You have probably heard it described as “liquid gold.” Honey is a gift from nature in more ways than one. It was created because bees had the good sense to collect the sweet nectar from flowers and use their saliva to break it down into fructose and glucose. The flavor of honey is determined by the type of flower the bee has worked on. You can buy mild or delicate flavors like orange blossom, or strong and more distinct flavors like buckwheat. Always remember that the darker the honey looks, the stronger its flavor is going to be.
Honey adds moisture, flavor, sweetness and color to baked goods. It also helps to keep baked goods fresher longer. Ever wonder why a baked good made with honey stays so soft? It’s because the honey will draw in moisture from the air and help to retain it in the baked good, thus keeping it nice and soft.
Honey is sweeter than sugar because of its high fructose content. When substituting honey for sugar in a recipe use equal amounts up to one cup. But if the recipe calls for more than one cup of sugar, measure out only 2/3 cup to ¾ cup of honey per cup. Also, you will have to reduce the liquid in your recipe by ¼ cup for every cup of honey you use.
When baking with honey, if the recipe does not already have baking soda in it, you should add at least ¼ teaspoon to help it rise better. Honey is heavy, weighing in at 12oz. for one cup. Water only weighs 8oz. per cup. You should also consider the oven temperature when baking with honey. A recipe that has been changed to include honey should be baked at 25 degrees lower. The high sugar content can cause the baked goods to burn, or get too brown. In cookie recipes that have little or no liquid (just eggs), you should add 2 more Tablespoons of flour for every one cup of honey used.
You might notice that a recipe using all honey didn’t quite rise enough. Most recipes will ask you to cream the butter and sugar together, which help to hold air in the batter. For better results, you should try using half honey, and half sugar.
Here are a couple of good tips on honey. Measure your honey in an oiled measuring cup so it will flow out easily and not stick to the sides of the cup. You can also oil your measuring spoons. Honey will last a very long time, but as it ages it can become crystallized. This does not affect the flavor of the honey, but it does make it hard to get it out of the container. To re-liquefy it, you can place the container in a bowl of very hot water. Keep stirring it until it liquefies enough to measure it out. If the container is microwave-safe, you can microwave the honey with the lid off on high at 15 second intervals. Stir after each setting until it liquefies. Aging honey will also darken in color and become stronger in flavor. Keep this in mind if you only want a subtle hint of honey flavor.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the health benefits you get from honey. Honey has cancer-fighting properties, helps with athletes foot, arthritis and helps to soothe sore throats. It has been said that eating honey makes your blood sugar rise slower than if you are eating sugar, thus giving you less of a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. This is only true for raw honey. Honey bought from the grocery store that is not raw has been heated extensively during processing. Heating removes many of the nutrients and leaves only the sugar. Raw honey should not be consumed by small babies or children under two years old. It contains bacteria in it that can be fatal to them. Their bodies’ immune system cannot fight off the bacteria at such a young age. Raw honey is perfectly safe for older kids and adults.
Enjoy experimenting with the many different flavors of honey on the market. Don’t forget to try honey butter or dry honey crystals in your recipes. Honey crystals look like a finer form of dry couscous and can be easily added to a cup of hot tea, smoothies, or sprinkled on yogurt.
Next time you see a bee buzzing around your garden, give him a big “thank you” salute for all of his hard work!
Happy buzzing….I mean baking!
Pam
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