A quick search suggests that the average American uses about 1.3 pounds of honey per year. If I’m 40 years old, and guess that I might live to be 80, that’s only 52 pounds of honey, which I could easily buy in bulk. Honey doesn’t expire, and even assuming the price doesn’t skyrocket from bee die-offs, inflation alone will make the price go up over time.
Does it make sense to buy all the rest of the honey I’ll ever need for the rest of my life, right now?
As a kid we had a neighbor that ran a bee-brothel and had hives all over the region. Since his hives would just sit on un-used corners of farmland, he would offer some honey annually as ‘rent’. (He was also generous with his boat so a couple waterskiing trips were also on the table).
We (2 parents, 4 kids) would get a 5 gallon can of honey every other year or so.
That has been over 45 years now and my father is still working through that supply. We put it in sealed mason jars and it has remained good all this time.
Do you actually eat 1.3 pounds a year tho? If so, then it does.
Beekeeper here. I won’t comment on whether or not you should. But since I know a little about storing honey, here are some things to consider:
If you do this, you need to make sure it’s sealed in airtight containers.
Part of what gives honey its antimicrobial properties (and long shelf life) is its low moisture content. But it’s hygroscopic and will pull moisture directly from the air if exposed. After it pulls enough moisture, it can ferment, grow bacteria, or otherwise not be fit for normal consumption.
Also, honey can crystallize over time. This doesn’t mean it’s bad, but in order to re-liquify it, you’ll need to heat it. So consider your storage container size and material carefully.
That said, 52 lbs is less than a 5 gallon bucket full (at roughly 12 lbs / gallon), so it shouldn’t take an incredible amount of space if you choose to do it. Or, in smaller portions, a quart mason jar will hold about 3 lbs. So 2 cases (12 jars each) would exceed your quantity requirements, and be more manageable than a 60lb bucket.
Also if you can buy it in bulk at wholesale prices, it will be cheaper. Retail can be anywhere from $5-$20 per pound (depending on what/where) whereas the last I checked, wholesale prices were more like $1.50 - $3.50 per pound, depending on quantity.
Hope that helps.
Where do you recommend wholesale purchases from?
I’ll add that if you have all that honey, you might also eat more of it than you’d initially planned and run out sooner. Personally, I would start putting spoonfuls in my tea, using honey instead of jam, maybe experimenting with baking…
i would not consider buying this much honey, personally, but i really appreciate your comment. it is so informative.
thank you! (sincere)
Does anyone else REALLY want this crazy honey buyer to get his honey from this knowledgeable beekeeper? It’s a Lemmy matchmaking story!
Unfortunately, I’ve really scaled back my number of hives and now only get enough honey to keep my immediate family supplied.
But I appreciate the sentiment.
You da MBP
most beeluable player?
Yeah, then turn it into mead
I buy a 5 gallon bucket of honey once every 6ish years. It’s one of the only sweeteners my wife can have so we use it in everything that needs a sweeter taste. I fill small 20oz jars with it and seal the bucket back up. It’s a good investment because you can get it much much cheaper. I buy mine from Sleeping bear farms in Michigan.
Is it dangerous? What if the bears wake up?
obviously you have to wait for them to go lookin’ for pic-a-nik baskets then.
They hibernate for quite a while. Plenty of time to steal their honey jars.
Hello.
Oh wait you meant the other kind of bear…
Honey can expire if not stored right.
So, if it’s left?
God damn that works on so many different levels!
That’s an old wives’ tale. Honey never spoils, it crystallizes. All you need to do is heat it to liquify. 3000 year old honey was found in an Egyptian tomb, and was still edible.
https://realrawhoney.co.uk/blogs-real-raw-honey-honey-in-ancient-egypt/
I misunderstood “poor storage” as a temperature. Sure, if you don’t seal the container and an abundance of moisture is able to enter, that could cause spoilage. So if OP doesn’t keep their honey in a bucket in the basement they should be fine.
Sure, buy the 50 lbs of honey now. Convert it to mead. Profit.
Honey can change consistency, depending on how it is packaged and stored. In addition, you have to consider the cost and risk of storing it. But if you think the bees are going to die off, it could be a lucrative investment.
If the bees die off, you’re going to have a much bigger problem than lack of honey.
My first thought was that of the cost of storing it. You never know when something will happen and all of your effort to store it is moot. Like if a natural disaster occurs and destroys your stash, or something happens and you must leave everything behind. Not a huge deal if you only have a few years of it, but a lifetime’s worth?
Or just ants. Ants ruin plans
Also cockroaches.
You’re likely better off investing the same amount of money.
Buying it all now is betting that inflation will be higher than your investment return over the next 40 years. That’s not a good bet unless the world literally collapses.
So it’s a good bet, got it.
What do you think investing less than $200 is going to earn you?
What do you think buying $200 worth of honey will save you?
About 20 trips to the grocery store and the associated gas prices.
…You know you can buy multiple things at once at the store?
Like $200 worth of honey?
Exactly! You get it.
It’ll get me at least a few years of happiness, and perhaps make my ensuing case of diabetes mellitus more appropriately named than that of most peoples’.
Honey can technically expire. If it crystalizes, some portions of it can become more diluted, leading to a low enough osmotic pressure for bacteria and fungi to exist. If you do buy in bulk, check your local universities. One in my area does honeybee research and sells bulk honey from their bee lab at cheaper prices than any of the private beekeepers. I use it to make mead.
A fire could destroy it, just saying 👀
That’s some very nice honey you got there, be a shame if it all burned down
No.
Bulk honey is significantly less expensive if you buy direct from an apiary, and in bulk. It never expires (but can go bad! you still have to store it properly) and will last longer than you if you treat it good.
Go for it. The price of honey is bound to just go up.
The issue with stuff like this is the high upfront cost, the hassle of storing the goods (correctly), and the fact that you could just put the same money into some stable stocks and likely be better off buying honey as needed. But I’m sure if you research it hard enough you can set yourself up for a good deal, barring catastrophy.
