为什么三千年前的蜂蜜依然可以食用

一九二二年，考古学家打开埃及法老图坦卡蒙的墓穴时，发现了珠宝、雕像和陶罐。其中一些陶罐里装着蜂蜜。距离它们被封存已经过去了三千年，里面的蜂蜜依然完好，事实上，你完全可以直接食用。

In 1922, when archaeologists opened the tomb of the Egyptian king Tutankhamun, they found jewelry, statues, and clay pots. Some of those pots held honey. Three thousand years had passed since they were sealed. The honey inside was still good. In fact, you could have eaten it.

这并不罕见。蜂蜜是世界上少数几种不会腐坏的天然食物之一。在格鲁吉亚等更古老的遗址中，考古学家也发现过蜂蜜罐，其中一罐是与一位贵族女性一起下葬的，距今约五千五百年。那些蜂蜜依然可以食用，依然香甜。

This is not unusual. Honey is one of the only natural foods in the world that does not spoil. Jars of honey from much older sites have also been recovered in places like Georgia, where archaeologists found honey buried with a noblewoman about 5,500 years ago. Still edible. Still sweet.

原因在于化学反应。细菌生长需要水分，而蜂蜜几乎不含水。蜜蜂采集的花蜜大约百分之八十是水，它们在蜂巢里扇动翅膀，把水分蒸发掉，最终把花蜜浓缩成含水量仅约百分之十七的浓稠液体。在这样的环境里，几乎没有什么能存活。

The reason comes down to chemistry. Bacteria need water to grow, and honey has almost none. Bees take nectar, which is roughly 80 percent water, and reduce it down to about 17 percent water by fanning their wings inside the hive. The result is a thick, dense liquid where nothing can really live.

蜂蜜还带有轻微的酸性，酸碱值大约在四左右。大多数细菌都不喜欢酸性环境。除此之外，蜜蜂还会在花蜜中加入少量的酶，这种酶会慢慢产生过氧化氢，一种温和的消毒剂，和药店里能买到的那种成分相同。

Honey is also slightly acidic, with a pH around 4. Most bacteria do not like acid. On top of that, bees add a small amount of an enzyme to the nectar that slowly produces hydrogen peroxide, a mild disinfectant. It is the same chemical you can buy at the pharmacy.

于是三重保护叠加在一起：没有水分，酸碱值低，还有持续存在的微量过氧化氢。只要蜂蜜密封良好、保持干燥，就几乎可以在货架上、洞穴里，或者墓穴中，存放到永远。

So three protections combine: no water, low pH, and a constant trace of peroxide. As long as honey is sealed and dry, it can sit on a shelf, in a cave, or in a tomb almost forever.

如果你的蜂蜜在罐子里结晶了，不要把它扔掉。把罐子放进一碗热水里慢慢加温，结晶就会融化。蜂蜜从来没有变坏，蜂蜜几乎永远不会变坏。

If your honey ever crystallizes in the jar, do not throw it out. Warm it gently in a bowl of hot water, and the crystals will dissolve. The honey was never bad. Honey is almost never bad.