How does a natural food like honey never expire, unlike other natural foods like fruits or vegetables?
In: Chemistry
It’s not necessarily that honey is natural and fruit are unnatural. It has more to do with the moisture content.
Food goes bad when bacteria starts growing in the food and begins to leave behind nasty byproducts that make the food inedible. This is normally fueled by the presence of water Sunlight is another way that food becomes spoiled and that’s driven by the decay of compounds through UV light.
In contrast, honey almost has no water which leads to a very hostile environment for bacteria. If a bacterium is able to start growing, the honey will quite literally suck the moisture out of it through osmosis, effectively killing it. Honey is also known to have a number of antibacterial compounds in it which also inhibits bacterial growth. Additionally, the acidity of honey is not ideal for bacterial growth.
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