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So basically the big secret is putting it inside an airtight container? Wow. That wouldn't work with any other kind of food! To downvoters: please read the ar
by brazzy 13y ago
So basically the big secret is putting it inside an airtight container?
Wow. That wouldn't work with any other kind of food!
To downvoters: please read the article. all of it
- Qworg 13y agoActually, honey keeps as long as you don't get extra water into it. Almost nothing else does. The container is key for storing it in terrible conditions.
- throwaway1979 13y agoI feel bad for wasting honey in the past. I heard a story about a friend of a friend of a friend (...) getting some kind of toxic shock from old honey. That freaked me out. My wife has yelled at me saying honey keeps .. should've listened to her :(
- dagw 13y agoToxic shock from honey is possible, but it is due to the honey being made using pollen from flowers that are toxic to humans.
- beagle3 13y agoYou can get toxic shock from the newest honey as well. All you have to do is be a newborn (up until about one year). http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/infantbotulismhoney.htm http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/infantbotulismhoney.h...
- ensignavenger 13y agoI did some research on this recently because my son just turned 1 year old. It seems as though the recommendation not to give honey to an infant comes from some scientific research done a few decades ago, which found a slightly increased risk of illness. However, if I remember correctly, pasturization was thought to be an effective counter-measure. Apparently, no body has done any research to prove that pasturized honey is safe for infants, so the recomendation has continued to not feed any honey to infants.
- quasque 13y agoPasteurisation, if done correctly, will destroy the toxin but may not get rid of the bacterium - this is because the spores are resistant to heat. The risk is that infants in the first few months of life have not fully developed their gut defences, so the spores can colonise within the intestine and release the toxin. In older children and adults, any spores will be annihilated during passage through the digestive system, so it is safe for them to consume honey.
- Qworg 13y agoBotulism is very real and very scary. I wouldn't risk it on pasteurization. I would also not recommend pasteurized honey - it destroys a lot of what makes honey good when you heat it so high.
- brazzy 13y ago> Actually, honey keeps as long as you don't get extra water into it And you will get extra water in the form of air moisture into it by not storing it in an airtight container. > The container is key for storing it in terrible conditions. Terrible conditions such as pretty much everywhere except a desert.
- stephengillie 13y agoSomeone didn't read the article...
- brazzy 13y agoyes - you. From TFA: A jar of honey’s seal, it turns out, is the final factor that’s key to honey’s long shelf life, as exemplified by the storied millennia-old Egyptian specimens. While honey is certainly a super-food, it isn’t supernatural–if you leave it out, unsealed in a humid environment, it will spoil.
- kbenson 13y agoFinal doesn't mean most important, and if that was the big secret, then we would be seeing many foods lasting extremely long times (millennia in this case), but we don't. That points to the big secret being the chemical makeup, plus keeping moisture away.
- ramayac 13y agoNot exactly, the secret it's is acidity: "It [Honey] has a pH that falls between 3 and 4.5, approximately, and that acid will kill off almost anything that wants to grow there". Which makes the life expectancy of bacteria and fungi inside of honey too low.
- brazzy 13y agoExcept that would not work if it were not inside an airtight container, as it would draw additional moisture from the air.
- zaphar 13y agoNot exactly the secret is it's acidity and it's Hydrogen Peroxide, and is't low water content. The point of the article is that there were multiple factors involved in Honey's "magical" properties.
- tqi 13y agoI know you meant it sarcastically, but it's actually true - that wouldn't work with [almost] any other kind of food. First, it seems like you are conflating airtight and vacuum sealed. For most foods, simply putting it in a sealed container won't do much good. Honey will stay good for centuries. Second, even with vacuum sealing, almost all other foods will spoil eventually, especially if not refrigerated.
- jballanc 13y agoActually, no, many other kinds of food cannot be preserved simply by storage in airtight containers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism#Prevention http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism#Prevention
- Florin_Andrei 13y agoA piece of blue cheese in an airtight container would still spoil. Or a hamburger. Or a banana. Or just about any other food.
- a8da6b0c91d 13y agoWhite rice would keep. I think a lot of whole grains and seeds would last ages, too. I believe in the same referenced tombs they found various seeds that could still be sprouted. Really, a lot of completely dehydrated foods would keep in an airtight container in the desert. From your list, I wouldn't be surprised if completely dehydrated banana chips kept OK.
- hobs 13y agoYep, the article mentions the rice, and to expound further, this is basically the concept of a seed bank, a cold dry storage for seeds in case we need them in the future.
- contingencies 13y agoHaha. I wonder how the 'pottery jar with lid' approach contrasts with the budget of Kew Gardens' seedbank in London.