Can you eat 5000 year old honey?

During excavations in ancient tombs in the pyramids of Egypt, archaeologists found vessels full of honey.

This ancient honey dates back nearly 3,000 years and is still edible.

Honey has been used throughout history, for a variety of reasons. The ancient Egyptians used it as a gift to the gods, as medicines and preservatives, and as an ingredient in mummification liquids. In modern times, we use honey as a sweetener. Honey has many properties that contribute to making its shelf life forever.

The honey found in King Tut's tomb in Egypt is not the oldest

The earliest known references for honey collection in the world are from the 8,000-year-old Ancient Cave paintings of Arania in Valencia, Spain.

If you think that the oldest honey in the world was found in the tomb of King Tut in Egypt, you are mistaken. Honey was highly respected in ancient Egypt, and until recently the world's oldest honey was found in an Egyptian cemetery. This 3,000-year-old honey was placed in pots within the tomb of the deceased pharaoh King Tut to keep him happy in his heavenly journey to the afterlife.

Hundreds of years earlier, around 2400 BC, the ancient Egyptians recalled hieroglyphs about beekeeping in the most appropriate place – the Temple of the Sun – demonstrating that honey had been an essential part of life in Egypt for thousands of years.

Long before that, around 4300 BC, in the Caucasus, deep inside the Republic of Georgia, an archaeological tomb site belonging to the Marcopi and Bedene people of the Araksis-Kura agricultural culture was discovered. The tomb belonged to an important president or commander, and many other people were buried with it.  Inside his Bronze Age burial site called Ananauri 3, cranberry offerings to the dead were found still red and very well preserved, although 4,300 years old, because they were treated with ancient honey. Even its aroma was still sweet and intense with a musk whiff. Many other wonderful ancient and precious objects were buried with the boss to accompany him to the afterlife. They are all skillfully mummified with honey, and therefore surprisingly well preserved.

Does raw honey go bad?

The short answer is that when raw honey is stored properly, it does not spoil. In fact, it's the only food on earth that doesn't spoil! This is because honey has many natural properties that make it resistant to fermentation, growth and reproduction of germs and other factors that usually shorten the shelf life of foods.

First of all, honey has a very low moisture content and a very high sugar content. The high sugar content leads to high osmotic pressure, which means that water will flow out of any germ cells, preventing them from growing or multiplying.

Sugar and water molecules also interact together in such a way that microorganisms cannot use water to ferment or break down honey. This makes it nearly impossible for germs to survive, protecting honey from damage.

Honey is also slightly acidic, which also contributes to the creation of an environment that is not friendly to germs and other microorganisms that may be harmful. Moreover, honey is so dense that it is almost impossible to dissolve oxygen in it. This also serves as a guarantee against the growth and reproduction of germs.

So why is there an expiration date on the honey bottle?

Honey can remain edible for years, even decades, but honey is a natural product, which means it will change over time. For honey, these changes may include a dark color, thicker texture and different taste.

Changes in honey are actually good signs (as long as they are not signs of fermentation), they prove that honey is of high quality and unpasteurized. Pasteurization is the process of heating honey to destroy natural yeasts, it helps the honey stay smoother for longer, and may remove some natural residues from honeycombs, but it is not necessary for food safety.

Expiry dates on commercially sold honey are a sign that stores are recycling newer, fresher stock. Most honey will probably sell out long before this date approaches, but if you pick up a bottle with only a few months left until its expiry date, you can rest assured that the honey will stay good for a long time to come.

So, the next time you add honey to a dessert or put it in tea for a sore throat, realize that its benefits go beyond just flavor. You can now justify buying as much honey as you want, as it won't expire.