Many people will agree if I said one of the best creatures in this world is a bee. Bee has a lot of functions in this world one of them is as a pollinator for flowers. On the other hand, bees also produce a sweet liquid with a brown color called honey. Honestly, bees don’t produce honey by themself but collect it from the flowers and store in their nest. Many people wondering how to store honey because sometimes it getting stale.
Honey is not something that is consumed in a short time. It should be stored right to keep it fresh and safe from other creatures. Ant is one of the creatures that usually go around and eat honey. You should never want to consume some honey with an ant on it. Also, some mushroom can grow on the honey if it did not store well. That’s why it is important to know how to store honey so it can have a longer shelf life.
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How to Store Honey
Many people still store the honey in the freezer and that’s wrong. When you refrigerate it, it will be changed into a solid form. Moreover, you should warm it up when you want to use that honey. It is just something you don’t need to do, such a waste of time. In this article, we will tell you about how to store honey in the right way. Keep reading and enjoy this article.
1. Store the Honey on Plastic or Glass Container
Remember the second rule? Don’t ever store the honey in an opened container. Many people still do not care about that because they think it makes honey storability longer. Honey will be getting more liquid when interacting directly with open air. It also produces some water because honey has hygroscopic properties. It can cause the texture and the taste of the honey changes.
Did you know that stored some honey in a metal container can cause some chemical reaction? So, the best container to store it is the one with plastic or glass as the basic material. If you want to store honey in a long time, the glass container will be the perfect one to choose from. It is because glass can hold at high temperatures so the taste of honey didn’t change.
2. Avoid Heat and Moisture
The next you should put attention on how to store honey is heat and moisture, Something that can cause some damage to your honey is heat and moisture. A normal temperature in range 20-27 Celcius will be the perfect one. When your house is too warm, you can find a cool spot on your pantry and put the honey on there. On the other hand, you should also keep it away from any heat appliances or sunlight.
Moisture can make your honey getting wet, then has more chance to grow up the mushroom. Using a dry spoon when you take some amount of honey will avoid the moisture. Also, you should make sure the container has been sealed well. Water can start the fermentation process that you don’t want. Once this is happening, you can’t stop it and your honey will be contaminated and changes.
3. Avoid Direct Sunlight
Many people didn’t take care of where they put the honey after using it. It can also make the direct sun illumine the honey all day long. When you use the glass or plastic container, you should be careful with the sunlight. The temperature of your honey container will get higher while getting some sunlight directly.
Direct sunlight can make bacteria appear on honey. It can make the honey have a shorter shelf life. On the other hand, the quality of the honey will also decrease. Make sure you have put the honey in the right place after use or consume it. You should don’t want it if the honey gets damaged quickly. The sunlight can make your honey produce some water. It can cause some taste changes in it.
Honey Can Stand for a Long Time
This universe has a magical reaction while they create honey and bees. However, honey is known as a long-time natural food. Honey contains a high concentration of sugars that make it has a sweet taste. Sugar also can be a natural preservative so the honey can stand for a long time. It may have a different aroma from the start but honey will not be going “bad” as other foods.
While you buy some money on the store, that must be a “best used before” label. But it just for some business obligatory purposes. The product that revolves in any market should have that label as a mandatory requirement. You may see some black spot on the honey but don’t worry, you still can use it. It is just a chemical reaction that caused the honey crystallized and change in color.
Easy Way to Fix Crystallized Honey
Some of the people did not know what happens when their honey appear in some cloud during the storage process. While this happens to you, You don’t need to be disappointed with it. Scientists usually called it a crystallization process. This is a natural phenomenon that makes honey getting harsh. It does not indicate any deterioration or something bad on it.
Natural honey from wild areas like forests or mountains will be crystallized faster than commercial ones. You can easily make the honey as the liquid-like before. Just heat some amount of water on the pan, don’t take it too hot. Heat may change the flavor of your honey and the texture so you should be careful. If that honey gets some overheat, then it can change into a crystallized all of it.
There are some tips about how to store honey in the right way. I hope this article can help you and make you more careful while stored honey. Remember to put it in places that didn’t get direct sunlight. You can consume those honey in a long time as far as you can attempt to take care of it.
