> As long as the lid stays on, which food won't spoil?And the answer: honey. Photo courtesy: El Camino Health.In excavating ancient Egyptian tombs,archeologists have discovered pots of honey that are thousands of years old, andunspoiled. Because honey has very little moisture in its natural form, very fewmicroorganisms or bacteria can survive in it.Honey has three main tricks for fighting bacteria. The first is a likelysuspect: sugar. Honey is only about 17% water, while the rest is all sugar. Allthat sugar serves the very important purpose of supersaturating the honey,meaning, the sugar makes it so honey contains more sugar than would normallydissolve at that temperature. In short, honey is chemically desperate for water. Water can travel across cell membranes from where there's a higher concentrationof water to where there's a lower concentration. Enter: bacteria. As due to thefact that bacteria has more water than honey, the honey (essentially) sucks thewater out of the bacteria and inhibits any potential formation of mold. Plus,there simply isn't enough water in honey for microorganisms to live on, so theydie quickly and keep the honey unspoiled.The second trick for fighting bacteria comes from the bees: glucose oxidase.This compound is present in the creation of the honey – it seems to occur tohelp the honey to keep from spoiling while the bees are drying it out. The third and final trick is another amazing adaptation from the world'slittlest honey producers: antibiotics. Some types of honey contain a proteincalled bee defensin-1, which is exactly what it sounds like: bee defensin-1protects bees as a part of their immune system and prevents disease in the hive.Scientists are unsure how much of this protein is actually present in honey,though it makes sense that bees would use it to protect their food. Learn more about bees, honey, and the whole shebang below.