Honey

Honey is probably the oldest sweetener known to man. It predates recorded history and has been found in the Egyptian pyramids. It's typically sweeter than granulated sugar by a factor of 25%-40% depending upon the specific flowers from which the bees gather their nectar. This means a smaller amount of honey can give the same amount of sweetening as sugar. The source flowers also dictate the flavor and the color of the sweetener as well. Honey color can range from very dark (nearly black) to almost colorless. As a general rule, the lighter the color and the more delicate the flavor, the greater the price the honey will bring. As you might expect, since honey is sweeter than table sugar, it also has more calories as well - 22 per teaspoon compared to granulated sugar's 16 per teaspoon. There are also trivial amounts of minerals and vitamins in the bee product while white sugar has none. Raw honey may also contain minute quantities of botulinum spores and should not be fed to children under one year of age. Please read the post from Geri Guidetti concerning this .. Raw honey is OK for older children and adults. Honey is not a direct substitute for table sugar however, it's use in recipes may call for a bit of alteration to get the recipe to turn out right.

Honey comes in a number of forms in the retail market and they all have different storage characteristics:

Whole-Comb

This is the bee product straight from the hive. This is the most unprocessed form in which honey comes, being found as large pieces of waxy comb floating in raw honey. The comb itself will contain many unopened honey cells.

Raw

This is unheated honey that has been removed from the comb. It may contain bits of wax, insect parts and other small detritus.

Filtered

This is raw honey that has been warmed slightly to make it more easy to filter out small particles and impurities. Other than being somewhat cleaner than raw honey it is essentially the same. Most of nutrients remain intact.

Liquid

This is honey that has been heated to higher temperatures to allow for easier filtering and to kill any microorganisms. Usually lighter in color, this form is milder in flavor, resists crystallization and generally clearer. It stores the best of the various forms of honey. Much of the trace amounts of vitamins, however, are lost.

Crystallized or Spun

This honey has had some of its moisture content removed to make a creamy, spread. It is the most processed form of honey.

Much of the honey sold in supermarkets has been blended from a variety of different honeys and some may have even had other sweeteners added as well. Like anything involving humans, buying honey can be a tricky business. It pays to deal with individuals and brands you know you can trust. You should buy and store honey labeled US Grade A or US Fancy if buying in retail outlets. However, be aware there are no federal labeling laws governing the sale of honey, so only honey labeled "pure" is entirely honey and not blended with other sweeteners. Honey grading is a matter of voluntary compliance which means some producers may be lax and sloppy about it. This can be a real nuisance when producers use words like "organic", "raw", "uncooked" and "unfiltered" on their labels, possibly to mislead. Fortunately, most honey producers are quite honest in their product labeling so if you're not certain of who to deal with, it is worthwhile to ask around to find out who produces a good product.

Honey may also contain trace amounts of drugs used in treating various bee ailments, including antibiotics. If this is a concern to you, then it would be wise to investigate with your local honey producer what has been used.

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