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
