Love to eat honey but don't know how to store honey properly? Maintaining the freshness of honey is actually not difficult; You just need to find the right storage container and put the container filled with honey in a cool and dry place. If you want to increase its shelf life, honey can also be frozen and thawed whenever it will be consumed.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Storing Honey for Short Term Use
Step 1. Choose the right container
Of course you can store honey in its original container. However, if the container is damaged or leaking, you can transfer the honey to another container available in your kitchen. Some of the container options you can choose from include:
- Closed container made of plastic
- glass container
- Mason jar or cookie jar
Step 2. Choose a storage space with a consistent temperature
Preferably, honey is stored at a temperature of 10-20°C. Storing honey at inconsistent temperatures risks reducing its taste and darkening its color. To store honey, choose a storage room with the right and consistent temperature range.
Generally, a kitchen countertop is an ideal storage location. However, make sure that the honey is not placed close to the stove and refrigerator, especially since the temperatures in these two areas are very inconsistent
Step 3. Keep honey away from sun exposure
Sunlight also has the potential to damage the quality of honey. Therefore, make sure you store honey in a dark place. For example, don't put honey on the windowsill. Instead, store honey in the kitchen cupboard.
Step 4. Make sure the honey container is tightly closed
Prevent the possibility of outside air contaminating your honey. For that, make sure you close the honey tightly before storing it. Careful! Honey's taste, color and texture can change significantly when exposed to other substances and aromas present in the air. Honey can also absorb liquid if it is exposed to the open air for too long.
Method 2 of 3: Increase Honey Shelf Life
Step 1. Choose the right storage container
Honey that has not been used or consumed for months can crystallize. Although the process is normal, fixing honey that has already crystallized is of course quite a waste of your time and energy, right? Therefore, store honey in the freezer to prevent the texture from crystallizing. Store honey in a container that is large enough because the size of the honey will increase when frozen. If you bought honey in a pack, consume or move some of the contents of the container to create more space inside.
Some people prefer to freeze honey in ice cube molds. That way, you can dilute the honey in small portions whenever you want to eat it. If you want to use this method, try melting the honey in an ice cube mold and transferring the frozen honey to a plastic clip. Store the plastic clip containing the frozen honey back in the freezer
Step 2. Store honey in the freezer
After being put in a closed container, put the honey in the freezer. Honey has a shelf life of years if frozen in the freezer.
Although honey can last a very long time in the freezer, there's nothing wrong with writing the date the honey was stored in the container
Step 3. Melt the honey when it will be consumed
Melting honey is very easy: just store it in an airtight container and let it thaw naturally at room temperature. Don't be tempted to speed up the melting of honey by using unnatural methods!
Method 3 of 3: Maintaining Honey Quality
Step 1. Fix the crystallized honey so that it can be consumed again
In fact, honey has a very long shelf life; Theoretically, natural honey doesn't even have an expiration date. However, unfortunately, the texture of honey can crystallize if it is left for too long. If a similar situation happens to your honey, don't throw it away right away! Instead, improve the texture of the honey in the ways listed below.
- First of all, boil water in a saucepan. After that, put the container of honey into the pot. Make sure the honey container is tightly closed, yes!
- Turn off the stove. Don't lift the honey container if it's still hot! After a while, the honey texture should melt.
Step 2. Do not put the honey in a place that is too warm
Most people store honey in their kitchen so that they can be easily consumed whenever they want. If you do, at least don't put honey in a kitchen area that's too warm. Remember, excessive heat can damage the quality of honey! Therefore, never store it in a hot place such as in the oven.
Step 3. Do not store honey in the refrigerator
Honey can indeed be frozen and thawed whenever needed in the freezer. However, make sure you don't refrigerate it so the honey doesn't crystallize faster. If your kitchen is too hot, store the honey in a cooler room instead of the refrigerator.
