is does this pasteurization affect the shelf life at all or will both processed and raw honey both store equally well?

They both store equally well.