Honey in a can

[WyomingEMT]

My dad gave me all his honey that has been stored for 30+ years in his basement by the furnace. The Honey is in metal cans approx five gallon size and is starting to oozz from the top. Does anyone know what I need to do with this honey to salvage it. did'nt they find honey still good in the pyrimids? Wonder if there honey was oozzing too.

[NeuroTypical]

When grandma died, we busted into her 30+ yr old five gallon can of honey. About half of it had crystalized, the other half was still honey.

If it's oozing, maybe you want to open it, salvage the good stuff by putting it in jars or whatever. I would guess it would be a good idea to boil the heck out of it before you taste any.

They found 5000 yr old honey, yes. It had turned black, and I can't find a single source of someone tasting it.

[Gwen]

i have always been told that sugar and honey are the only things that will never go bad... unless contaminated. even if it crystallizes it's still good, just boil it to a liquid again. i'm not sure why it would ooze from a properly sealed can. i would check it for contamination but other than that in theory it should still be good.

Honey Storage Tips (look at the shelf life part too, that has info on the stuff found in the tombs)

[WyomingEMT]

I'm not sure why its oozing, it's next to the furnace and it heats up then gets cold next to the cement wall.

[rameumptom]

Boil the honey, re-can it, and it should be good. It is okay if it crystalizes, just heat it in the microwave or on the stove to reconstitute it.

[Gwen]

the link i posted says not to boil honey.... but i don't know why. lol it just says

Remember, never boil honey!

[WyomingEMT]

Can I get a large (very large) pan, fill it with water and boil the 5 gallons of honey in the medal can to heat it up. I would have to cut the top off or open up the side to get to the hardend honey.

[Gwen]

i don't know how much you have but i would be tempted to just open it up (at least one can), see if it's been contaminated, taste it, etc. see if it's worth keeping. has it been filtered? it may be the wax at the bottom in which case i would strain the honey off the top and toss the wax (or if you are really handy i guess you could use it for something). if it's good but starting to crystallize you can heat it in smaller batches on the stove then re pack it in glass jars. from what i've read you don't have to heat the jars or anything for special storing. as long as it's not contaminated it won't go bad, no need for a preserving process. just keep it clean.

but that's my really really armature thought. lol

[Dr T]

I thought this was about a spouse being in jail.

[WyomingEMT]

Opening up the cans will be the best route, that way I can see what I have and I can work with it in smaller quantities.

[jennvan]

I would be worried about the honey oozing out the top of the can if it had been canned. Honey actually contains the botulism toxin (Clostridium botulinum) and if not handled correctly can cause problems (which is also why you don't feed children under 2 honey, they don't have the enzymes to deal with it).

Also, when we moved some of the food storage at my mom's place we came across some honey that had "shrunk" to half the size of the plastic container it had been sealed in. When we opened it, it was all dark and smelled really bad. After consulting our local beekeeper, we found out that honey can sometimes get a fungus in it that spoils the honey so we had to throw it out. I guess if you get it hot enough (ie: actually boil it) you could kill the fungus but I wouldn't want to eat it, even if it was dead. I also don't like mushrooms. :) No fungi for me. :)

[WyomingEMT]

Thank you, thank you, it's not worth taking a chance, so I'm throwing the honey cans away. It was going to be alot of work anyway.

[Raven21633]

I was a bit concerned about the "oozing" too, as well as the fact that it had been stored next to a water-heater, and you did mention severe temperature fluctuations. All of which is very bad ju-ju for any long-term food storage.

[lindapruss]

YES! Just put in jars and your good to go! honey never goes bad. If you get crystals, just warm up. Honey will get darker the older it gets. i went to bee keeper web sites.