The Shelf Life of Honey: A Sticky Myth Uncovered

I have a confession to make. For several years I’ve been telling classes of children that honey lasts for an incredibly long time, and that honey taken from tombs in Egyptian pyramids is still edible even after several thousand years. It seems I was wrong, and by a large margin.

Where Did the Myth Come From?

The Egyptian dynasties had been a fascination for western nations through the 18th & 19th centuries, with public unwrappings of mummified corpses in theatres and private homes, and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. Against this backdrop, an article on the Egyptian tombs appeared in the National Geographic in 1913 which stated:

“Most startling of all was the discovery of a jar of honey, still liquid and still preserving its characteristic scent after 3,300 years!”

The source for this remarkable claim was a letter from Arthur Weigall, an English Egyptologist, to his sweetheart, where he states:

“In one corner were some jars of wine, the lids tied on with string; and among them was one huge alabaster jug full of honey still liquid. When I saw this I nearly fainted. The extraordinary sensation of finding oneself looking at a pot of honey as liquid and sticky as the honey one eats at breakfast and yet three thousand five hundred years old, was so dumbfounding that one felt as though one was mad or dreaming.”

Has Ancient Edible Honey Ever Really Been Found?

Despite analysis in the 1920s of ancient Egyptian jars marked “honey of good quality”, researchers were unable to determine what the dried material inside actually was. Still, the error has perpetuated until recently, with Smithsonian Magazine reporting in 2013 that modern archaeologists had found:

“Pots of honey, thousands of years old, and yet still preserved.”

Indeed, a Google search on “honey shelf life” repeats the old fables across numerous websites. In truth, although ancient Egyptians used honey for embalming and placed jars and honeycomb into tombs as food for the afterlife, no actual honey has ever been found that could be confidently identified—let alone eaten. Wax residue, yes. Edible honey, no.

So How Long Does Honey Last?

The shelf life of honey depends on its water content, floral sources, extraction, and storage.

Freezing honey will extend its shelf life considerably, but honey stored at normal temperatures will change colour and taste over time.

Author and honey expert Eva Crane wrote:

“In 1977 I had occasion to inspect and taste over a hundred samples of honey from different countries that had been stored for 20–25 years. None had suffered active spoilage, but the fine flavours that characterized many of the honeys had gone, and what was left was nondescript sweetness. Strong honey flavours tended to survive longest.”

Heather honey that had been stored for more than 20 years was eventually relegated to cooking, rather than table use.

Final Thoughts

So it appears the useful life of honey is decades at most - not millennia. It’s time to update my notes for talks!

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