FoodCooking Science
Honey doesn't spoil. Chemistry won't allow it.
Honey is one of the only foods that essentially cannot spoil. At around 17% water it is dry enough to pull moisture out of any microbe that lands in it, and at roughly pH 3.9 it is acidic enough to finish the job.
Step by step
- Honey is only about 17% water — too dry for microbes to survive in.
- It's so hungry for moisture it pulls water out of any bacterium that lands in it.
- At roughly pH 3.9, the acidity finishes off most of what's left.
Source
This fact is written from the English Wikipedia article it links to, so you can check every word in one tap. Fact Drop rates that source 4 out of 5 for credibility, and the rating travels with the fact on the back of its card in the app.
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That shelf life is no accident — the bees build it in…
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