Food spoilage is a common occurrence in daily life and brings us many troubles. If there were any food that never spoiled, it would give us much greater peace of mind. Scientific research and practice have proven that honey, baijiu (Chinese liquor), vinegar, sugar, and salt are foods that do not spoil.
Honey: Fresh, mature honey is a transparent or translucent, gel-like, viscous liquid. Sugar accounts for more than three-quarters of honey's total content, with a low water content, meaning bacteria and yeast cannot survive in it. Additionally, honey contains 0.1%—0.4% of antibacterial agents. Therefore, mature honey does not spoil easily even after being stored for a long time. However, if the honey is not mature or is a poor-quality product that has been adulterated with water, it will ferment, bubble, and turn sour after a period of storage, making it inedible.
Baijiu (Chinese liquor): Baijiu with an alcohol content of over 10%, commonly referred to as liquor of 10 degrees or higher, has a disinfecting effect. Under sealed conditions, microorganisms are not easily able to invade and have difficulty multiplying, so it never spoils. However, this does not mean that the longer the liquor is stored, the better it is. For ordinary aromatic baijiu, after 5 years, the flavor becomes milder and the aroma weaker; aged sauce-aroma baijiu is considered fine liquor, but whether aged strong-aroma baijiu is good liquor is still inconclusive.
Vinegar: Vinegar has antibacterial and bactericidal properties and can be used for food preservation and preservation, such as in pickling. Vinegar has a relatively long shelf life, but this is also influenced by the production process and raw materials. Well-processed, aged brewed vinegar, sealed in jars and stored underground, becomes mellower and more aromatic with the passing years.
Solid sugars: Solid sugars include commonly used granulated sugar, powdered sugar, rock sugar, and monocrystal rock sugar. Due to their low internal moisture content and high osmotic pressure, solid sugars are not conducive to microbial growth and are difficult to contaminate. Sugar is also often used to preserve foods, such as preserved fruits and candied fruits. However, sugar is hygroscopic; if stored improperly, its properties can change, and it can become contaminated by microorganisms.
Salt: The main component of salt is sodium chloride, which has very stable chemical properties. Like sugar, edible salt is often used to preserve food and is a natural preservative. However, the iodized salt we commonly eat, if not protected from light and high temperatures, will have its iodine content decrease over a long storage period, but the quality of the salt itself will not change.