The only natural food that never spoils

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gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
Depends what you mean by spoil. Honey crystalizes and gets unusable with age, which I consider spoiled.
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
61
Honey is believed to be the only food that does not spoil.

Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found to still be edible.
 

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,503
136
Honey is believed to be the only food that does not spoil.

Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found to still be edible.

I wish I could verify that in person.

I want to go to Egypt, Israel, and Jordan as soon as Egypt is a little more stable.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Honey is believed to be the only food that does not spoil.

Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found to still be edible.
I'm pretty sure that's not how you check if something is edible.
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
61
Honey crystalizes and gets unusable with age, which I consider spoiled.

According to The National Honey Board, honey stored in sealed containers can remain stable for decades and even centuries!

Viable honey has been found in pyramids over 5,000 years old.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,730
4,703
75
Funny, honey stored at my house for a few years crystallizes. It can be re-heated to re-liquify it for awhile, but eventually it's pointless.

Edit: Redissove, you say? What, with water?
 

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,503
136
I thought it was sugar?

It mostly is. It has some trace minerals and vitamins, but you wouldn't want to survive on the stuff for that long (though you probably could).

Wikipedia said:
Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38.5%) and glucose (about 31.0%),[1] making it similar to the synthetically produced inverted sugar syrup, which is approximately 48% fructose, 47% glucose, and 5% sucrose. Honey's remaining carbohydrates include maltose, sucrose, and other complex carbohydrates.[1] As with all nutritive sweeteners, honey is mostly sugars and contains only trace amounts of vitamins or minerals.[30][31] Honey also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin.[32][33][vague] The specific composition of any batch of honey depends on the flowers available to the bees that produced the honey.[30]

Typical honey analysis:[34]

Fructose: 38.2%
Glucose: 31.3%
Maltose: 7.1%
Sucrose: 1.3%
Water: 17.2%
Higher sugars: 1.5%
Ash: 0.2%
Other/undetermined: 3.2%