Honey For Dummies

Get in on the ground level of the next artisan food obsession—honey! 

Just like wine, cheese, beer or coffee, honey is an artisan food with much to be discovered. Whether you're interested in tasting the various varietals, using it as a cure, or harvesting your own, Honey For Dummies is the guide for you. This book reveals the deep and complex world of honey, its diverse floral sources, and its surprising range of colors, smells, and flavors. You will learn about over 50 single-origin honeys, their sensory profiles, where they are produced and where to buy them. Discover how to taste and evaluate honey using the same methods as professional honey sensory expert. Understand how honey is produced by honeybees, and how beekeepers harvest, and bottle this liquid gold. You’ll also discover the historical role honey has played around the world in folklore, religions, and economies. From its health benefits, to recipes, to food pairings, this complete guide covers all things honey! 

Honey is the latest food trend that can be found at farmers’ markets, specialty food shops and on the menu of restaurants. It is produced from bees in every state and just about every country on the planet. Let Honey For Dummies accompany you on your sweet adventure! 

• Discover the rich and complex world of single-origin honey 
• Learn about honey’s composition and its myriad health benefits 
• Acquire the skills to taste honey like a pro then how to perfectly pair honeys with all foods 
• Try the book’s many wonderful recipes that incorporate honey 

Honey For Dummies is the perfect companion for every chef, brewer, homesteader, beekeeper or honey lover.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Honey, Give Me the Lowdown 7

Chapter 1: Dipping into Honey’s History and Its Importance Today 9

Introducing Discoscapa apicula — the World’s Oldest Bee? 10

Raising Bees in Ancient Egypt 11

Embalming with Honey and More 12

Discovering the World’s Oldest Beehives 13

In Praise of Honey 14

Islam 15

Hinduism 15

Judaism 15

Buddhism 15

Christianity 15

Sikhism 15

Finding Honey in Literature and Folklore 16

Honey Bees Come to America 17

Honey Today: Celebrity Status 18

Chapter 2: Looking at How Honey is Made and Harvested 19

Gathering Their Groceries 19

Understanding the Composition of Honey 23

Harvesting Honey: From Bee to Bottle 24

It’s all about timing 25

Driving the bees out of the honey supers 27

Removing the honey from the comb 27

Chapter 3: Appreciating the Different Styles of Honey 29

Walkin’ Talkin’ Honeycomb 30

Savoring Liquid Gold — Extracted Honey 31

Getting Chunky with Chunk Honey 31

Whipping Your Honey 32

What’s the Story on Honey Straws? 34

Part 2: Nutrition, Health, and Honey 37

Chapter 4: All About Apitherapy 39

Bee Venom 40

Bee Pollen 42

Royal Jelly 43

Propolis 44

Beeswax 44

Enjoying the Many Benefits of Honey 45

Cuts, burns, and scratches 46

Fixing sore throats and coughs 46

Getting the honey glow 47

Chapter 5: Making Honey Remedies at Home 49

Mixing Up Some Honey-Based Hair and Skincare Products 50

Honey-Based Elixirs 61

Part 3: Honey Varietals 69

Chapter 6: Discovering the World’s Top Honey Producers 71

1 China (500,000 tons) 72

2 Iran (112,000 tons) 72

3 Turkey (110,000 tons) 73

4 India (85,000 tons) 73

5 United States (81,000 tons) 74

1 North Dakota (19,000 tons) 74

2 South Dakota (19,000 tons) 75

3 Montana (7,000 tons) 75

4 California (6,850 tons) 75

5 Florida (5,950 tons) 76

6 Minnesota (3,905 tons) 76

7 Texas (3,700 tons) 76

8 Michigan (2,650 tons) 77

9 Idaho (1,650 tons) 77

10 Wisconsin (1,500 tons) 77

6 Russian Federation (70,000 tons) 78

7 Ukraine (66,500 tons) 78

8 Mexico (57,000 tons) 79

9 Brazil (42,400 tons) 79

10 New Zealand (23,000 tons) 80

Chapter 7: Getting to Know 50 Varietals of Honey 81

Learning about Varietal Honeys 82

1 Acacia 82

2 Ailanthus 83

3 Alfalfa 83

4 Avocado 84

5 Basswood 85

6 Bell Heather 85

7 Blackberry 86

8 Black mangrove 86

9 Blueberry Blossom 87

10 Borage 87

11 Buckwheat 88

12 Chestnut 89

13 Coriander 89

14 Cranberry Blossom 90

15 Dandelion 90

16 Eucalyptus 91

17 Fireweed 91

18 Gallberry 92

19 Goldenrod 92

20 Honeydew 93

21 Honeysuckle 94

22 Huajillo (pronounced wa-HE-yo) 94

23 Japanese Knotweed 95

24 Kamahi (pronounced car-MY) 95

25 Kiawe (pronounced kee-AH-vay) 96

26 Kudzu 96

27 Lavender 97

28 Leatherwood 98

29 Ling Heather 98

30 Litchee 99

31 Macadamia 99

32 Manuka 100

33 Meadowfoam 101

34 Mesquite 101

35 Ohi’a Lehua 102

36 Orange Blossom 102

37 Rapeseed 103

38 Raspberry 103

39 Rhododendron 104

40 Rosemary 105

41 Sage 105

42 Saw Palmetto 106

43 Star thistle/Knapweed 106

44 Strawberry tree 107

45 Sunflower 107

46 Thyme 108

47 Tulip poplar 108

48 Tupelo 109

49 Ulmo 110

50 Yellow Sweet Clover 110

A Word about Wildflower Honey 111

Chapter 8: All That Glistens is Not Liquid Gold 113

Laundering Honey 114

Transshipping Honey 115

Removing Pollen to Conceal the Honey’s Origin 117

Blending Honeys 118

Cutting Honey 119

Intervention of Humans 120

Part 4: Becoming a Honey Tasting Expert 121

Chapter 9: Thinking Like a Honey Sommelier 123

Differentiating Taste and Flavor 124

Taste sensations 124

Flavor sensations 124

Other taste sensations 125

Are You a Supertaster? 126

The Nose Remembers 128

Describing What You Taste 128

Tuning Up Your Taste Buds and Sharpening Your Sniffer 129

Training your sense of taste 129

Refining your sense of flavor 131

Chapter 10: Knowing How to Taste Honey 133

Looking, Smelling, and Tasting: Sensory Analysis 134

Creating the Right Environment for Tasting 135

Making certain you are fresh and rested 135

Staying healthy 136

Fasting before tasting 136

Avoiding extraneous smells 136

Setting Up For Honey Tasting 137

Picking honeys to sample 138

Gathering your tasting tools 138

Getting organized using a tasting mat 139

Picking a palette cleanser 140

Writing Tasting Notes 140

Starting with a basic look-see 140

Determining liquid or solid 141

Discovering undesirable stuff 142

Evaluating clarity 142

Defining the Color of Honey 142

Smelling Your Honey 143

Profiling Honey Characteristics 145

Using the Aroma and Flavor Chart 146

Trigeminals 147

Determining the Honey’s “Finish” 148

Talking About Texture 148

Chapter 11: Taking the Terror Out Of Terroir 151

Capturing the Flavors of Local Foods 152

Ensuring quality standards 152

Certifying and protecting honeys 154

Influencing Nectar 155

Getting the Dirt on Honey (Geology) 156

Honey and Geography 157

Knowing What Weather Has to Do with It 157

Rain, rain don’t go away 157

Here comes the sun! 158

Chapter 12: Looking at What Can Go Wrong With Honey 159

Recognizing Defects 160

Burnt honey 160

The brood factor 160

Medico mayhem 160

Smoky stuff 161

Just one word — plastics! 161

Metal madness 161

Crossing Crystallization Defects 162

Incomplete crystallization 162

Crystal striping 162

Separation of honey 162

Knowing Why a Honey Tastes Like Beer 163

Part 5: Hey, Honey, Let’s Party 165

Chapter 13: Shopping for Your Honey 167

Knowing Where to Shop 167

Go straight to the source 168

Farm stands and farmers markets 168

Gourmet markets 169

Cheese shops 170

Deciphering Labels 170

Nutrition labels 171

True Source 173

Gluten-free 174

Vegan 174

Raw, natural, organic, all natural —Descriptors that mean nothing 174

GMO 175

Fair Trade Honey 176

Chapter 14: Brewing Honey Wine (Mead) 177

Discovering Mead’s Long History 178

Introducing Seven Types of Mead 179

Traditional mead 179

Sack mead 179

Hydromel 180

Bochet mead 180

Metheglin 180

Sack metheglin 180

Mead made with fruit juices 180

Getting the Necessary Mead-Making Equipment 181

Understanding Useful Mead-Making Terms 184

Chapter 15: Cooking with Honey 201

Chapter 16: Baking with Honey 223

Swapping Out Sugar for Honey 223

Checking Out Some Recipes 225

Chapter 17: Using Honey for Thirst-Quenching and Celebratory Beverages 243

Making Honey-Inspired Beverages 243

Mixing Honey-Based Cocktails 247

Gin 247

Tequila 248

Vodka 250

Scotch whisky 250

Whiskey (bourbon or rye) 253

Rum 255

Chapter 18: Pairing Honey with Cheese and Other Foods 257

Pairing Honey with Cheese 258

Understanding the dynamics of honey and cheese 259

It’s a matter of taste 259

Conjuring Creative Pairings 261

Choosing complementary duos 261

Considering that opposites attract 261

Taking texture into account 261

Staying local 262

Just go for it! 262

Considering Classic Pairings of Honey and Food 262

Chapter 19: Honey, Let’s Have a Party 265

Planning the Party 265

Deciding on the theme 266

Setting the mood 266

Assembling the Right Stuff 268

Developing Your Menu 268

Creating Honey Grazing Boards 270

Piloting Tasting Flights 270

Including Fun Honey Games 272

Trio tasting game 272

Honey spelling game 273

Show Friends How It Went 273

Part 6: The Part of Tens 275

Chapter 20: Ten Great Honey Festivals 277

Oregon Honey Festival, Ashland, Oregon 278

Philadelphia Honey Festival 278

NYC Honey Week, Rockaway Beach 278

Honey Bee Fest, New York 278

Sweet Bee’s Honey Festival, New York 279

Vermont’s Golden Honey Festival 279

Arizona Honeybee Festival, Phoenix 279

Michigan Honey Festival 279

Tennessee Honey Festival 280

Uvalde Honey Festival, Texas 280

Chapter 21: More Than Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Honey 281

What’s the best way to store honey once the jar has been opened? 282

Does honey ever spoil or go bad? 282

Why does my honey look like it has two different layers? 282

My honey has crystallized; can I get the honey liquid again? 283

What’s organic honey? 283

What’s the difference between Grade A and Grade B honey? 283

What accounts for the different colors and flavors of honey? 284

Why do honey bees make honey? 284

Is it true that eating local honey will relieve pollen-related allergies? 285

What does “raw” honey mean? 285

How can I test my honey for authenticity? 285

Why does honey from the same local beekeeper taste different sometimes? 286

Why shouldn’t you feed honey to a baby? 286

How many flowers must honey bees visit to make one pound of honey? 286

How much honey does a worker honey bee make in her lifetime? 286

What famous Scottish liqueur is made with honey? 287

What’s the U.S per capita consumption of honey? 287

How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States? 287

Do all bees make honey? 287

Chapter 22: Ten Honeys for your Bucket List 289

The Most Expensive Honey in the World: Elvish 289

Most Sacred Honey: Sidr 290

Most-Difficult-to-Get Honey: Pitcairn Island 290

Most International Awards: Sourwood 291

Most Bitter Honey: Strawberry Tree Honey 291

Psychedelic Mad Honey: Deli Bal 292

Most Unique Texture: Ling Heather Honey 292

Volcanic Honey: Wenchi 293

Silkiest Honey: Ulmo Honey 293

Most Buttery Honey: Kamahi 294

Part 7: Appendixes 295

Appendix A: Glossary 297

Appendix B: Helpful Honey Resources 305

Index 317

C. Marina Marchese is an author, beekeeper, and honey sensory expert. She is also the founder of the American Honey Tasting Society and the Red Bee ^® brand.

Howland Blackiston is the bestselling author of Beekeeping For Dummies and Building Beehives For Dummies, and founding board member and past president of Con­necticut’s Back Yard Beekeepers Association.