honey

I'm a fan of honey. I like to buy some whenever I go to South America or whenever I can find a beekeeper that has a hive in a specialized area (certain types of fruit orchards for example). In addition to the ways to serve it that you mentioned, I will sweeten some tea with honey. Normally I don't drink sweetened tea, but I do like tea with honey every now and then.

I love honey. I use it instead of sugar practically everywhere, except my coffee.

Here in Greece thyme honey is generally considered the best. Pure thyme honey is very hard to come by. What most beekeepers do is have their beehives near pine or cypress trees, and then transport them near thymes, to get a bit of the flavour.

Besides putting honey in tea, yoghurt, fruit-salads, instead of syrup for pancakes or creppes etc, it's great for cooking. For instance, after I've prepared a stake, I drop a spoonful of honey in the pan, a bit of balsamic, and mix them with the cooked oils. It produces a great sweet-sour gravy.

I love honey and would eat it by the spoonful if it didn't hurt my teeth so. I would appreciate more suggestions on how to cook with it. That gravy idea sounds fantastic.

Anyone ever had genuine tupelo honey?

If I cook with it, I don't use the expensive honey, just like olive oil. I think too much of the subtle taste gets lost when cooking, so I use "regular" honey.

When making barbecue sauce, I like to use honey instead of brown sugar sometimes. Goes great with chicken or pork.

And of course, baklava made with honey is fantastic.

You are right, of course, concerning the quantity. But, thank god, my parents own a handful of roots (as we say here in Greece, when referring to olive trees), so I get most of my year's supply for free. And as for honey, some relatives or family friends produce, so I can find it relative cheap. Good thing that everyone here has some family in a rural area, still having something to do with agriculture.

When one is preparing syrup for baklava, or any similar oriental sweet, just a couple of spoonfulls may be used, and that rarely, just for the flavour.

I'm not a fan.

GT,
You and I disagree about the pals but at least we iz on common ground about the food. I call that a good start!

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When I lived in NY, I used to go to the farmers market in Rhinebeck on Sundays. There is a guy with a red 50's truck, who rented his bees out to the local orchards for pollination. There are apple, pear, peach, cherry ........ orchards and all kinds of berry fields in Dutchess County, NY. If anyone is in Rhinebeck, grab a few bottles. It is extraordinary.

Also in the mid hudson region, there is a grocery store called Adams. They often have very interesting honeys from local producers.

A few years ago, I had a dinner party. The desert was custard served in those ceramic spoons one gets in the chinese restaurants for soup. Everybody got five spoons with dollops of custard on them. It was very simple custard but each spoon was sweetened with a different kind of honey. That was the only flavouring, no vanilla or chocolate. I forget all the kinds now, but one was a wildflower, one was orange blossom. I wanted to highlight the complexity and range of flavours of honey. I had added another twist to the spoons, in the part that goes into the mouth first, it was only custard. On the part of the spoon near the handle, I had added a tiny amount of citrus zest to the custard. Had instructed my guest to eat the custard in at least two bites so they got one with and one without the zest. Had experimented with a range of citrus zest (lime, lemon, key lime, some japanese type citrus...)

It was gratifying to awaken the senses of my friends. The direct comparison of the honey flavours was surprising to them too. I hope they never thought about honey the same way again.

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Interesting idea for a dessert.

I also use it for dressing for salads, again with some balsamic vinegar. I just let some dropplets on top, then the vinegar.

I also find intriguing the way honey is integrated into folklore and the culture in general. From calling someone "honey" as a term of endearment, to some particular cultural practices. For instance, I believe there is a jewish custom, which requires the child to lick some honey off of a tablet with the 10 commandments, as a token of the child's dedication to the study of the word of God, and how that knowledge will nurture the child. And the promised land was described as "the land of milk and honey".

Also, in some parts of Greece, when a child got a fright during the night, they had the child lick some honey off of the blade of an axe or a knife. And of course, during the wedding, they have the couple have a spoonful of honey and walnuts. Besides being a symbol of the sweetness and plentiness they are to share, honey and walnuts are supposed to be an aphrodisiac. Perhaps all that energy and nutricients just give a boost

I'm a fan of honey for it's flavor and it's healing qualities. I have Manuka honey from New Zealand and Tupelo honey on my cupboard. I have to try honey from Oregon, I understand they are good quality honeys. Thumbs up for these nectar of the gods.

There's a farmer's market right outside my office and they have local honey, usually at least half a dozen varieties which you can try. Delicious. Good for you too.

Bees are amazing.

When I was a kid we'd vacation in Mexico and on the way home we'd allways stop at the roadside stands to buy big jars of honey with the comb in it. My parents would give us some comb to chew on.

i always bring a bunch of this honey home with me when i visit