Properly processed, packaged and stored honey maintains its quality for a long time. Honey stored in sealed containers can remain stable for decades. However, honey is sensitive to physical and chemical changes during storage. It tends to lose its aroma and taste. These are temperature-dependent processes, making it difficult to determine the shelf life of honey. For practical reasons, a lifetime of two years is often quoted.

This is a completely natural process by which the glucose in the honey is precipitated from the liquid honey. Different varieties of honey will crystallize at different rates, and some not at all. It does not affect the quality or the valuable components of the honey. If your honey has crystallized, simply place the jar in hot water and stir until the crystals dissolve. Be careful not to boil or burn the honey. Also keep in mind that you can eat honey in crystalline form.