Save the Honey Bees!

Remember me talking about hot honey? I’ve started infusing my own, it’s a must try. Yes, we really do need the bees, if not, you will definitely be getting processed foods.

Did you know honey will have different subtle flavors? Did you know honey will have different hues depending on the pollen they collect? Both of these questions are determined on where the bees are collecting their pollen from.

I bought these two jars from the same bee keeper, he has hives all over our county. The hives are set in different locations. For example, this gentleman had a hive at my dad’s house. We had multiple garden options from strawberries to tomatoes to irises to cox comb flowers. This will produce a multitude of colors from the pollen, he got a darker honey. The lighter if I remember was a clover field, but I could be wrong. My memory fails me some. The lighter in color, the more subtle of flavor. The darker will have more distinct flavors, also will tend to have more minerals and antioxidants. The flavors, colors and nutrients is fairly complex. With that said, I know honey is delicious. Tasting different colors of honey you will taste the difference from a clover field to wildflowers and a healthier option to processed sugar, let’s not forget though, if you have seasonal allergies, honey can be a lifesaver.

Now that I have brought up allergies, it is recommended to have one spoonful a day of honey. That’s easy isn’t it? Okay, there is a little more to this, the honey needs to be local. Preferably within 30-50 miles of your home, I’ve heard your region will work. Think about it, I had horrible allergies growing up, then I lived in Arizona for a brief time, yet I did not have a bit of issues with allergies. Yes, Arizona around Scottsdale/Phoenix is dry which is great for someone that has allergies, but then I moved to the Carolinas, no allergies there either. I’m back in Missouri and of course my allergies over time came back. Regional, get it? So, if I’m picking up honey at the big box store, where in the world is the honey coming from? From my research most comes from North Dakota, at least in the USA, now I haven’t had allergies in my quick trip driving through North Dakota, but I’m guessing I will be fine if I go there. The thought behind honey helping allergies is building your immunity to your allergy, golden rod for example, if you’re ingesting it, it’s in your system. Basically the bees are making delicious honey out of outdoor allergens when the blooms are vibrant. Now if your allergic to your pet’s dander, I don’t know if honey will help. From my experience it does help me with my seasonal allergies, I can not say it will help you. What’s the worse that’s going to happen, you get a delicious bite of local honey if you choose to try for allergies .

Lets get to the point of this blog, honey is delicious, in desserts, teas and even on vegetables. Like I mentioned in the beginning about hot honey I was buying, I started playing around with my jalapeño dust, you can find that here. I could, generally speaking control the heat and flavor in honey if I added my own heat. While working with infusing honey you can’t exactly guarantee the consistency of your flavor, or could you? Infusing honey is a great option for multiple uses, from baked goods to cocktails. Here are two options that I really enjoy. Jalapeño Curry infused Honey and Cinnamon Cardamon infused Honey. Both of these options will give you multiple options. Now that I love roasted veggies, asparagus and brussel sprouts, you will definitely want to try the jalapeño curry honey on these veggies and more, don’t forget about the homemade pizza, the honey is a surprise of flavor that you will love to use every time. Whole wheat bread with almond butter, from this post here, drizzle cinnamon cardamom honey on for breakfast. Don’t forget over some oatmeal and yogurt too.

I want to let you know, if your honey is crystallized that’s okay, just put warm water in a bowl and set the jar in for a bit and stir, it will smooth out the crystals. Crystallization is normal in pure honey, if your honey does not crystallize, it has been processed, heated which will neutralize benefits from the natural resource from the bees. Always buy local from a reliable bee keeper or market.

Creating infused honey is very simple, clean, sanitized jars, infused ingredients and local honey, for the nutritional benefits. First let me say, I use ingredients with no moisture, it will allow the honey to sit out on counter or in cabinet. If you use fresh herbs, floral etc I would do in smaller amounts and honey will need to be stored in refrigerator due to moisture being brought into the honey which will cause it to react to fermentation that could lead to mold. I use slim jars, from half pint to pint jars. I really enjoy using honey so I do pint or half pints, you could choose smaller too, just adjust your infusing ingredients.

Cinnamon Cardamom Honey

1 pint jar sanitized

3 cinnamon bark sticks

6 whole cardamom pods

Place Cinnamon and Cardamon in sanitized jar and pour over desired amount 1-2” from opening of honey, sill and set in window.

Jalapeño Curry Honey

1 pint jar sanitized

1 tsp jalapeño dust

1 tsp sweet curry

Pour honey to desired amount 1-2” from opening. Place jalapeño dust and curry in with honey, stir ingredients, sill and set in window.

With both of these jars, make sure your sill is tight, let set in window for one week, after one week open and test the strength of flavor for your palette, if you think it needs more flavor, check in a few more day. Once you have reached your desired flavor, strain into another sterilized jar for use. To be honest here, I start using the jalapeño curry honey immediately, but the flavors definitely intensify and become more pronounced if sitting in the window before use.

So where is the health benefits for your heart? First we are using honey as a natural sweetener over craving processed sugars. Trust me when I say honey on toast is better than a donut, okay, maybe not a Wehner’s creamhorn, but it’s very good with almond butter or peanut butter. Cinnamon is a natural benefit for helping to lower cholesterol, regulates blood sugar and many more other benefits. Cardamom has other health benefits, digestive is just one of many. Jalapeño is going to help with salt cravings along with the heat raising your metabolism. Curry will help with inflammation. Now all of these ingredients will help, not cure, but stay on top of your ingredients, choose natural over processed and you will see how your body changes and feels over time of consistency with natural foods.

What flavors would you like to pair with honey?