What you need to know about honey storage

There’s nothing sweeter than having honey in your pantry, readily available to add a burst of nutritious sweetness and flavour to your meals or drinks at a moment’s notice.

And the beauty of honey is that it doesn’t require much in terms of storage: it’s perfectly happy sitting on your shelf, and can do so for months - even years! But even though honey doesn’t go bad, there are still ways to store it so that it retains its flavour and texture until you scrape that last golden drop out of the jar.

Here are some handy tips on ideal honey storage conditions:

Keep it at room temperature

For many of us, our first instinct when it comes to food preservation is to stick it in the fridge - but that wouldn’t work out so well for honey! While it doesn’t spoil, natural raw honey tends to granulate or crystallise, and that natural process is accelerated when it’s stored in cooler temperatures. Store your honey at room temperature, away from any appliances that generate heat (like ovens or kettles) - temperature fluctuations can cause the honey to darken in colour and degrade.

Ensure your jar is airtight

My Naturi honey comes in screw top jars which are airtight - but if you decide to decant the honey into another container, make sure no moisture can get into your honey. Honey doesn’t contain much water, which prevents bacteria from growing. Allowing moisture into your honey, either by dipping wet spoons into it, or by leaving it unsealed in our humid weather, could end up destroying it! If you plan on storing your honey in another jar, try a glass jar with a rubber-sealed lid. And that brings us to...

Use non-metallic jars

Metallic containers, even food-grade ones, should never be used for honey storage, as they can cause the honey to oxidise and give your delicious, delicately flavoured honey a strange metallic tang. Glass or plastic are your best bet.

Freeze only when absolutely necessary

While putting honey in the fridge isn’t recommended, you may freeze honey as a last resort if you’ve purchased an extremely large amount and you need to store it indefinitely. Honey contains a very low amount of moisture, so it won’t freeze solid - expect to see an icy slush that is difficult to drizzle over your food! If you tend to buy large containers of honey, pour a manageable amount of honey into a smaller glass or plastic container, and freeze the rest. 

If you’re getting to this blog a little late and your honey has already become grainy, don’t worry! Crystallised honey is completely normal and safe to eat - in fact, some people prefer the grainy texture when using it for marinades and spreads. Check out our blog post on honey crystallisation for delicious tips on using grainy honey, as well as pointers on how you can restore your honey to its original viscous form.

Ready to test out our storage tips? Shop our range of 100% natural, raw honey here!