Ancient honey is still edible after thousands of years

This ancient food has a secret that keeps it perfectly good to eat

By Smartasaurus· 1 min read Curious

Picture walking into a three-thousand-year-old Egyptian tomb

Mechanism call

Take a position: what's actually doing the work here?

One of these is closer than the rest. Commit before you find out.

The short version

This ancient food has a secret that keeps it perfectly good to eat
When bees make honey, they vomit it up.
Interestingly, because of these properties, honey was used for centuries as a wound dressing to prevent infection long before we understood what ba…

Honey is the only food that never spoils. You could walk into an Egyptian tomb from 3,000 years ago, crack open a sealed clay jar, and spread the contents on toast without getting sick.

Its immortality comes from a "perfect storm" of chemistry. Honey is naturally very acidic, with a pH that kills almost anything that tries to grow in it. It is also extremely low in moisture; it is so dry that it sucks the water out of bacteria through osmosis, effectively dehydrating them to death.

When bees make honey, they vomit it up. During this process, an enzyme in their stomachs called glucose oxidase mixes with the nectar. This enzyme breaks down into hydrogen peroxide—the same stuff you use to disinfect cuts in your kitchen cabinet.

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