How to Keep Honey Through Bali's Rainy Season

Honey keeps because it is dry and acidic. The thing that ruins a jar is water. Bali's rainy season is very good at adding water: wet spoons, steamy kitchens, lids left off while you answer the door, jars under a window that drips.

You do not need a special cupboard. You need the lid on, and a spoon that did not just come out of a drink.

Do this every time

• Close the lid properly. A sticky thread down the outside means it was open longer than you thought.
• Use a dry spoon. If you stirred tea with it, wash it and dry it before it goes back, or use another spoon.
• Keep the jar in a cupboard, away from the stove and away from the window.
• Leave it at room temperature. The fridge makes crystals form faster, and it does not make the honey safer.
• Wipe the rim. Ants are after the smear, not a sealed jar of honey.

Ants

A trail of ants means sugar on the outside, or a lid that is not seated. Wash the jar, dry it, and put a small plate underneath so the next drip lands on something you can rinse. Do not store the jar open "so it is easy to reach." That is an invitation.

What is still fine after a month

• The color is a little darker.
• The honey has gone cloudy or grainy. That is crystallization, covered in this guide.
• It still smells like honey.

None of that means the jar has expired. An opened jar lasts as long as water stays out of it. We will not print a dramatic number of years on a blog post. Smell and taste are the honest check.

What is not fine

Throw it out if it smells like beer, wine, or vinegar, or if bubbles keep forming on the surface. That is fermentation. Moisture got in, yeast woke up, and warming the jar will not fix it.

A single slow bubble on a cold morning is not the same thing as a jar that hisses and smells sharp. When you are unsure, you are allowed to waste one jar. Honey is not expensive enough to argue with a bad smell.

Infants

Do not feed honey to children under 12 months, rainy season or not. Spores that are harmless to older children and adults can make a baby seriously ill. Keep the jar for the adults in the house.

If you are giving the jar away

Tell the other person the same three rules: lid on, dry spoon, no fridge. A short card does more than a ribbon. Ideas for who to give it to are in honey as a Bali gift.

If the jar you have is already fermented, replace it. Wildflower, jungle, and jelly are IDR 100,000 each, delivered in Bali after we confirm the order.