Storing honey, sugar and salt

Bacteria, yeasts and moulds need available water to grow. Sugar and salt contain practically none, and in honey the sugar is so concentrated that it binds the water tightly. If a germ gets in, the concentrated surroundings even draw water out of it. For the same reason, sugar and salt have long been used for preserving food – but that requires tested instructions.

The trouble starts when the supplies absorb moisture. Sugar and salt cake, because the grains partly dissolve in damp spots and stick together as they dry. Honey also attracts water. If it becomes too watery, yeasts can get to work: it begins to ferment, foams and smells sour.

Crystallisation of honey, on the other hand, is a natural and harmless process. The sugar in the honey forms fine crystals, and the honey becomes firm and pale. How quickly this happens depends on the type. It changes nothing about taste or shelf life.

After opening, decant sugar and salt into jars or tins with tightly closing lids; paper bags let moisture and pests through. Honey stays firmly closed in its original jar. Always use a dry, clean spoon – a wet spoon brings water and crumbs into the honey.

The storage place must be dry. Damp cellars are unsuitable, as is the spot next to the sink or cooker where steam rises all the time. Sugar also attracts ants; a tight lid keeps them out. Brown sugar, by the way, also goes hard when it dries out – then it helps to store it airtight.

If something has happened anyway, it is usually no reason to throw it away. Simply crush caked sugar or salt. Stand crystallised honey in its jar in a warm, not boiling, water bath and let it liquefy slowly; too much heat harms the aroma.

Children under 12 months get no honey – not even to sweeten porridge or tea. Honey can contain spores of the bacterium that causes botulism. For older children and adults they are generally harmless, but in an infant's still immature gut they can germinate and produce a dangerous toxin. Health authorities such as the CDC point this out explicitly.

Salt does not relieve thirst and does not replace drinking water. On the contrary, salty food increases water needs. So when water is scarce, use salt sparingly.

Sugar, salt, baking soda, citric acid and some cleaning products look confusingly alike as white powders. Label all containers clearly and store food apart from cleaning products. Throw things away if there is mould, pest infestation, an odd smell, or fermenting, foaming honey.

Sugar and honey provide almost nothing but energy, hardly any vitamins or protein. They are valuable in the stock because they make simple emergency food tastier and give quick energy – but they do not replace a balanced diet. Salt seasons food and belongs in almost every dish; iodised table salt is common in everyday use.

Households that rarely use salt or sugar buy small packs and use them up in everyday cooking. A big sack of sugar that sits in a damp cellar for years is more likely to become a lump than a reserve. As with the rest of the stock: label, seal tightly and use the oldest first.