Re: [CH] Habs in Honey
=Mark (mstevens@exit109.com)
Sun, 15 Nov 1998 09:56:28 -0500
At 05:39 AM 11/15/98 -0800, Rich McCormack wrote:
>
>The discussion of "habs in honey" and "chiles in oil" comes up
>once in awhile on the CH mailing list. As I see it, the problem
>with "Habs in Honey" stored at room temperature would be the
>possibility (more likely the probability) of bacterial spores
>present on the chiles. Also, there is the problem of introducing
>a cozy growth medium to spores possibly present in the honey by
>adding even squeaky clean, spore-free chiles.
>
>Moist, room temperature, anaerobic...? Sounds like a perfect
>environment for the reproduction of Clostridium botulinum to me.
Actually the sugar content in honey acts much like the salt in a brine
solution. It's osmotic properties on bacterial cell walls prevents
bacteria from forming. Instead of a favorable growth medium it acts as a
preservative. This is why syrups, honey, jams and jellies can be stored at
room temperature.