Sunday, December 11, 2005

Oh, Honey!

Honey is one of the world's oldest and most versatile foods. It's many benefits were known to Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptian Pharoahs. It is believed that Cleopatra used honey in her shampoos and skin lotion. (Did you know she also had no bodily hair? Except for the hair on her head)
More than 300 varieties of honey are produced in the U.S.A. Honeybees feed on pumpkin blossom, lavender, sunflower, wild blackberry and orange blossoms, just to name a few. Honey is also produced from alfalfa, kudzu, buckwheat and thistle. The lighter honey is more desirable & this is what's sold on store shelves. Honey that is too dark or whose taste isn't perfect, is used for ingredients in salad dressings, baking & other uses. California is the #1 producing state in the country.
Trivia:
~ Honey never spoils. It does not need to be refrigerated and can be stored unopened, indefinitely, at room temperature in a dry cupboard.
~ Honey is one of the oldest foods in existence. It was found in King Tut's tomb and was still edible.
~ Due to the high level of fructose, honey is 25 percent sweeter than table sugar.
~ Honey has different flavors and colors, depending on the location and kinds of flowers the bees visit. Climatic conditions of the area also influence its flavor and color.
~ A honeybee visits 50 to 100 flowers during one collection flight from the hive. Two million flowers must be visited to produce 1 pound of honey.
~ One bee colony can produce 60 to 100 pounds of honey per year.
~ An average worker bee makes only about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in it's lifetime.
~ Honey was the most-used medicine in ancient Egypt. Of the more than 900 known remedies from that time, more than 500 were honey-based.
~ Honey has as many heart-healthy antioxidants as spinach.
~ Honey is used for soothing sore throats and minor burns, speeds the healing of open wounds and combats infection.
~ The queen lays about 1200 eggs per day, about 200,000 per season
~ It takes 2 million flowers to make a pound of honey.

Click HERE to see a bee under a microscope. If you also want to see an interactive video, look for: Interactive Honey Bee Worker and click it. It's very interesting!

A few recipes ~
Honey Frosted Pumpkin Muffins

Asian Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Honey Bran Squares

Question ~ Since one bee makes only about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, how many bees does it take to make 1 pound of honey? (I don't know the answer or how to figure it out)

Technorati tags: honey, ancient greeks, romans, egyptians, pharoahs, lavender, sunflower, cleopatra, pumpkin blossom, wild blackberry, orange blossom, alfalfa, kudzu, thistle, buckwheat, california, trivia, king tut/'s tomb, fructose, antioxidants, recipes, honey frosted pumpkin muffins, asian grilled pork tenderloin, honey bran squares

posted by jane at 9:33 PM