Storing honey

Storing honey comes down to three things: the vessel, the air around it and the temperature. Honey is not spoiled by the bacteria and moulds that ruin most foods; its risks are fermentation, the main threat to unprocessed honey, and slow ageing. FAO puts the safe line for fermentation at a water content under 18 %.

Vessels should be glass, stainless steel, or coated with food-approved plastic, paint or beeswax, and must not smell of anything, since honey takes up any odour. A container that once held chemicals, oil or petroleum products is never suitable. An airtight lid keeps damp air out.

The room should stay near 20 °C, which FAO calls an economical compromise, with relative humidity under 65 % and no heat or sunlight. Above 25 °C chemical and enzyme changes speed up: acidity and HMF rise, enzymes fade, and colour, taste and aroma drift. Only cold below 5 °C stops crystallisation, melting and fermentation all at once, but it is expensive.

Shelf life is judged by diastase. Its activity halves at 20 °C in about 4 years, at 25 °C in 18 months and at 30 °C in roughly 6.6 months; a honey that starts with 16 units falls below the EU minimum of 8 after one such period.

Why this matters to you: a jar beside the cooker or a bottle at a sunny market stall ages far faster than one in a cupboard; FAO says honey bottles should never stand in the sun. At home, a closed jar in a dark place near 20 °C is enough.