# Can Honey go bad



## Steeltapsryup (May 4, 2014)

I left all the Honey in my hives last year hoping that my bees will make it through the winter. 
Can the honey go bad. I am a first year beek here


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Honey can crystallize in the comb and be difficult for you (and sometimes also bees) to remove, but in general, honey does not _spoil _over time. Honey that has too high a moisture content can ferment, though. Humans call fermented honey _mead_.


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

Steeltapsryup said:


> I left all the Honey in my hives last year hoping that my bees will make it through the winter.
> Can the honey go bad. I am a first year beek here


If in the hive and capped, chances are NO. As Rader has stated, it can and will crystalize depending upon what type of honey it is, making it a pain to get out of the comb. Once extracted, or if the honey isn't low enough in moisture it can go bad with additional moisture and ferment. 

Graham - Do you like mead?


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

The honey that is left in the brood chamber will be turned into frames of new bees this spring. If you left supers on, that honey can be extracted and eaten or sold but the bees will probably be using the supers for a brood chamber by then. But the honey is good for a thousand years give or take a century if the bees cured and capped it and it stays dry.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

drlonzo said:


> Once extracted, or if the honey isn't low enough in moisture it can go bad with additional moisture and ferment.
> 
> Graham - Do you like mead?


 Please explain how extraction can make honey susceptible to spoilage? I never knew that.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

Tenbears said:


> Please explain how extraction can make honey susceptible to spoilage? I never knew that.


Extraction is only one part of the equation, the water content is another. In context, with the reference to mead, if there is sufficient water and the presence of yeast the yeast colonies will reproduce, consuming the sugars and excreting alcohol and carbon dioxide. Some of us hold the opinion that this is not necessarily a bad thing, and have even been known to encourage it.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Actually yeast either reproduces, or produces alcohol reproducing yeast does not produce alcohol. The oxygen in the must determines weather the individual yeasties acts aerobically or anaerobically as yeast produces alcohol in the absence of oxygen and reproduces in it's presence.

I still want to know how Extraction plays a role in spoilage, Unless it is the practice of extracting nectar along with the honey, thus diluting it. but that would not be from extraction, it would be from poor extraction.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Tenbears said:


> I still want to know how Extraction plays a role in spoilage, Unless it is the practice of extracting nectar along with the honey, thus diluting it. but that would not be from extraction, it would be from poor extraction.


I would say that extraction would encourage crystallization quicker than if you left it in capped comb. Honey during extraction will pick up contaminants and broken up pieces of wax due to the process.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Have to agree with Brian here. Extracted honey does granulate much more quickly than capped honey not that it's a necessarily a bad thing. It's the incorporation of air into the honey that's speeds the process. If it can be gently warmed just enough to clarify it immediately after extraction it will greatly slow the granulation.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Steeltapsryup said:


> I left all the Honey in my hives last year hoping that my bees will make it through the winter.
> Can the honey go bad.


Honey left on hives will not go bad under normal circumstances. Small hive beetles, generally not a problem in MI during the Winter, can damage comb and spoil the honey there in. You honey should be fine.

I know a beekeeper here in NY who harvests his honey crop from the previous year in May after it sat on hives all Winter.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> Extracted honey does granulate much more quickly than capped honey not that it's a necessarily a bad thing.


You would also agree that granulation is not spoilage, right? The original post was asking about honey left in combs and left on hives, not extracted honey.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Tenbears said:


> Please explain how extraction can make honey susceptible to spoilage? I never knew that.


Honey is hygroscopic, meaning it has a tendency to absorb moisture.

Extracted honey, if not kept in a closed container, can absorb airborne moisture, leading to fermentation.


> Honey, especially when rich in fructose, is very hygroscopic i.e. it absorbs moisture from the air when the container is not closed. This may lead to an increase in water content and possible fermentation. For this reason is it important that honey is always stored in containers with tight fitting lids.
> 
> ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/i0842e/i0842e10.pdf


I suspect that is what _drlonzo _was referring to in post #3.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

sqkcrk said:


> You would also agree that granulation is not spoilage, right? The original post was asking about honey left in combs and left on hives, not extracted honey.


Of course. I would say, generally speaking, that granulation is a good indicator in that it at least shows that it has not seen much heat or filtration. 
I also plead guilty to not having read the entire thread before replying.


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## Honey Hive Farms (Nov 1, 2012)

I would say you will be fine.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

jim lyon said:


> If it can be gently warmed just enough to clarify it immediately after extraction it will greatly slow the granulation.


Jim do you think the granulation will be quicker the second time? In other words if it crystallizes and then you warm it to clarify it will it crystallize quicker the next time?


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Honey is hygroscopic, meaning it has a tendency to absorb moisture.


Keep in mind that hygroscopic materials will give up moisture otherwise the bees would never be able to dry honey.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Acebird said:


> Keep in mind that hygroscopic materials will give up moisture otherwise the bees would never be able to dry honey.


Ace, bees don't "dry honey". inch:


It is *nectar *that the bees dehydrate. And no, nectar is _not _honey.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> And no, nectar is _not _honey.


Talk to Mark. do you think the bees add something to nectar to make it hygroscopic?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

What the bees "add" to nectar is "_*negative*_* moisture", Ace. :lpf:





* in this sense, _adding _a 'negative' is indicative of removing moisture.


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## Joe Mel (Jul 31, 2015)

No, your honey will not go bad, because honey can lasting many days.So, you can be sure that your honey will stay perfect.


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