Posts Tagged ‘Honey’

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the  nucleus of bees to place in our hive-it seems as if the cool weather to date has put everything back, which includes bee keeping.

Not only have I decided to set up a hive in our garden this year because I think  that having kept bees in Norfolk for a few years, bee keeping  is incredibly rewarding and fascinating for Maya to be part of, but also I have to admit that cool thick Greek-style yoghurt drizzled with a spoonful of runny honey is a comfort food for me, but I have to watch it as it is becoming a little addictive, in the nicest possible way, a small bowl just isn’t enough.

But if you’re not lucky enough to be able to start up your own honey making venture, there are lots of different varieties to choose from in the shops, be this your local deli, home delivery company, village shop or large supermarket-the varieties seem to have exploded, or I also suspect that honey makers have also realised that consumers want to know more about what type of flowers the bees have been feeding on, the words runny and set don’t seem enough-many of us like to know whether it’s lavender, thyme, heather, orange blossom because it definitely helps us when we decide what to do with it.

Not only do the flavours, consistency of them vary, but also their colour which when it comes to one of my must have’s in the cupboard, the Manuka honey, it can be unbelievably, non-honey like, dark-almost Molasses looking.  The reason why I always have Manuka honey in is that this pure honey from new Zealand and Australia, seems to have what’s known as some of the most powerful antibacterial effects, so I think one of the best ways to treat colds, coughs, is to take a teaspoon of Manuka honey, twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.  You need to have it cool, and don’t add it to hot water because this kills of the helpful antibiotic qualities of the honey-if you want to have the traditional honey and lemon soothing drink, it’s still fine to have the Manuka honey in it, but then have your cool honey dose on top of it.

Whilst I am a fan of Manuka honey for it’s healing properties, I find the taste too strong for other things like making cakes, or just having on warm toast, so this is where the other honeys come in.  I try to buy British when it’s available( being careful to check the labels as the country of origin can be hard to see at times) as the Bee keepers and honey sellers need every bit of help they can get to ride what has been a very bumpy road over the last few years in the Bee world-be this with the rise in viruses and mites, or other environmental antagonists which have all had fairly catastrophic effects on the bee population.

On the nutritional front many people, especially parents are slightly seduced by the notion that honey is good sugar, and therefore fine and better for their kids to eat.  Whilst I do think honey can be healthy (apart from for under one year olds, as sometimes honey can cause infant botulism, a form of food poisoning) it contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals, and because it has a higher water content than sugar, it has slightly less calories-299/100g, compared with 394 for other classic white and brown sugars, neither the presence of trace nutrients and it’s slightly less calories should detract from the fact that too much honey can still have just as detrimental effects on your child’s teeth, especially because it’s sticky and can hang around in their mouth for longer than crystal sugar.

Too much honey may also make energy levels shoot up very quickly and hence crash down afterwards, can be just as fattening as any other sort of more refined sugar. So as delicious as this sweet yummy stuff is, either on it’s own or within in a pudding, watch that you’re not overly indulging your taste buds.

Honey Ice Cream

Serves 4–6

1 Egg
4 Egg Yolks
100g Runny Honey
200ml Whipping Cream
100ml Greek Style Natural Yoghurt

Break the egg into a bowl and add the egg yolks and honey. Set the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and beat until the mixture becomes thick and pale. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until stiff and fold it, along with the yoghurt into the egg mixture. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the instructions until frozen.

It’s national honey AND national bread week this week so get spreading…

Rich, gooey honeys and outstanding quality breads…not that we need any excuse to tuck into these delights, but this week marks both national bread week and national honey week so what better time to get spreading!

	Poilane Breads Poilane bread is old fashioned, handmade and thick crusted. They bake the sourdough in an oak-fired oven and use carefully selected ingredients and traditional bakery know-how! From £2.35
	Honeys We have a fantastic range of honeys to tempt you. From floral lavender honey to fragrant orange honey and of course traditional English set, you can have a different flavour every day of the week! From £3.15/jar

Recipe: Cinammon French Toast

2 Organic Free-Range Eggs
300ml Milk
2 tbsp Caster Sugar or Vanilla Sugar
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
4 Sliced White Bread
50g Butter
2 Oranges
Icing Sugar for Dusting
Drizzle of Clear Honey
Double Cream to serve

Beat the egg, milk, sugar and cinammon until thoroughly combined. Soak the sliced bread in the mixture. While you wait, peel and slice the oranges.

Now melt the butter in a frying pan, add the bread slices and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown.

Arrange the orange slices, top with toast and dust with icing sugar. Finally drizzle over some honey and cream or custard if you prefer.