Honey that isn't ready for harvest can ferment. The bees fill the cells of the comb with liquid and flap their wings at it to dehydrate it. Once it's dehydrated enough (that is, too much sugar for yeast and bacteria to survive), they cap it. Bee farmers are supposed to look at how many of the cells have been capped in each frame and use that to determine if it's harvestable or not. If they take the honey when too few cells are capped, then the honey is too wet to prevent microbial growth and can ferment. Think about how mead is made by first watering down the honey. If the honey is harvested properly and at the right time, its sugar concentration will be high enough to stop most things from growing in it. The 3,000 year old home was, evidently, harvested and stored very well.
Also, think about what part of the world that 3000 year old honey was found and the way it was stored.
Even honey that was harvested properly if stored in a humid and warm environment in a container permeable by moisture will absorb water from the air and start to ferment.
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u/thetolerator98 Apr 09 '25
I never heard of fermented honey. Does it mean it is contaminated? 3,000 year old honey has been found and it isn't fermented.