Honey is the only edible food that never goes bad

The magical fact about honey is that it is the only edible food that never spoils. Honey is made from a mixture of enzymes released by bees and the nectar from flowers. The resulting liquid that is created has a very low amount of moisture and is highly acidic. The low moisture levels and the acidic property of honey naturally keeps bacteria away. Chemical Properties of Honey Honey is mainly made up of sugar. The high sugar content in honey means that this edible food contains very little amount of water in its natural state. The low amount of moisture in honey makes it impossible for microorganisms and bacteria to survive. The inability of microorganisms and bacteria to survive denies them the chance to spoil the honey. Apart from low water levels, honey is highly acidic. It has an average pH of around 4. The acidic nature of honey makes it kill any kind of bacteria and microorganisms trying to live in it. The absence of bacteria in honey brings about its special nature. The Magic of Bees The process of making honey involves bees collecting nectar from flowers. Naturally, nectar contains high amounts of water. We all know that high water levels results to increased availability of bacteria. But what happens to the moisture in the nectar? Well, the bees remove most of the water as they flap their wings with the intention of drying out the nectar. The resilient nature of honey is also brought about by the chemical nature of the bees’ stomach. The stomach of bees contains an enzyme known as glucose oxidase. When bees eject nectar into the combs from their mouths, glucose oxidase mixes with the nectar. Once the enzymes mixes with nectar, it breaks it down into hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid. Hydrogen peroxides destroys any bad thing that can grow.


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