How Should Honey Be Packaged and Stored? Key Technical Points Explained

1. Packaging of honey

Honey is a weakly acidic liquid that can oxidize metals, so non-metallic containers such as vats, wooden barrels and plastic buckets should be used for packaging, and dedicated packaging containers must be thoroughly washed and dried. In areas with high honey yields, honey storage tanks can be established, and wooden barrels or water vats may also be used for storage; the barrels and vats used should be free of off-odours. Packaged honey must not fill the container completely; especially during transport, 25%-30% of the space should be left to prevent the honey from fermenting and overflowing, or from bursting the container when heated and shaken. The filled honey should be placed in a dry, clean, ventilated and odourless room, with the room temperature kept at 5-10°C. Do not leave honey barrels outdoors for long periods; transfer them promptly to ensure the quality of the honey.

2. Storage of honey: Honey has the properties of absorbing odours, absorbing moisture and fermenting and spoiling, so the following points should be noted.

1. Store separately by flower source: Honey from different flower sources differs in colour, aroma and taste, so it should be stored separately to prevent mixing.

2. Keep it clean: Sometimes, due to careless work, the honey still contains pollen clumps, wax flakes, bee wings, bee legs, grit and even dead bees. In that case, the honey can be placed in a larger bucket and left to settle in a dry room at a higher temperature. The settling time required is 3 days at 20°C and only 10 hours at 35°C. Once the impurities have sunk and the lighter ones have floated to the surface, they can be skimmed off and the honey stored.

3. Avoid fermentation: Yeast is often present in honey and will break down part of the sugars in it. Unripe honey has a high water content, is suitable for yeast reproduction, easily turns sour and is not suitable for storage. Therefore, it must be treated before storage: put the honey into a wide-mouthed container, leave it open in a dry, ventilated room at a temperature above 25°C for several days to evaporate the excess water, and store it only after it is fully ripe.

4. Prevent moisture and odour absorption: According to tests, when honey is left exposed in a room with a relative humidity of 81%, its moisture content can increase to 32% after 3 months. Therefore, it is best to use sealed porcelain or pottery such as vats, jars and bowls, and store them in a dry, ventilated room at 5-10°C. If the container cannot be guaranteed to be sealed, items with strong odours must never be placed in the storage room at the same time, to prevent the honey from absorbing odours.

5. Crystallization of honey: Crystallization is another property of honey, and crystallized honey has three forms: greasy, fine-grained and coarse-grained. After crystallization, honey becomes thicker in form and lighter in colour, and can only be restored by heating to melt it. Light-coloured honey, after crystallization, can be ground fine with a stone mill to become a white greasy cream-like state. Temperature and the water content of the honey both affect its crystallization. Honey from different flowers also differs in crystallization speed and crystal form. Crystallized honey is easier to store and transport. To speed up crystallization, 0.5% old honey can be mixed into the honey. For honey supplied to the market in bottles or bags, to keep its appearance transparent and fluid, crystallization must be prevented, and a double boiler can be used for heating. When treating it, put water in the outer layer and honey in the inner layer; when the honey reaches 71°C, hold it for several minutes, then remove from the heat, let it stand for a day, skim off the surface foam, put it into sterilized glass bottles and seal them.