Does honey lose its sweetness over a long period of time?
Honey is mostly ~ 75% sugars and (~ 18%) water, so while it might dry out, I don’t see it getting any less sweet unless it fermented into sweet, sweet alcohol*.
- and AFAIK you need to dilute it first for fermentation to work - more than ~ 1 measure of sugars on 6 measures of water will kill yeast.
Unless it stops being sugar somehow (which it generally doesn’t), No.
Honey is not likely to lose much if any of its sweetness through isomerization of glucose and fructose. The equilibrium between the two sugars lies at about 50% of each, which is roughly the composition found in fresh honey.
number from here:
Equilibrium kinetics of D-glucose to D-fructose isomerization catalyzed by glucose isomerase enzyme from Streptomyces phaeochromogenus.
Honey is unlikely to lose sweetness, but it can sour if it ferments, which is quite common if it’s poorly sealed in humid conditions. Honey is fairly loaded with osmophilic yeasts, which will produce ethanol and CO[sub]2[/sub]; exposure to air can result in further conversion to acetic acid.
Does honey flavored bubblegum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?
I seem to recall someone finding some in a pharoah’s tomb some honey, which still tasted like honey.