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Even if youā€™re not a fan of bees, you have to give them credit for creating one of the most delicious substances on earth. Not only is honey great for sweetening a spot of tea, it also has some incredible properties that set it apart from all other food products. Stock up on 15 surprising facts about the honey bee's original all-naturalĀ sweetener. Ā 


1. HONEY NEVER SPOILS.




When sealed in an airtight container, honey is one of the few foods known to have an eternal shelf life. There are even reports of edible honey being found in several-thousand-year-old Egyptian tombs. Honeyā€™s longevity can be explained by its chemical makeup: The substance is naturally acidic and low in moisture, making it an inhospitable environment for bacteria.Ā 

A lot of hard work from bees goes into imbuing honey with these magical properties. While transforming nectar (honeyā€™s main ingredient) into honey, bees flap their wings so hard that they draw excess moisture out of the initially water-filled substance. Bees also have a special enzyme in their stomachs that helps to break the nectar down into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, the latter of which acts to further prevent the growth of bacteria and other organisms in the honey.Ā 


2. BEES MAKE A LOT OF HONEY.


A typical beehive can produce anywhere from 30 to 100 pounds of honey a year. To produce a single pound of honey, a colony of bees must collect nectar from approximately 2 million flowers and fly over 55,000 miles. This amounts to a lifetimeā€™s worth of work for around 800 bees. Ā 


3. HONEY WAS A HOT COMMODITY IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE.


In 11th century Germany, honey was so highly valued for its beer-sweetening abilities that German feudal lords required their peasants to make them payments of honey and beeswax.Ā 


4. BEES SURVIVE ON HONEY IN THE WINTER.


Bees work hard all summer to ensure theyā€™ll have enough honey to sustain the hive through the winter. During the colder months, bees occupy their time by clustering themselves around the queen and shivering their bodies to fill the hive with warmth. All that shivering burns a lot of calories, so honey makes for the perfect high-energy diet.


5. HONEY IS MEDICINAL.


Evidence of honey being prescribed as a medical treatment dates back as far as ancient Mesopotamia. Because the substance is so inhospitable to bacteria, it was often used as a natural bandage to protect cuts and burns from infection. Today, honey is still used as a natural treatment for dandruff, stomach ulcers, and even seasonal allergies.Ā 


6. FOR BEES, A LITTLE HONEY GOES A LONG WAY.


On average, a honey bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey over the course of its life. To put that into perspective, two tablespoons of honey would be enough to fuel a beeā€™s entire flight around the world. Ā 


7. THERE ARE DIFFERENT FLAVORS AND COLORS OF HONEY.


Honeyā€™s depth of flavor is determined by the source of the nectar it was made from. Linden honey is delicate and woodsy, buckwheat honey is strong and spicy, and eucalyptus honey has a subtle menthol flavor. The darkness or lightness of certain honey varies as well. Bees in the southeastern U.S. have even been known to produce honey thatā€™s deep purple in color, though scientists canā€™t agree why.Ā 


8. NOT ALL BEES MAKE HONEY.


There are 20,000 species of bees on earth and only a small fraction of them make honey. The species of honey bee used for commercial beekeeping in the U.S. is known asĀ ApisĀ mellifera.Ā Itā€™s one of only seven known honey bee species.

Ā 

9. AND NOT ALL HONEY IS MADE BY BEES.


While bees are most associated with honey, the Mexican honey wasp also produces honey on a large scale, a fact that pre-European Native Americans are known to have taken advantage of. In 2013, researchers did a survey of honey wasp nests in Texas to attempt to get insight into honey bee behavior. But be aware, this honey can occasionally be poisonous thanks to the flowers that the wasp likes visiting.Ā 


10. BEES HAVE MADE HONEY FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.


Around 130 million years ago, flowering plants first appeared, and a few million years later, bees began separating from wasps. At some point after that, bees began producing honey, with one fossilized honeycomb dating from around 3 million years ago. Humans, meanwhile, have been harvesting the sweet stuff for thousands of years. An ancient cave painting was discovered in Valencia, Spain, that depicts a human figure removing honey from a hive, and it could date from as far back as 15,000 years ago.Ā 


11. EVOLUTION ALLOWS US TO EASILY FIND THE HONEY IN THE SUPERMARKET.


In 2007, researchers took men and women on a circuitous route through a large farmerā€™s market, showing them a wide variety of foods and having them rank the food and stalls. They then took the subjects to the center of the market and had them point in the direction of each of the food items that they had sampled. Women were, on average, 9 degrees more accurate than men. But both men and women were most accurate when pointing towards the high-calorie foods, like honey and olive oilā€”even if they didnā€™t particularly like them. Itā€™s believed that this power for locating high-calorie foods can be tied back to our time as hunter-gatherers, when locating honey was a prime goal.Ā 


12. BEEKEEPERS ONLY TAKE WHATā€™S EXTRA.


A productive bee colony makes two to three times more honey than it needs to survive the winter. When harvesting honey from a beehive, beekeepers try not to take anything the bees will miss. If necessary, beekeepers will feed bees sugar syrup in the autumn to compensate for the honey they take.Ā 


13. HONEY IS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY.


The environment depends on the pollination that occurs when honey bees gather nectar. Bees pollinate $20 billion worth of U.S. crops each year, and approximately one third of all food eaten by Americans is either directly or indirectly derived from honey bee pollination.


14. BEES ARE A SURPRISINGLY VERSATILE FOOD SOURCE.


Though Westerners are still squeamish about using insects themselves as a source of protein, we seem to have no problem eating something thatā€™s been regurgitated by them. And bees also provide us with Royal Jelly, beeswax, bee pollen, and other interesting and exotic foods.Ā 


15. HONEY VENDORS WENT THROUGH GREAT LENGTHS TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS.


In theĀ 1830s (and possibly much earlier), some honey vendors started sporting ā€œbee beardsā€ as a way to draw attention to their products. This is done by holding a caged queen bee beneath your chin and allowing the bees to cluster across your face. Today, bee beards are more fashionable than ever. There's even a competition held in Ontario, Canada, each year to create the most impressive bee beard. Ā 


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Updated: Sep 6, 2021

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 By Annie Lawless



In the U.S., there are over 300 different types of honey, so itā€™s no wonder it can be a bit confusing when selecting which varietal is best for your needs (1)! In a conventional supermarket, there are usually only one or two options, but at natural food stores or farmers markets there can be 20+! How do you know whatā€™s what? Letā€™s break it down, honey:


How Honey is Produced and Processed


Honey is produced by bees in two main types ā€“


blossom/nectar and honeydew. Blossom or nectar honey is made from the nectar of flowers. Honeydew honey is made from the sweet secretions of insects, like aphids (2). Usually, the majority of honeys you will see at a market are blossom or nectar honey because they are lighter and sweeter. In general, there are two basic varieties of blossom/nectar honey ā€“ monofloral and polyfloral. Monofloral honey is made by bees that collect pollen from the same type of flower. The resulting honey takes on the scent and flavor of that flower (3).

When you see a variety like ā€œlavender honeyā€ or ā€œclover honeyā€, you know the bees that made it collected pollen from lavender or clover predominately. Polyfloral honeys (also known as wildflower) are made by bees that collect pollen from a variety of flowers present near their hives. These do not have a distinct flavor based on any particular flower or area because the sources are so blended (4).


Now that we know the difference between the types (blossom or honeydew) and varieties (monofloral and polyfloral), letā€™s learn about the different ways honey is processed. My favorite type of honey is raw honey, which is honey in its most original state. Raw honey has not been heated to protect the minerals and enzymes, and still contains some pollen or small wax particles.

If you prefer a smoother honey, strained honey is a great option because it has been passed through a mesh strainer to remove any particles, like wax, without removing the pollen, minerals, or enzymes.

A higher level of strained honey is filtered honey, in which the honey undergoes a fine filtration under high pressure to remove any remaining solids and pollen grains. Pasteurized honey (the most common supermarket type) is heated to 161 degrees or higher to kill any yeast cells or germs and liquefy any microcrystals in the honey to prevent crystallization on the shelf. The heat also darkens the color and intensifies the flavor and smell (5).



Most Common Types of Honey

So what are the most common types of honey you will encounter at the market and how do you know which flavor is right for your purposes? Like I said, there are 300+ different varietals, but we will touch on the most popular here:

Alfalfa ā€“Ā This is a very light honey with a mild flavor. Itā€™s great for baking and cooking when you donā€™t want the honey flavor to overpower your dish and as an everyday option with the versatility for a number of uses


.AvocadoĀ ā€“Ā This is a dark amber honey with a rich flavor of caramelized molasses. This honey stands up well to rich desserts like dark chocolate and can be a nice sauce for more neutral dishes like pancakes or waffles that could use some depth and complexity (


6).Blueberry ā€“Ā This is a light to medium colored honey with a fresh flavor of lemon, fruit, and green leaves. It works great on lighter foods like melons, apples, yogurt, and walnuts.


Buckwheat ā€“Ā This is a dark and flavorful honey with noticeable molasses flavors and a strong presence. It goes well with smokier dishes like barbecue sauces or anywhere maple syrup would be used. I personally love this honey drizzled over a grapefruit with cinnamon in the morning to add a deep, sweet punch.


Clover ā€“Ā This is the most popular honey in the U.S. for its sweet, flowery scent and mild, delicate taste. This is truly an all purpose honey for many cooking situations (6)


.EucalyptusĀ  ā€“Ā This is a medium/dark amber honey with a mild sweetness and herbal flavor. I love this in any herbal tea because it blends very nicely without bringing too much fruitiness (7).


Mesquite ā€“Ā This honey has a varying color from very light to amber. Similar to buckwheat, mesquite honey has an earthy, strong flavor and is ideal for use in rich, deeper dishes like hearty whole grain breads or glazes for meats. You can use mesquite anywhere you would use brown sugar (6).


Orange Blossom ā€“Ā This is an extra light amber honey with a distinct scent of orange blossoms. It has a flowery, sweet, fruity flavor that works great in with fruits and in salad dressings or marinades for lighter proteins like fish or chicken. It also goes great with light lemon and vanilla desserts like puddings or custards (6).


Sage ā€“Ā This is a light amber honey with a sweet, clover flavor that is floral and delicate. I love adding this to my iced drinks like teas or lemon water for the perfect amount of sweetness.


Wildflower ā€“Ā Wildflower honey is the way polyfloral honeys are described because their source and flavor is undefined. They range in color with a mild floral flavor and are very versatile because they arenā€™t strong in any particular plant note. They make a great everyday table honey and work well in sauces and baked goods for their neutrality (6).




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This easy glazed turkey recipe serves as both a sweet and savory entrƩe for your Easter dinner.


INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (12 to 18-pound) JENNIE-OĀ® Whole Turkey, neck and giblets removed

  • 1 cup of raw honey from tracey

  • Ā½ cup butter, melted

  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

  • 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves

  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper



DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare turkey according to package directions.

  2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together honey, melted butter, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.

  3. After turkey has roasted 2 hours, brush honey glaze mixture over turkey. Continue to brush turkey with honey glaze mixture. Roast until timer pops up and turkey is fully-cooked, 180Ā°F as measued by a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Always confirm doneness with a meat thermometer. Juices should run clear. Let turkey stand 20 minutes before carving.


RECIPE NUTRITION INFORMATION

PER SERVING

Calories500

Protein56g

Sodium800mg

Saturated Fat8g

Fat21g

Carbohydrates

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