How to store honey

The rules

• Keep the lid on. Honey is hygroscopic and pulls water from the air. Enough absorbed moisture and it can ferment — the one way honey genuinely spoils.
• Store at room temperature, ideally 18-24 °C. Around 14 °C is the fastest temperature for crystallisation, so a cold larder or an unheated cupboard is the worst place if you want it liquid.
• Never in the fridge. It will granulate quickly and become unmanageably stiff, and no benefit is gained.
• Away from direct sunlight, which heats it and degrades aroma and colour.
• Dry spoons only. A wet spoon introduces both water and microbes, and both defences depend on concentration.
• Glass or food-grade plastic. Honey's acidity reacts with unlined metal.

When it sets

Granulation is normal, universal and not spoilage. Every honey does it eventually. If you want it liquid again, stand the jar in water at around 40-50 °C and leave it, stirring occasionally. Take your time — high heat destroys aroma compounds, degrades enzymes and raises hydroxymethylfurfural, and a microwave does all three fast and unevenly.

It will crystallise again, usually sooner, because some crystal nuclei survive the warming. Repeated cycles progressively flatten the flavour, so it is worth deciding whether you actually mind the set texture — set honey spreads better and does not run off toast.

When to throw it away

Rarely, and there are specific signs. Fermentation is the real one: a frothy surface, an alcoholic or sour smell, or bubbling. That honey has absorbed too much moisture and should go.

Visible mould also means throw it away, though it is uncommon and usually indicates contamination or dilution. Everything else is fine. Darkening, a whitish frosting on the glass where the honey has pulled away, a layer of separated crystals, or a best-before date that passed years ago are all cosmetic or quality matters, not safety ones.