Editing Honey (section)

=== Preservation ===
Because of its composition and chemical properties, honey is suitable for long-term storage, and is easily assimilated even after long preservation. Honey, and objects immersed in honey, have been preserved for centuries.<ref>{{cite wikisource |first=H. A. |last=Hagen |title=The History of the Origin and Development of Museums |wslink=The American Naturalist/Volume 10/Number 2/The History of the Origin and Development of Museums |jstor=2448028 |journal=[[The American Naturalist]] |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=82–83 |year=1876 |editor-last=Packard |editor-first=Alpheus Spring |scan=Page:The American naturalist. (IA mobot31753002156567).pdf/88}}</ref><ref>1894. [https://archive.org/details/mummychapterson00budggoog ''The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology'']. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Reprinted New York: Dover Publications, 1989)</ref> (However, no edible honey has been found in Egyptian tombs; all such cases have been proven to be other substances or only chemical traces.<ref>[https://gwern.net/doc/history/1975-leek.pdf#page=3 "Some Evidence of Bees and Honey in Ancient Egypt"], F. Filce Leek 1975 (DOI: 10.1080/0005772x.1975.11097564)</ref>) The key to preservation is limiting access to humidity. In its cured state, honey has a sufficiently high sugar content to inhibit fermentation. If exposed to moist air, its [[hydrophilic]] properties pull moisture into the honey, eventually diluting it to the point that fermentation can begin.<ref name="Bee Culture' Page 348" />

The long [[shelf life]] of honey is attributed to an [[enzyme]] found in the stomach of bees. The bees mix [[glucose oxidase]] with expelled nectar they previously consumed, creating two [[byproduct]]s – [[gluconic acid]] and [[hydrogen peroxide]], which are partially responsible for honey acidity and suppression of bacterial growth.<ref name=Geiling />