Honey For Dummies. Howland Blackiston
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or crystals. But by carefully controlling the crystallization process, you can produce extremely fine crystals and create a velvety-smooth, spreadable product. Sinful, like eating buttercream icing!
Photo by Howland Blackiston
FIGURE 3-4: Making top-quality whipped honey is a craft, resulting in a velvety-smooth, spreadable delicacy.
MAKE WHIPPED HONEY: THE DYCE METHOD
The Dyce Method is a process used to control the crystallization of honey. It was developed and patented by Elton J. Dyce in 1935. The process (described here) results in a nice, smooth whipped honey:
1 Heat honey to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (use a candy thermometer — accuracy is important).This kills yeast cells that are always present in honey. Yeast causes fermentation, and its presence can inhibit a successful result when making whipped honey. Stir the honey gently and constantly to avoid overheating. Be careful not to introduce air bubbles.
2 Using a two-fold thickness of cheesecloth as a strainer, strain honey to remove foreign material and wax.
3 Heat honey again, this time to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.Don’t forget to stir continuously.
4 Strain honey a second time to remove all visible particles.Again, you can use a two-fold thickness of cheesecloth as a strainer.
5 Cool honey as rapidly as possible until the temperature reaches 75 degrees Fahrenheit.You can place honey in a container and “float” it in an ice water bath to speed the cooling process. Stir gently as honey cools.
6 Add some finely crystallized honey to promote a controlled crystallization of your whipped honey.It’s kind of like adding a special yeast culture when making sourdough bread. Introduce these seed crystals by adding 10 percent (by weight) of processed granulated honey. Granulated honey is processed by breaking down any coarse crystals into finely granulated crystals. This can be accomplished by fracturing the crystallized honey in a meat grinder or a food processor.
7 Place mixture in a cool room (57 degrees Fahrenheit).Complete crystallization occurs in about a week.
8 After a week, run mixture through the grinder (or food processor) one more time to break up any newly formed crystals.
9 Bottle and store in a cool dry room.
(Information courtesy of National Honey Board)
What’s the Story on Honey Straws?
You may have seen something on the market called “honey straws.” Mostly these are sold as a healthy snack or a pick-me-up. They consist of clear plastic straws, pinched at both ends and filled with liquid, extracted honey (see Figure 3-5).
Courtesy of GloryBee (glorybee.com)
FIGURE 3-5: Honey straws are another way you may see honey marketed.
Some honey straws contain pure honey of some variety. But for others, the honey has been colored and flavored with the likes of root beer, caramel, mint, chocolate, lemonade, watermelon, and on and on. Kids seem to love them, but they are not intended for the honey connoisseur. Comparing honey straws to pure, raw honey is like comparing a fruit-infused wine to a vintage cabernet.
Part 2
Nutrition, Health, and Honey
IN THIS PART …
Read about apitherapy and how honey and other products of the hive are used worldwide to heal and improve health.
Discover honey’s natural ability to kill bacteria.
Take a look at how honey is used in health, wellness, and personal care products.
Try your hand at making honey remedies and personal care products at home.
Chapter 4
All About Apitherapy
IN THIS CHAPTER
Honey bees are sophisticated creatures, producing many substances (besides honey) that have proven health benefits for humans and some animals. The study and use of these products for healing and maintaining health is called apitherapy or “bee therapy” and include use of bee venom, pollen, royal jelly, propolis, beeswax, and honey.
Apitherapy gained national recognition through Charles Mraz, a beekeeper who founded the American Apitherapy Society (AAS) in the 1930s. During his lifetime he treated people with arthritis pain, multiple sclerosis, and other autoimmune diseases with bee stings and products of the hive. (He chronicles his personal journey as a pioneering healer along with case studies in his book Health and the Honeybees that was published in 1955.) The AAS continues to be dedicated to educating medical professionals, beekeepers, and the public about the benefits of bee medicine.
Well before the AAS was established, honey and bees were used as medicine for thousands of years. Evidence exists that the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Chinese, Greeks, and even Romans employed honey for various treatments, including wound care and diseases of the intestine. The oldest known medical text of Egypt dating back to 1553–1550 BC is known as Papyrus Ebers. There are passages about using honey along with herbal remedies as a natural antibiotic and to dress wounds. In 50 AD, Dioscorides the physician to the Roman army, wrote: “Honey is good for all rotten and hollow ulcers,” alluding to treating the soldiers who suffered infected wounds during war time.
APITHERAPY COURSE
My first experience with apitherapy was at an American Apitherapy Society conference. I had always been interested in alternative medicine and wanted to learn more about how honey and bee venom were applied as a therapeutic treatment. So I signed myself up for the CMAC (Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course) certification course (see the following figure for a photo of Charles Mraz). It was three days of talks and workshops in the largely unknown world of honey-bee medicine. During one lecture we were told that after a short coffee break we would watch a live stinging demonstration by a trained apitherapist, Dr. Theo Cherbuliz, and a willing volunteer. I could not imagine how