I’m in love with you – Honey

Since ancient times, honey has been a crucial part of beauty, culture, diet, finance, medicine, preservation, religion and society. The Bible describes a promised land “flowing with milk and honey.”

As the world’s oldest sweetener, honey was the primary source of added sweetness until the large scale cultivation of sugar in the 1800’s. It was so valuable that honey or honey products were often used as payment, tribute and became part of many important rituals.

Honey was often used to feed sacred animals and was poured over the thresholds, bolts and stones of sacred buildings.

Mead, the oldest known fermented beverage, is made from honey, water and yeast. It was often referred to as the drink of the Gods.

The term “honey-moon” is thought to derive from the custom of having newlywed couples drink quantities of mead during the first month of marriage.

Honey products were, and still are, used for much more than sweetening. Honey is a natural preservative and is used to cure and to preserve other foods. It was also used in embalming processes.

The same properties that make honey a good preservative make it a natural medicine. Honey is antimicrobial, inhibiting bacterial growth. It is often used in the treatment of sore throats and coughs and produces hydrogen peroxide.

There is some anecdotal and scientific evidence that daily consumption of honey can reduce your susceptibility to infections. Honey is a great source of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins including niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin and vitamin B6.

Because of its antimicrobial action, honey has long been used as a dressing for wounds. Often, strips of clean linen were soaked in liquid beeswax, then smeared with honey and placed on wounds to bind them and promote healing.

The beeswax itself had many uses. It produced a kind of chewing gum. It was used to waterproof leather, for candles and furniture polish and to smooth sewing thread. Honey and beeswax have also been used in the making of cement and varnish.

Up until the past few centuries, most households owned a beehive which supplied honey and beeswax. Farmers used the products of the bees as well as the pollinating work of the bees. Now, most people buy honey and honey products from stores.

Honey is produced in all of the Untied States and in most countries throughout the world. The USDA reports that the U.S. produced 186 million pounds of honey in 2001 at a value of approximately $127.1 million. The average per captia honey consumption of Americans is about 1.5 pounds.

Honey is in many of the items we purchase. Those products include baked goods, beer and other alcoholic beverages, beverages, cereals, condiments, cured meats, jams and jellies, medicines, preserves, sauces and much more. Non-food items containing honey include beauty products, candles, cosmetics, household products and pharmaceuticals.

What are the tips for buying, storing and using honey? How should honey be stored?  See our special Cooking Good in Greene page on honey.   Also includes honey recipes.

Whatever you use honey for, it is sure to make your life much sweeter.

Read Boomer Journeys and other articles by Alex Carrier in the Greene County Record

Boomer Journeys Index

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