Leave it on the shelf too long and honey begins to crystallize.

蜂蜜放在貨架上太久是會結(jié)晶的。

Heating the honey returns it to its original condition, but if you add water, you could ruin the honey completely.

將蜂蜜加熱使它轉(zhuǎn)化成最原始的狀態(tài)，但如果你往里加水，你就有可能會完全毀了蜂蜜。

That's because honey, which is a preservative in its original state, ferments once it's diluted.

那是因為蜂蜜在其原始狀態(tài)下是不變質(zhì)的，而當(dāng)加水稀釋后則會發(fā)酵。

In ancient times, honey was used as a food preservative.

在古代的時候，蜂蜜被用于食物防腐劑。

It works as a preservative because the high concentration of sugar in honey forces the water out of any yeast or bacteria cells that could otherwise contaminate the food.

它作為防腐劑的工作原理是蜂蜜中的高濃度的糖會將酵母或細(xì)菌細(xì)胞中的水分排出來，否則這些細(xì)胞會污染食物。

This process, known as "osmosis," is also what makes salt such an effective preservative.

這個過程叫做“透析”，同樣也使得鹽成了一種有效的防腐劑。

Eventually, the process of osmosis destroys those cells by drawing out all their water--in other words, by drying them up.

最后，這個透析的過程會通過吸干所有的水分，換句話說就是使其變干燥，從而破壞細(xì)胞。

So because of its high sugar concentration, pure honey will never ferment or go bad.

所以說由于它的高濃度，純蜂蜜將永遠(yuǎn)不會發(fā)酵或變質(zhì)。

It may crystallize but by soaking the jar in hot water you can turn it back into a liquid.

蜂蜜是會結(jié)晶的，但如果你把蜂蜜罐放到熱水里，它是會再變回液體的。

Adding water, however, lowers the concentration of sugar in the honey and turns a natural preservative into an excellent food for yeast and bacteria.

加水，降低蜂蜜中糖的濃度，會將天然防腐劑轉(zhuǎn)成酵母和細(xì)菌的絕好食物。

You may not want a fermented jar of honey on your shelf, but ancient people turned that characteristic of honey to their advantage in creating what may well have been the very first alcoholic beverage.

你可能不會想在你的書架上擺一瓶發(fā)酵了的蜂蜜罐子，但是古人利用蜂蜜的這個特點，創(chuàng)造出了第一批酒精飲料。

Honey mixed in water and allowed to ferment, produces the drink called "mead."

將蜂蜜和水混在一起，讓其發(fā)酵，制出來的飲料叫“蜂蜜酒”。

So you may or may not want to add water to your honey.

但你可能想也可能不想往蜂蜜里兌水。

If what you want is mead, go ahead, but if you want your honey to last, . . . keep it pure.

如果你想要的是“蜂蜜酒”，那可以兌水，但如果你想要的就是蜂蜜，那就不要兌水。

Next time on "A Moment of Science," we'll see why honey can help baked goods last longer.

下次在“科學(xué)時刻”,“我們將會看到為什么蜂蜜可以幫助烘焙食品保質(zhì)更長時間。