Any beekeepers here?

[Volzfan]

I have been cleaning out some of the things in my Mom and Dad's house that they are not using and probably will never use. In doing so I came across a jar of honey that was from a friend of theirs who kept bees and sold honey in Mt. Juliet. He has been dead for quite a while. This jar of honey could easily be 25 years old.

Can anyone tell me if it is still good? I've heard that honey doesn't spoil.

[Guest jackdm3]

Supposedly, honey was discovered in Egypt area and fit to eat. In MY house, a 32 oz jar will turn chunky in two months. That's why the Egyptians invented the microwave oven!

[Jasongar8]

Is it still liquid? I have found some that was crystalized, but after I put the jar in warm water it returned to a liquid and was good to go.

[Volzfan]

Is it still liquid? I have found some that was crystalized, but after I put the jar in warm water it returned to a liquid and was good to go.

Yes it is still liquid but there was some crystallized at the top when I opened it. I heated it and as you said it returned to a liquid.

The honey is very dark, much darker than I have seen before. I have some store bought honey and it's very light colored. I don't know if it is caused by the type of flowers that it came from or if the age caused it to darken.

[Guest jackdm3]

Don't worry about that. My mom bought me a variety pack of 6 different honeys. And some of them were as dark as mo lass es. Brand new.

[Volzfan]

It looks more like molasses than it does honey.

[Jasongar8]

Yea the color depends on the flower/plant that it is made out of.

[Guest guardlobo]

I'm not a beekeeper, but my family makes bread on a regular basis using honey. And, I'm wanting to get into beekeeping soon.

Anyway, honey does darken with age. It is impressive that only the top of the jar is crystallized. This means the honey is most likely from Sage or Tupelo flowers. Honey gets stronger as it ages and can even ferment, but is still safe to eat (and won't make you drunk in case you were wondering about the fermentation ). Pasteurized honey usually stays in a more stable state than raw honey. However, this honey should be safe to eat. Try it, and if you don't like it plain you can always use it to cook with.

[Guest jackdm3]

No, he can always send it to us!

[vontar]

Nice find.

bon appetit.

Most likely it should still be good. In the condition you described it. I would be willing to take the first taste if only I was close enough to come to your house.

[Guest bubruins]

I actually am a beekeeper but only as a hobbyist. I've been working bees with my grandfather since the 6th grade when I won an essay contest with the prize being money for beekeeping equipment.

Middle TN typically has a pretty light crop of honey, but as jasongar8 and gaurdlobo said it all comes down to what plants and conditions its made with. I've never heard of honey becoming much darker with age, but it could explain why some old guys I know in Bedford County, TN keep a special reserve of 10-15yr old honey to enter in the fair every year for the dark category...

Don't worry about the crystallization, this can occur within one year of being produced for some honey. How quickly the honey crystallizes usually comes down to how much water content the honey has when it is harvested (provided that the jar has a good seal). Store bought honey (think Kroger brand) will not crystallize, at least not soon because it is pasteurized like gaurdlobo said. This usually just involves heating the honey to a very high temperature. The majority of local beekeepers will not do this because many people believe that heating the honey ruins the ability of local honey to help with allergies. How much of that is true? I don't know. All I know is that by not heating the honey I'll probably sell more honey.

I wouldn't worry about eating the honey. I'm actually pretty interested as to what 25 year old honey would taste like. I'll have to talk somebody in Bedford county into letting me try some of their old honey.