Man has been aware of the value of honey for many centuries. A painting found on a rock in Spain, which is thought to be thousands of years old, show men taking honeycomb from a hole in a cliff. The ancient Egyptians used honey in cooking and for medicinal purposes and made sacrificial offerings of it to their gods. Honey has also been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs in a sealed container and found to be almost as good in quality as the day it was made thousands of years before. Britain was once called the Isle of Honey and it was used widely in cooking before the advent of white sugar. The most popular use for honey was in the preparation of alcoholic drinks, such as mead. It was made from the honey, which remained in the combs after extraction by crushing and draining. The pieces of comb were then washed and the honey used to brew mead.

Storing Honey:
Store in a covered container in a dry place at room temperature. If exposed to the air, honey tends to lose its flavor and absorb moisture. Honey kept some time tends to become darker and stronger, but will still be usable. It may also crystallize if kept at too cool a temperature. However, this does not affect the quality of the honey. In fact, crystallization will occur more readily in a pure and better quality honey. Sometimes a white layer will form on top of crystallized honey as tiny air bubbles are squeezed onto the surface. This does not mean the honey is spoiled. Pure, natural raw honey will never spoil and crystallization can easily be remedied by placing the container in warm water until the crystals disappear.

Source: Goodness factsheets