Food spoilage is a common occurrence in our daily lives 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 (white liquor), vinegar, sugar, and salt are foods that do not spoil.
Five foods that never spoil
Honey. Fresh, mature honey is a transparent or semi-transparent, gel-like viscous liquid. Sugar accounts for more than three-quarters of the total volume of honey, and its water content is low. Bacteria and yeast cannot survive in honey. In addition, honey also contains 0.1% to 0.4% of antibacterial agents. Therefore, mature honey does not spoil easily even after being stored for a long time. However, if it is immature honey or an inferior product that has been adulterated with water, it will ferment, bubble, and turn sour after being stored for a period of time, making it inedible.
Baijiu (white liquor). Baijiu with an alcohol content of over 10%, which is commonly referred to as liquor of 10 degrees or higher, has a disinfecting effect itself. Under sealed conditions, microorganisms are not easy to invade and difficult to reproduce, so it never spoils. However, this does not mean that the longer the liquor is stored, the better. For ordinary aromatic baijiu, after 5 years, the flavor becomes milder and the aroma weaker; aged soy-sauce fragrance baijiu is considered fine liquor, but whether aged strong-aroma baijiu is fine liquor is still inconclusive.
Vinegar. Vinegar has the effect of inhibiting and killing bacteria and can be used for food preservation and preservation, such as pickling. The shelf life of vinegar is relatively long, but it is also affected by the production process and raw materials. Well- brewed aged vinegar, sealed in a jar and stored underground, becomes mellower and more fragrant with the passing of years.
Solid sugars. Solid sugars commonly include granulated sugar, powdered sugar, rock sugar, and monocrystal rock sugar. Due to the low water content and high osmotic pressure in their structure, solid sugars are not conducive to microbial growth and are difficult to be contaminated. Sugar is also often used to preserve food, such as candied fruits and preserved fruits. However, sugar is hygroscopic and if stored improperly, its properties can change, leading to microbial contamination.
Salt. The main component of salt is sodium chloride, and its chemical properties are very stable. Like sugar, edible salt is often used to preserve food and is a natural preservative. However, the iodized salt we often eat, if not protected from light and high temperatures, will have a reduced iodine content after being stored for too long, but the quality of the salt itself will not change.