10 year old honey with slight fermented smell

6035 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Michael Bush, Apr 14, 2014

ldpetchell

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2014

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone could help me with some research. It's an interesting story too. My mother just sold her house, as my step father passed away a couple years ago. Well in the process of packing up her things to move, and my step father's belongings, we found a large barrel in a shed. After asking her, my mother told me that my step father stored the barrel there for a friend (who has moved and doesn't want to deal with it now). She said the barrel is filled with honey and possibly honey comb. So this barrel is HEAVY! My husband thinks it weighs at least a few hundred pounds or more. We moved it to our house (just curious to see what was inside), opened it and found fairly clear honey substance. It seems to be crystallized half way down. If there are combs in the barrel, they must have sunk to the bottom. The liquid smells sort of fermented. My mother was brave and tasted it. She said it didn't taste bad. The inside of the barrel seems in good shape, but outside is a bit rusted. Interestingly enough, it's been in that shed for over 10 years. What do you think the viability of this honey is? Can it be saved, and moved to smaller containers? Tried to attach a picture, but couldn't get it to work.

Appreciate any help!

Laura

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Rader Sidetrack

· #2 · Apr 13, 2014

Welcome to Beesource!

Honey weighs about 12 lbs per gallon (compare to water at 8.3 lbs), so its not surprising the barrel is 'heavy'.

Difficult to say what you mean by 'viability' of the honey. Most likely it is fine to feed back to bees, or to make mead from. Most likely, it will be fine for humans to eat also, but whether the taste of what may be slightly fermented honey is appealing is a personal choice.

Honey can generally be de-crystallized by warming it.

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ldpetchell

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 13, 2014

Rader Sidetrack said:
Welcome to Beesource!

Honey weighs about 12 lbs per gallon (compare to water at 8.3 lbs), so its not surprising the barrel is 'heavy'.

Difficult to say what you mean by 'viability' of the honey. Most likely it is fine to feed back to bees, or to make mead from. Most likely, it will be fine for humans to eat also, but whether the taste of what may be slightly fermented honey is appealing is a personal choice.

Honey can generally be de-crystallized by warming it.

Is there a way to really know if it's safe to eat? I would like to move it into smaller containers, but see know reason in doing this if it's not safe to eat. If I move it to smaller containers, should I filter it in some way? Would making mead be the safest thing to do with it?

Thanks for your time.

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Rader Sidetrack

· #4 · Apr 13, 2014

> Is there a way to really know if it's safe to eat?

Monitor your mother's health!

You can have honey tested if you are prepared to pay for it ...
http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-testing-and-regulations/find-a-honey-testing-lab/

I personally would eat that honey - if I liked the taste.
But then I also eat fruits and vegetables directly out of my garden without washing them.

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ldpetchell

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 13, 2014

Rader Sidetrack said:
> Is there a way to really know if it's safe to eat?

Monitor your mother's health!

You can have honey tested if you are prepared to pay for it ...
http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-testing-and-regulations/find-a-honey-testing-lab/

I personally would eat that honey - if I liked the taste.
But then I also eat fruits and vegetables directly out of my garden without washing them.

Ha, ha! Well my mother hasn't shown signs of sickness, but she only tasted a bit from her finger. It only worries me because I'm not sure it's storage was the best. The shed was a dirt floor, with no insulation. So the temps I'm sure affected it. Plus, although the metal drum looks ok inside, the outside is rusted. The lid was tightened down well enough, but under the lid the honey was just covered by a layer of plastic. I guess I need to taste it myself too.

Me too about the veggies; cucumbers straight from the vine are the best! Thanks for the link and info.

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Rader Sidetrack

· #6 · Apr 14, 2014

Stored honey is a pretty safe food ...

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...ind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/?no-ist

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flhultra

· #7 · Apr 14, 2014

it's fine, send it to me I'll eat it.
put a cloth over the barrel let it breath a couple days ,smell should be gone.

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Bee Man

· #8 · Apr 14, 2014

honey should be fine! honey itself has antibacterial and antifungal properties.

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BeeGora

· #9 · Apr 14, 2014

Would there be any concerns about the honey being stored in a metal drum vs a wooden one? Just wondering if the metal would leach into the honey over the years.

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Michael Bush

· #10 · Apr 14, 2014

>Is there a way to really know if it's safe to eat?

There is no reason to believe it's not. But of course you had no control over it before you got it, so you can't know what might be in it, but I see no reason to believe it's not just good honey.

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