Honey is an amazing and versatile cooking ingredient. It is healthy, delicious, and oh-so-sweet! A spoonful of honey can instantly transport you to another world with its tantalizing scent and indulgent taste.Its interesting taste makes Honey a great condiment as well as a wonderful stand-alone snack. It is a very popular tea sweetener and may also be used to add flavour to salads.
From its thick, transparent appearance, gooey texture, right down to its divine taste, Honey is a very different and interesting ingredient with a lot of unique properties. The use of honey is vast and cannot be understated. It has been in use in traditional medicine and continues to be a popular antidote as stated by the Vedas.
When it comes to where you should buy your honey from, there are plenty of options available in the market. Each Brand will manufacture a distinct type of honey that varies in colour and taste. You can choose among different Brands for good quality, organic honey. Similarly, the varying composition of each type of honey comes with its own set of health benefits and advantages.
We will be discussing about our favourite 7 interesting facts about honey in this article. Curious yet? Grab a spoon and a jar of honey, dig in and read on!
1. Honey Has Been Popular Since Medieval Times
Honey was valued very highly in 11th Century Germany as a natural wine-sweetener. In fact, it was so popular that honey became an accepted form of payment for the peasants to the feudal lords! Honey was said to have complemented the taste of fine wine by giving it just the right touch of sweetness.
Craving something with your wine? Maybe sweeten it up a bit with a spoonful of honey!
2. Honey Gets Bees Through Winters
Did you know that bees work extra hard to collect honey in the summers, so that it can sustain them through the harsh winter?
Bees usually spend their winters by cuddling together and keeping their queen warm (cute, isn’t it?). This burns a lot of calories which are then replenished by honey. Bees believe that it’s better to be safe than sorry. That’s the reason why a productive beehive makes sure to stock up at least two times more honey than what they would require for the winter.
3. It’s Quality Over Quantity
A honeybee only produces about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey throughout its life. These busy bees buzz to locations unknown, hard at work. They work tirelessly to collect as much honey as their little bodies would allow.
This means you’d need at least a dozen of honeybees to have a single tablespoon of honey. Really makes you appreciate the little guys’ efforts, doesn’t it?
4. Not Every Honeybee Makes Honey
Are you as shocked as we were? There are about 20,000 different discovered species of bees on earth. And out of this impressive figure, only 7 of them are actually capable of producing honey.
No, we’re not kidding. Yes, we feel cheated too.
5. And Not All Honey Is Made By Bees
Trust us, we’re just as confused as you are.
But yes, this is completely true too. The Mexican Honey Wasp is one such animal that is also capable of secreting honey. This type of wasp is commonly found in both, North & South America. The Mexican Honey Wasp is non-aggressive when left undisturbed. However, things may take an ugly turn if you disturb it. It is one of the only species aside from Bees to be able to make their own honey. Watch out though, the honey produced by the Mexican Honey Wasp is occasionally poisonous owing to the flowers that this bee visits.
6. Bee Beard Advertising
Honey was a serious business back in the 1800s and before. Bee beards are done by hanging a caged queen under the chin and allowing the rest to cluster your face. It’s a unique and intimidating experience. But as daunting as it may look, it most certainly is sure to draw stares your way.
In fact, be beards have grown so popular that Canada holds an annual competition to see who can come up with the best one. Think you have what it takes to win?
7. Honey Doesn’t Have An Expiry Date
They say all good things come to an end. They obviously lied because Honey is one snack that has an infinite shelf life. Keep it stored in an airtight container and prolong its life indefinitely. It is acidic in nature and has really low-moisture content. This explains why honey doesn’t spoil easy. All you have to do is simply get your beloved edible honey, pour it in a jar and enjoy it as per your convenience without having to worry about it going bad.
People come and people go, only honey stays with you forever!
So, there you have it. Honey has been recognized for its sweetening properties since a long, long time now. It has only grown in popularity since and has become a featured ingredient in many prominent dishes. Honey can do it all – It sweetens wine and salads alike. Honey may additionally be used as a tasty condiment to wolf down your favourite snacks with.
It is a product of the painstaking efforts honeybees put themselves through. These efforts are sweetly rewarded with the resulting addictive nectar everyone is fond of. Honey is truly a fascinating ingredient with a unique composition and beautiful appearance. It’s interesting properties are a treat to the taste buds and a boon to your health!
