Honey (with recipe)

    After centuries of being upstaged by refined cane sugar, honey is once again coming into its own. The Greeks regarded it as food fit for gods, and men who consumed it became just a little bit godlike. Well, physiologically at any rate, we are finding that the Greeks were not far wrong. Honey is good for your body, and who knows, maybe for your spirit as well. Certainly there is something very comforting about a big pot full of thick amber honey sitting in the middle of a table.

            Here are some of the healthful attributes of honey. It is easy on the digestive organs, for the bees have already digested it for you. It is antiseptic and gives relief to burns and skin abrasions and bee stings (Yes!). As a gargle, it soothes sore throats. It is a gentle laxative. It contains many minerals, such as copper, iron, manganese, silica, chlorine, calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium – dark honey is said to have a higher mineral content that light honey. Honey that has not been filtered contains vitamin C from its pollen. Chewing of the honeycomb is beneficial to sinus and hay fever congestion.

            The surest way to get pure untreated, unheated honey is to buy it in the comb. Next best, try to get honey that is unfiltered (it will still be cloudy with healthful pollen) and unheated (the minerals will remain intact). Bees do not have a high resistance to insecticides; when exposed they usually die rather than carry the poison back to the hive – hard on the poor bees, but fortunate for the human beings. As can be expected these days, however, many unhealthful practices have invaded the business of beekeeping. Honey is often subjected to high heat to prevent it from granulating (if your honey granulates, that means it is alive and well and you only have to put it in a pot of warm water for it to liquefy again) – to all effects, it is killed. Instead of brushing the bees off the comb to extract the honey from the hive, poisons are often used to make the bees leave. Then the bees, if they live through this treatment, become weak and disease-prone and are treated with sulfur and antibiotics, which are passed on to the honey. So be careful where you buy your honey. Buy from a health food store dealing with a small apiary that handles its honey ethically and with respect for this godlike substance.

            Cooking with honey is unfortunately quite a problem. There are many recipes that just do not work with honey. Cookies won’t be as crunchy, nor cakes as light, nor will preserves jell as firmly. How to get honey into your diet and sugar out? First use it in tea and coffee and on cereal and toast. Then start introducing it into your cooking. Bread accepts honey nicely; substitute it for the white sugar called for. When using honey in desserts, avoid types such as buckwheat and heather that have strong flavors – the milder, the better, so that the honey will remain merely a sweetener and not submerge the taste of the dessert. A general rule of thumb is to substitute three-quarters of the amount of sugar called for with honey (i.e., in a recipe calling for 1 cup of sugar, use ¾ cup honey and eliminate the sugar), and cut down the liquid in the recipe by one-fifth. If you are doubtful about going all the way with honey in a certain batch of cookies, try using half sugar and half honey – you’ll have the best of both worlds. Remember that every time you think of a way to use honey instead of sugar you have done your body a big favor. A note of caution! Honey cannot be digested by children under twelve months of age and can cause infant botulism. Never, under any circumstances, feed honey to infants.

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            HONEY-YEAST ROLLS

1 package fresh yeast ( or 1 tablespoon dry)

¼ cup warm water

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons ( ½ stick) butter

¹/₃ cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour, sifted

2 ½ cups unbleached white flour, sifted

2 eggs, well beaten

1.      Dissolve yeast in warm water. Scald milk in a small saucepan and add butter and honey. Let butter melt. Cool milk mixture to lukewarm temperature and add to yeast and water; add salt and 3 cups of combined flour. Mix well and add knead until satin smooth. Place in buttered bowl; cover and let rise for about 50 minutes or until double in bulk.

2.  Punch down dough and form into round balls about the size of a golf ball. Place separately on a buttered cookie sheet or close together in a round pan that has been buttered. Cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

3.      Delicious served hot or rewarmed, for dinner or breakfast. These freeze well, too.

4.      Makes about 32 rolls.

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ACORN SQUASH WITH HONEY

2 medium acorn squash

4 tablespoons honey

4 teaspoons butter

4 teaspoons sherry (or dry vermouth)

Salt and pepper

1.   Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each squash in half, remove seeds, and place the 4 halves cut side up in a baking dish filled with ½ inch water.

2.   Put 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon butter, and 1 teaspoon sherry in the center of each piece. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper; bake for 40 minutes or until tender when pricked with a fork.

3.      Serves four.

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CRANBERRY SAUCE

4 cups fresh cranberries

¾ cup honey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¹/₃ teaspoon ground allspice

Juice and chopped pulp of 2 medium oranges

½ teaspoon lemon juice

1.      Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook covered until the cranberries are very tender – about 45 minutes. Serve well chilled.

2.      Makes about 3 cups.