# Why Doesn't Sugar Go Bad?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 26, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081 "2014-07-26T03:58:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081/21 "2014-07-26T15:07:25Z")

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> [@Blake](#):
>
> Organisms can grow on some pretty surprising media, including pure water and rocks. Fuel isn’t essential since plenty of organisms can get their energy from the sun, or from rocks, and their carbon from the air.
> 
> The only thing universally required for a growth medium is water, which is what your sugar lacks.

I’m not sure what you mean by “pure water,” but organisms certainly need more than pure H2O and air to grow. They need a variety of minerals, potentially including nitrogen (in a usable form, which for most organisms doesn’t include atmospheric nitrogen), phosphorus, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and others. Now rainwater contains sufficient amounts of many of these minerals to support growth, but organisms can’t grow in pure distilled water without other inputs.

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**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081/22 "2014-07-26T18:33:59Z")

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I’ve been told that sugar and salt are the only two common kitchen ingredients that don’t spoil, because they are pure chemicals. But how about baking soda or vinegar?

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**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081/23 "2014-07-26T18:54:30Z")

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it is not that they are pure, it is if they are dry.

if kept dry lots of solids won’t spoil.

vinegar is wet. it will support the growth of some microorganisms.

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081/24 "2014-07-26T18:57:32Z")

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> [@JohnGalt](#):
>
> I’ve been told that sugar and salt are the only two common kitchen ingredients that don’t spoil, because they are pure chemicals. But how about baking soda or vinegar?

Honey doesn’t go bad (any time soon).

Also, what do you consider ‘spoil’ there’s a difference between ‘it’ll make you sick’ and ‘most people won’t eat it’. After a few years baking soda or baking powder isn’t going to work as intended. Vinegar, after a few years, while still safe, will get "mother of vinegar’ in it. No one wants to use vinegar that looks like someone sneezed in it.

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**Author:** ![EdwinAmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5fc32e/32.png) [@EdwinAmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwinAmi)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-sugar-go-bad/694081/25 "2014-07-26T18:59:36Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> ve been told that sugar and salt are the only two common kitchen ingredients that don’t spoil, because they are pure chemicals. But how about baking soda or vinegar?

Yeah, those too. Vinegar is acetic acid solution (mostly), and baking soda is sodium bicarbonate.

Note though, that like we said, honey doesn’t spoil.

Lots of things don’t spoil under normal kitchen storage conditions. Rice, other grains. Soy sauce. Worcestershire sauce. Lots of things

Hell, look at how much produce can last so long. Pumpkins, turnips, potatoes, onions. People practiced agriculture for 4000+ years, and that frequently involved storing tuberous/bulb vegetables/starches well enough that they remained alive through the winter until next year when you’d plant again. This is what root cellars were for

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