Honey - use by date

carriebradshaw

I love crystallised honey it's lovely spread on toast

Pollycat

OK.
That's it!
Enough talk about honey!

I'm going to have some Greek yogurt drizzled with some local Greek honey (that my friend brought back as a gift) topped with chopped walnuts and brazil nuts for my lunch.

I've no idea if the jar has a 'best before' date on it and if it does, it's probably out of date.
But it will still taste as good as when I first opened it.

(and I don't use a used knife or spoon or double-dip )

General_Grant

Fen1 wrote: »

Do you use a scrupulously clean knife every single time you take out some honey?
The honey itself will keep forever, but you could contaminate it by using unclean cutlery, e.g. honey on knife, spread it on buttered toast, use the same knife to get more honey, so introducing butter and toast into the pot. It's this cross-contamination that is dangerous, not the honey itself.

The correct method is to remove the honey with a clean spoon (or one of those honey twirler things) and place on plate. Use a knife to cut a portion of butter and put this also on plate. Using separate knife, spread butter and honey on toast - bite by bite, not all at once.

ariba10

I was brought up before “Best before” and “Use by” dates were thought of, and it has not harmed me (yet).

I have seen these dates on Potatoes and other root vegetables.

I can’t get my head around them.
“

Fen1

General Grant: that is exactly the method I was taught as a child. Whenever I have guests I always put a teaspoon next to each pot or decanted dish so that guests can follow this method.
I had one guest who didn't do this and used his butter knife to dip into the jam pot, thus contaminating the pot despite copious cutlery on the table.

As my grandmother would have said," Dragged up, not raised."

gt568

Luciecat63 wrote: »

I have two jars of honey in my cupboard, one is from a supermarket and the other from a local producer. Both have best before dates on.
I thought honey kept forever?

You'd better be on the safe side and send them to me. I'll test them for you to make sure it is safe to eat. You won't get them back though.

Mistral001

There seems to be some confusion on whether all tins, jars and packets of food legally have to have a best before date.

Tescos do not put a best before date on most packaged fruit and vegetables.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44207480https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44207480

buildersdaughter

Just back from staying with a beekeeper friend and had this discussion.
The point about using clean implements is a good, but separate point.

There is a small chance of contamination, and in a 'belt and braces' spirit, Food Safety regulations demand labelling with BB dates. Most beekeepers order their labels from specialist sites, and they can only buy them if they enter a 'best before' date.
It can safely be ignored, other than if you are feeding young children (very young, sadly, shouldn't have honey - see NHS advice) or those with compromised immunity.
I offer this in the usual spirit of forum advice, of course.

PipneyJane

buildersdaughter wrote: »

Just back from staying with a beekeeper friend and had this discussion.
The point about using clean implements is a good, but separate point.

There is a small chance of contamination, and in a 'belt and braces' spirit, Food Safety regulations demand labelling with BB dates. Most beekeepers order their labels from specialist sites, and they can only buy them if they enter a 'best before' date.
It can safely be ignored, other than if you are feeding young children (very young, sadly, shouldn't have honey - see NHS advice) or those with compromised immunity.
I offer this in the usual spirit of forum advice, of course.

i wonder if the label sites would accept an order to print a label with a best before date of 31 December 3050? :rotfl:

There'd be something wrong with the humans if a jar of honey isn't used up in a thousand years.

- Pip

Slinky

Pollycat wrote: »

OK.
That's it!
Enough talk about honey!

I'm going to have some Greek yogurt drizzled with some local Greek honey (that my friend brought back as a gift) topped with chopped walnuts and brazil nuts for my lunch.

I've no idea if the jar has a 'best before' date on it and if it does, it's probably out of date.
But it will still taste as good as when I first opened it.

(and I don't use a used knife or spoon or double-dip )

Mmmmm Greek honey, my absolute favourite.