How long does honey last

[wegotchickens]

I love dark honey!
My Grandpa's bees (in AZ) produced a dark honey they called Mesquite Honey (I don't think it was only from mesquite trees, but that's what they called it). This honey was as dark as molasses and had a very rich flavor. We opened the last jar of it about 2 years after Grandpa died. I cried all over again then, knowing I'd never get exaxtly that kinf of honey again.

I can't eat clover honey. It's like sugar water!
But I do enjoy several varieties of TN honey, and have a rainbow of jars in my pantry. Fun to look at them and decide what flavor I'm in the mood for!

 

[ranchhand]

The contractor I used to work for took on a remodel of a rent house years ago in Austin. I was the one who cleared the property out befor we started the remodel. There were FOUR- GALLON JARS of honey, and I pitched them because they had been there for many years!

Then, a year later, I find out that honey keeps forever!

I was so mad, sad, disappointed, etc. I didn't have a computer back in the Dark Ages, and couldn't ask ya'll then.

 

[wegotchickens]

Oh ranchhand how awful! It could've been the best honey ever!
The jar we opened from Grandpa's was sugared up pretty badly, but I like it that way. Spreads like jam on PB sandwiches, or a hot biscuit

 

[KattyKillFish]

honey doesn't spoil. if it starts getting crystalized you can put the jar in a pot of water and warm it up. don't let it boil though, just warm it, that should make the crystals go away.

and rachhand, don't beat yourself up. you didn't know any better and we all do things we wish we didnt. wether it's wasting your time with the wrong guy for four years or throwing out honey.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Thanks, honey!

back at ya!

Actually, this hair shirt is starting to get comfortable after all these years!

And there is ONE honey that spoils....

my "honey" spoils me rotten! Which is why I have sooo many chickens,

 

[Buckhorn Farm]

Quote:
Thanks, honey!

back at ya!

Actually, this hair shirt is starting to get comfortable after all these years!

And there is ONE honey that spoils....

my "honey" spoils me rotten! Which is why I have sooo many chickens,

I think Tupelo honey is the only one that will not crystalize......and it is great!

 

[wegotchickens]

Anybody got a good recipe for honey candy?


ranchhand, a Honey that spoils you is the very best kind

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
Ah, I know that feeling. My father kept bees for a couple of years before he got sick, and the honey from those hives was the most incredible honey I've ever had. My mother is an herbalist, her gardens provide all kinds of herbal nectar - when I ate the last of that honey I thought it was gone forever.

Then I met my New and Vastly Improved Husband 2.0. He wanted to keep bees! So we started our honeybee adventure. I've followed in my mother's footsteps with regards to gardening, I've got lots of herbs (but half her knowledge!) amonst the other perennials. We did get honey from that first year, and I was thrilled that it tasted just like the honey I remembered from Dad's hives!

Do you live anywhere near the same area as your grandfather did? Beekeeping is a very enjoyable hobby!

 

[wegotchickens]

That's cool that you're making your own honey, Reinbeau!

No, Grandpa lived in AZ and I live in TN.
The family that still lives on the old property are NOT interested in bees. And even if they were I doubt they would share any. So it makes me doubly sad when I think about Grandpa's honey!


Edited to add: I've thought about getting into beekeeping. But DH says no more pets!

(Yes, I know they aren't pets but he just means no more critters)

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

I think honey is good always but I wouldn't know....A jar doesn't last a week around here