Calling All Honey Lovers

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Trycar

Assistant Cook
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
12
'I absolutely love honey'..... this is the thought that passes through my mind as I partake of honey coated almonds lightly dusted w/ cinnamon.:yum:

I try to use the natural confection as often as I can on as many food items as I can.

My love is fairly new-found - as a child I ran from the stuff.... thanks to my dad and his attempt to substitute my beloved maple syrup with this stuff. My young underdeveloped tastebuds certainly didn't appreciate it then as they do now. :yum:

I became reacquainted w/ honey after having a surgery in which there was a great deal of blood loss resulting in my immune system being compromised. I was researching natural ways to boost my system and came across a few sites that touted honey as a natural immune system booster because of its inherent healing properties.

I incorporated it on a dialy basis w/ a little apple cider vinegar and the flood gates of my affection for the sweet sticky stuff burst open.

Since then I have been experimenting with different items to slather it on:
almonds, pecans, biscuits, teas, toast...

What do you use honey on & in?
Please share - I'm dying for some new tastes w/ one of my favorite toppers.:yum:
 
Toast, hot cereal, just a spoon and believe it or not .. dip pretzels in it .. sweet and salty .. yummy !
 
:blush: Straight out of the jar/bottle.

I like to mix it with peanut butter and dip apple slices.
 
Thanks for your suggestions guys - I'll have to try them all. :eek:))
 
It's an interesting sweetener in coffee.
Of course it goes well in tea, black or herbal.
Sore throat: add enough lemon juice to a cup of hot, black tea that the tea gets lighter coloured, then add (at least) enough honey that it isn't very tart.
Smear it on athlete's foot to kill the fungus.
On toast with tahini
 
I brush bacon with honey before I grill it, I drizzle honey onto plain yogurt and sprinkle with nuts, we eat pancakes with honey, scones, make honey and lemon iced tea, add honey to marinades, eat it on french toast, make honey and banana milkshake, eat chunky cottage cheese with honey on ricecakes (my favourite)brush sweet pastry with honey after baking etc.
 
For me a biscuit wouldn't be complete without butter and honey. I often use honey in place of sugar in bread recipes. I like in on oatmeal, drizzled on plain greek yogurt with walnuts. Sometimes right off a spoon!
 
I love honey on so many different things. Be aware that different types of honey have different flavors. Look in good stores for orange blossom honey, buckwheat honey, wild honey, clover honey (most common honey in grocery stores), etc. You will find that honey adds to cooked veggies. Examples; add honey and butter to fresh steamed carrots, use it with sweet corn kernels, mix in a little honey and butter with mashed, sweet potatoes, or in a sweet potato casserole. Honey adds a wonderful flavor to mashed rutabagas.

Of course, honey can be used as an alternative to sugar in baked deserts, custards, on cereals, hot or cold, drizzled on fresh berries, or mix with cream and pour over fruit, use in cold fruit soups, add to smoothies. We could go on, and on, and on.

Again, try various kinds of honey. I haven't been fortunate to have the famous Tupello honey available to me. I'd like to try it one day. I am fortunate enough to have a friend who has bee hives, and I buy wild honey from him. It's far better than any I can get in the supermarkets.

On the other side of the coin, beware. There is honey imported from China that is cut with corn syrup, and sold as pure honey. There are also products that have "honey" as part of their brand name, but are again made from something else. Know what you are purchasing, and that their are quality differences in the honey you purchase.

Other than that, enjoy this wonderful gift from nature, and her bees. Honey is one of the culinary wonders of the world, IMHO.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
If you use a lot of honey, know your honey. It's a dirty business, apparently dirtier than the Corleone's olive oil business. (Actually, the olive oil business is pretty shady.)

The short version is that so much Asian honey is chemically contaminated that the Chinese scheme is to ultrafilter it to remove pollen so that the country of origin can't be tested and to then tranship it through another country where it will be labeled Product of _______. Singapore suddenly became a major honey producer. They have no bees. When inspectors get onto one tranship point, they shift to another. Insiders consider the big criminal honey players to be like major drug lords, too big for government to deal with. There's a term for it: Honey Laundering.

If you randomly buy honey in a grocery store, you have a better than 75% chance of buying contraband honey, meaning it's been ultrafiltered, there being no other good reason to do that but to conceal where it's from. If you buy at Walgreens or CVS, 100% will be mystery honey. Same for the small packages at fast food joints. Honey sold in genuine, well-managed farmers markets, where the local sourcing is verified, always have the full amount of pollens. But in less well policed markets it can be Chinese honey in a cute local jar.

And of course, all this is in addition to the more obvious adulteration by stretching with HFCS and other sweeteners.

So, the labeled county of origin is no help. Packers like to stay ignorant of where their honey comes from. Known local sources are about the only reasonable assurance.
 
If you use a lot of honey, know your honey. It's a dirty business, apparently dirtier than the Corleone's olive oil business. (Actually, the olive oil business is pretty shady.)

The short version is that so much Asian honey is chemically contaminated that the Chinese scheme is to ultrafilter it to remove pollen so that the country of origin can't be tested and to then tranship it through another country where it will be labeled Product of _______. Singapore suddenly became a major honey producer. They have no bees. When inspectors get onto one tranship point, they shift to another. Insiders consider the big criminal honey players to be like major drug lords, too big for government to deal with. There's a term for it: Honey Laundering.

If you randomly buy honey in a grocery store, you have a better than 75% chance of buying contraband honey, meaning it's been ultrafiltered, there being no other good reason to do that but to conceal where it's from. If you buy at Walgreens or CVS, 100% will be mystery honey. Same for the small packages at fast food joints. Honey sold in genuine, well-managed farmers markets, where the local sourcing is verified, always have the full amount of pollens. But in less well policed markets it can be Chinese honey in a cute local jar.

And of course, all this is in addition to the more obvious adulteration by stretching with HFCS and other sweeteners.

So, the labeled county of origin is no help. Packers like to stay ignorant of where their honey comes from. Known local sources are about the only reasonable assurance.
Nice summary of the pitfalls and foibles of the honey industry.
 
If you want to bake with it, make baklava or honey cake.

Also, this is really good:
Baked Bananas with Honey and Lime:
2 medium unpeeled firm ripe bananas
1 Tbsp honey, or more to taste
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking pan with foil.
Place bananas in pan, and bake about 20 minutes, or until skin is golden brown and bananas are soft. Cool 5 minutes.
Make lengthwise cut through skin, drain, then remove skin.
Mix honey and lime juice together and drizzle over bananas.
 
As a child, we used to go to the cranbery bogs, pick a handful of ripe berries, then go to the beehive, peel back a corner of the honey, pop the berries in our mouth and suck out the honey right from the comb. Today, I HATE honey. the last time I bought some was more than 35 years ago at the Washingto State Fair from a local farmer. I made oatmal bread with it. :angel:
 
As referenced above, all honey is not equal! I recommend finding a local producer, maybe at a farmer's market in your area. That is also the best way to find different types and flavors.

I love using my local honey in quick BBQ sauces to add a little depth of flavor. I use it with pork at least once a week in marinade. With some soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger it makes a wonderful marinade or sauce to cook a pork roast in the slow cooker. I love honey with apples so I will sweeten a crisp with it and save the brown sugar for the crumb topping. It's been mentioned, but I love honey with plain yogurt. I cannot stand vanilla or fruit flavored yogurt, so I always buy plain and drizzle a little honey on top.
 
I have a friend who's husband is in the honey business and she sells it at the local Farmers Market. I'll print this info out for her honey stand...it should help with sales. Thank you.
 
I also have a jar of honey, lemon & ginger slices. Which help with colds, marinades, and is great as a stand alone hot drink. If the cold is bad, I'll also add a slice of chilli. It never lasts long in my house
 
There's someone local that's got a sign out which reads: ORGANIC HONEY FOR SALE
I assume all those little honey bees are careful not to land on a plant that's not being grown in 'organic soil'. LOL
We got a jar for Christmas from a fancy resort that has it's own honey bees.
 
Lucky for me, local honey is easy to find around here. There is a guy that has a truck set up outside the Walmart all of the time.
 

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