Does honey go rotten

Answer 1

Rotting is usually the result of bacterial action, but honey has natural antibacterial properties.
Honey is principally a saturated or supersaturated solution of a mixture of sugars with traces of other things which give it its flavour. It is hygroscopic so any bacteria in contact with it are quickly dessicated and die, and yeasts and fungi cannot develop in such a high sugar concentration. In addition to this, one of the bees' enzymes -- glucose oxydase -- converts a small amount of the glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, which adds to the bactericidal action.
Honey should never be watered down unless for immediate use otherwise the natural yeasts that are present in the honey may cause fermentation. For this reason also containers should always be kept capped otherwise the hygroscopic honey will absorb moisture from the atmosphere and gradually dilute itself.

Answer 2

Natural honey is a highly viscous and sweet syrup. It is usually made by honey bees using the nectar of the flowers they have collected, followed by its refinement by their saliva, regurgitation into the beehive honeycomb cells and fanning it to remove water to its lowest levels. Many of the commercial honey brands contain either this natural honey or a viscous mixture of glucose and fructose obtained by chemical hydrolysis (inversions) of ordinary sugar solution followed by removal of much of water by evaporation at reduced pressures.

A good sample of honey has about 40 per cent of fructose, 30 per cent of glucose, 7 per cent of maltose, 1 per cent of sucrose and less than 20 per cent of water. Some of the biochemical ingredients and minerals at their trace levels render honey a bit acidic (pH is between 3 and 4). Thus, honey is said as a supercooled and mildly acidic liquid with a poor water content.

By the term, decay, we usually mean spoilage of a material from its original physicochemical status into an unwanted state. This decay is either by natural or environmental chemical means or by biological means.

In the case of honey, most of the chemical ingredients are thermodynamically stable under benign conditions. Even for the atmospheric oxidation of glucose, to produce hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid, it needs good amounts of water and dissolved oxygen which do not adequately exist in honey. Thus, a nicely preserved honey is inert to chemical decay.

The situation for even biological decay (by microorganisms) is also no way good because (i) the low pH, (ii) low water content, (iii) low nitrogenous (protein) content and (iv) high viscosity of honey do not allow survival and growth (colonization) of microorganisms. Instead, the low water content of honey makes it highly hygroscopic (water absorbing) and would be adverse to the microorganisms as their cells are prone to be dried to death through dehydration by the honey's 'thirst' for water. Further, in many microorganisms, the fructose metabolism is rather less developed than the glucose. That is why honey does not decay for many days. Ancestrally, it is known that good quality honey and objects immersed in it are preserved for decades and even, for centuries.

Answer 3

• The nectar brought to the hive by the bees is about 60% water. The bees "cure" it to about 18-19% water. At this level of water and with a pH of 3-4, the honey is very stable and can last for literally centuries. (It was found in Egyptian tombs.)

• However, if it is left exposed to the air, it will absorb water from the air. The greater concentration of water allows yeast (that is found naturally in the environment) to multiply. A by product of the yeast is alcohol - the honey ferments. If the correct yeast is present (and naturally occurring yeast is not such) it produces a drink known as mead. If allowed to ferment naturally, honey develops an unpalatable taste... though it is still sometimes used in baking where the alcohol is evaporated from the honey.

• The bees prevent the fermentation of the honey by sealing the honey in the honey comb. When we harvest the honey, we can leave it in the comb or extract it and seal it in jars, like the shelves of your local grocery store.

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