Does Honey really have no expiration date?

[Some Android]

Title pretty much says it all. I've heard honey just doesn't go bad and could be eaten years or decades after bees make it. I'm just want someone to confirm or deny this.

[Jasdoif]

I've heard centuries, as long as it's kept dry. IIRC, honey's water activity is so low that contact with it basically sucks the water out of the cells of microorganisms, killing them before they can start consuming the sugars in the honey.

[Some Android]

I've heard centuries, as long as it's kept dry.

Can you define dry?:smallconfused:

[Khedrac]

According to National Geographic (http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/honey-in-the-pyramids.aspx) honey over 3000 years old was found in an edible state in Egyptian tombs. What we don't know was how sealed the chamber was.

Point to remember - when explorers first found remnants of the extinct giant sloth they assumed that the species was still around (despite having died out thousands of years earlier) because the cave the specimens came from had naturally preserved them (I think it was basically mummification - i.e. extreme dehydration - but applied to animal parts - fur etc. - not the whole animal so it wasn't obvious that it had happened). So, regardless of how well a food will store, conditions matter - some foods store better than others, but store them in the wrong way and I think even honey will probably 'go off'.

[Rockphed]

Can you define dry?:smallconfused:

In an airtight container or in a place with low enough humidity that the honey does not gain water over the course of a day. I remember the number 20% being important, but I cannot remember if that is 20% water or 20% sugar. Either way, there is a threshold beyond which micro-organisms cannot interact with the honey without being de-hydrated by it.

[hamishspence]

Some microorganisms can survive in honey as spores, even if they don't grow. Botulinum, for example.

[Keltest]

I've heard centuries, as long as it's kept dry. IIRC, honey's water activity is so low that contact with it basically sucks the water out of the cells of microorganisms, killing them before they can start consuming the sugars in the honey.

Exactly this. Stuff like Honey and Maple Syrup don't have enough air and water to survive as long as theyre properly stored and sealed. Bacteria cant thrive in a pure food environment. They'll pollute themselves to death long before they grow numerous enough to affect the product. Now that's not to say that they'll literally last forever; most packaging is at least a little bit water permeable, so if it sits on the shelf for a century, some of it is probably moldy. But that stuff will last for a really long time while still being perfectly safe.

[Dodom]

I've seen mold form above maple butter (like maple syrup, but with even less water so it has a semi-solid texture) and pickled products.
After observing the affected containers, my personal conclusion was that if the storage conditions allowed an evaporation/condensation process to happen, mycellium forming molds could take advantage of those water droplets on the container surfaces while having only minimal contact with the nutrient source.
The real scientific conclusion was that Dodom forgets jars of pickled products in the back of the fridge for way too long and should just stop buying them if she won't finish them.