# Dark honey



## RuffusWI (Aug 18, 2011)

I have a bottle of honey that turned dark. (it's over a year old.) Is it any good?


----------



## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I heard that honey lasts forever and ever  how does it taste?


----------



## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I actually prefer "aged" honey, lol. The darker it gets, the more full-bodied and richer it tastes, yum! New, light honey just tastes like sugar water to me now that I've gotten used to the darker stuff. I buy honey in a five-gallon bucket and ladle it out into quart jars, seal and store in the pantry. As time goes on, it gets darker and richer, so now I buy it ahead of time just so it has time to darken before I use it. 

P.S. I don't think honey every actually goes "bad". It might crystallize, but it's still perfectly fine. Just set your container in a pan of water on low heat and let it simmer until it melts back to pouring consistency. Do NOT heat it on high or in the microwave, however, you'll destroy the natural enzymes.


----------



## RuffusWI (Aug 18, 2011)

Thanks! Great advice.. I know maple syrup and sorgum gets better with age. and Honey!
So today corn muffins with a touch of dark honey is in order!


----------



## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

If it is crystallized it can be restored by heating it to 135 degrees and the crystals will go away.


----------



## kimmom2five (Apr 19, 2009)

In the medical botany class I took in college we were told that honey is the only food that never goes bad. They have found honey in tombs in Egypt that is still good to eat.


----------



## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

I have never had honey darken when stored in glass or plastic containers. Don't know how it would darken.

Honey at the perfect humidity will not go bad. Let it get moist and it ferments, which frequently is not an improvement.

Honey can crystalize. Heating will remelt the crystals. It also changes the taste of the honey. The faster you heat it, or the higher temp you heat it to, the more the taste changes.

Honey color is usually indicative of the plants the bees were harvesting from. Very generically, the lighter the color, the lighter the taste.


----------



## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

All great information!


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Uhhh... hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I wouldn't trust it. There is a huge honey scandal going on now. The Chinese made a lot of honey in areas with banned pesticides. They got stopped from shipping it direct to the U.S., so they trans-ship to India and other countries, and sneak it into the market. I have NEVER EVER seen honey darken noticeably. I've seen it start somewhat dark and remain dark, maybe going a tiny bit darker, but not enough to be an issue. Any beekeepers want to set the record straight? I'm just going on what I've seen and recently read.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I have seen honey darken my whole life, much prior to Chinese imports.  It's not that big a deal.


----------



## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

It seems to darken if kept at a warmer than ideal temp. I stored a box of jars in a shipping container and they went very dark and took on the taste of caramel or similar.


----------



## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

Harry Chickpea said:


> There is a huge honey scandal going on now. The Chinese made a lot of honey in areas with banned pesticides. ... Any beekeepers want to set the record straight?


Yes, the Chinese have been dumping all kinds of adulterated honey on the U.S. market for many years. This is just the _latest_ scandal. 

Honey blends that you see on store shelves typically will not darken. They've been highly processed for maximum shelf life, and are primarily clover honey.

Raw honey from your local beekeeper will often darken, depending on the floral source of the honey. For example, my main honey crop is tulip poplar, which starts out dark (reddish brown), and gets darker with age.


----------



## mountainlaurel (Mar 5, 2010)

One of my neighbors gets his hives to buckwheat and that honey is dark and is it good. It's much darker than clover but I don't know if it gets darker later on or not.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Honey blends often have high fructose corn syrup and should be poured down the drain or on the compost pile.


----------



## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

If your honey is from a reliable source and not a blend. It should be fine. Honey will turn dark as it ages. 100% pure honey, w/ the correct moisture content @ the time of harvest will not spoil unless there is water or moisture add to it. If you open the jar and it smells sour /fermented- toss it.. or make some mead..lol


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Glad to learn this about darkening. Thanks!


----------



## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

I accidently darkened my neighbors honey one year when I planted buckwheat 

I did not know buckwheat had that effect!


----------



## RuffusWI (Aug 18, 2011)

I don't buy chinese food. I only buy honey/syrup
from local makers. I like to support the " little guy".


----------



## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

This past spring, I bought some real dark honey that was labeled as wildflower. That beekeeper has never had buckwheat but I figured that that may have been why it was dark. Since he farms his hives out as pollinators, he ends up with some interesting mixes. Buckwheat was not it since I've been well aware of the distinct taste of that honey since I was 9 or 10. Took the jar to our local farmers market and two beekeepers there also tasted it. Neither had a clue as to what it was but both agreed that there was not a drop of buckwheat honey in it. Other than being extra dark and thin, wasn't a bad honey.

Martin


----------



## stormwalker (Oct 27, 2004)

I have bought a couple of bottles of commercial honey in the past year.
My daughter and I literally could not tolerate it.
We couldn't even drink it in tea. 
It was supposed to be USA produced - who really knows.
Now, I do without if I can't find local honey.
This is no small thing!
Honey is sweetener, pancake syrup, ....etc.
I can't live properly without honey!


----------



## Durandal (Aug 19, 2007)

Honey darkens over time. I have pitch black honey that was simply reheated over time to recrystallize. I collect lots of different honey from friends that go on trips. Most are all black to dark amber in color. Usually its a heat issue.

What makes Chinese honey bad, besides heavy metals popping up here and there is how they A) treat their colonies of bees (using chemicals we do not allow in food) and be how they harvest their honey (often times from the brood space) which makes it easier for those chemicals to make it into the honey.

It does NOT change the color of the honey.

That said, if you are purchasing cheap honey from a major company chances are it has Chinese honey it. Purchase from your local beekeeper. Its worth the price.


----------

