Keep honey in sealed container. Glass jars with lids are also ideal for storing honey as long as the lids are on tight so the honey won't be exposed to air, while not being used. It isn't recommended to store your honey in non-food plastic containers or metal containers because they can cause honey to oxidize.
Honey has an amazingly long shelf life. Thanks to the high concentration of sugars, honey is one of the most stable natural foods you will find. It can have an almost indefinite shelf life if it's stored properly.
Honey can stay edible for years, even decades, but honey is a natural product, which means it will change over time. For honey, those changes may include darkening color, thicker consistency, and different taste. Changes in honey are actually good signs (so long as they're not signs of fermentation).
If you're considering throwing it away, think again. You don't have to toss that honey! Even if honey had been sitting on your shelf for 2,000 years, that honey would still be as good as the day you opened it. In a nutshell, well-stored honey never expires or spoils, even if it's been previously opened.
The best way to store honey is in a plastic sealable container or glass sealable container. The containers you will use to store honey should also be clean and dry before you put honey in them. Mason jars made using glass are loved by most homeowners and beekeepers for storing honey.
Keep honey in sealed container.
Glass jars with lids are also ideal for storing honey as long as the lids are on tight so the honey won't be exposed to air, while not being used. It isn't recommended to store your honey in non-food plastic containers or metal containers because they can cause honey to oxidize.
For best quality, store honey for up to 12 months. After that time, it remains safe but the quality may not be as good. Honey can become cloudy, crystallized or solidified but this is not a safety concern.
Honey isn't a perishable product. As long as it's stored in an air-tight container and isn't exposed to excess moisture, it will be safe to consume for decades or more.
Natural, properly preserved honey will not expire. In fact, archeologists found honey thousands of years old in ancient Egyptian tombs, and it was still good! While most of us don't need to worry about honey that old, their discovery proves that if properly contained, real honey can last for a very, very long time.
In 2015, archaeologists reported that they'd found 3,000-year-old honey while excavating tombs in Egypt, and it was perfectly edible. This durability is thanks to the unique features of honey: it is low in water and high in sugar, so bacteria cannot grow on it.
Funnily enough, honey is one of the only natural food products to have no expiration date. It can't go off! Even if you found honey on your shelf that was 2,000 years old it would still be good to eat. Honey is naturally antibacterial, which prevents any bacteria or funk from growing inside it.
But there's something about honey; it can remain preserved in a completely edible form, and while you wouldn't want to chow down on raw rice or straight salt, one could ostensibly dip into a thousand year old jar of honey and enjoy it, without preparation, as if it were a day old.
Similarly to ancient Egyptian tombs, a noblewoman's tomb contained honey stored in ceramic pots to accompany her on her afterlife journey. The most amazing thing about honey is not how old it is, but rather the fact that you can still eat it after thousands of years!
As long as your honey is sitting sealed on a shelf, it can stay good forever — which explains how scientists have found honey in dry Egyptian tombs that is still good to eat! There are several factors at play that give honey this unique — and delicious — chemical make-up.
Shelf Life
Honey is an ideal longer-term food storage option and will remain in great condition indefinitely, when stored appropriately. According to National Geographic pots of honey were found in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back over 3,000 years. Amazingly, after 3000 years the honey was still edible.
Honey won't go bad as long as it's stored properly and protected from external contamination. Crystallized honey is not an indicator of spoilage, but rather a sign of aging. To prevent honey from solidifying, keep your honey in an airtight container and place it in a cool, dark spot.
Honey should be stored in a cool, dry area inside a tightly covered container. Over time the honey will darken and flavor will change but it will be safe to eat indefinitely. As it darkens, it may lose some flavor or become cloudy. As the honey becomes cloudy, you may even notice crystals in it.
To slow crystallization naturally, store your honey at room temperature or warmer (the warmer the better). Store honey in glass jars instead of plastic.
Honey doesn't necessarily go bad in plastic containers, but it's not the most ideal way to store honey. Some containers made of plastics may contain chemicals that can leach into your honey.
Honey does not go bad. In fact, it's recognized as the only food that doesn't spoil. It will, however, crystallize (becoming thick and cloudy) over time. If this happens, just remove the lid from the jar, place it in a pan of water, and warm it over low heat until the honey returns to its original consistency.
Over time, natural honey will crystallise and air bubbles rise to the top of the jar, which causes the thicker, swirly white layer to form. This process is a sign that the honey has been packed naturally, without any heating or added artificial sugars.
Yes, you can store honey in the freezer. But raw honey doesn't quite “freeze” like water because of its low water content. As honey gets colder, it gets thicker and more viscous, meaning it flows less easily. If you put it in your freezer, it will solidify and keep — but it won't become rock-solid like an ice cube.