Honey comes from the nectar of flowers, which is gathered by bees. Bees use the honey for nourishment, but people use it to sweeten foods and even to heal sickness, beautify skin, and to stimulate the appetite.
The type of flower the bees gathered the nectar from determines the color, flavor, and texture of honey. Usually bees like to collect just one type of nectar. Honey can come in many colors ranging from almost black to shades of brown, red, blond, and white. Honey should never be fed to children under one year of age. Their immature immune systems cannot fight off the toxin Clostridium botulinum that is found in honey. Store honey in a sealed container in a cool, dry place or freeze it.
Cook's Note: To easily measure honey, heat it slightly by putting the container in hot water for 15 minutes (don't heat in the microwave). Then, lightly grease a measuring cup and pour the heated honey into it.
Cook's Note: You can replace the sugar called for in a recipe with honey by using the following hints:
§ Replace 1 cup sugar with ½-3/4 cup honey.
§ Reduce the amount of liquid called for in the recipe by ¼ cup.
§ Check the product earlier to see if it's done as replacing sugar with honey reduces the baking time.
§ Reduce the temperature called for in the recipe by 25°F. Honey makes food brown faster.
This Honey recipe is from the Food Facts and History Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
