5.27.2013

How To Make the Most of Your Expensive Honey



Raw, local honey. Do you love it as much as I do? In my real food kitchen, honey is one of our primary healthy sweeteners. We buy it by the gallon from a local beekeeper, and pay a pretty penny. I use it in my homemade granola and honey-oatmeal bread, I drizzle it on homemade yogurt, stir it into tea, and spread it on nut-buttered toast. Lately I'm loving it in this hydrating ginger-lemonade, too.

When I'm spending good money on high quality food, I don't want to waste even a tiny drop. So what do you do with the crusty honey at the bottom of the jar? It's impossible to scrape out, scoop out, or lick out. So here's what you do:

Make Honey Water!

Honey water? Yes. You can use your honey water to sweeten teas, make lemonade, or add to fruit sauces. And you're smart; I'm sure you could come up with even more ideas! It couldn't be any easier, and you'll be so happy that you are no longer wasting your delicious, nutritious honey that some bees worked very hard to make!

Note: I am not talking about a whole jar of honey that has crystallized. If you have crystallized honey, you can still make good use of it! Put it in a sink of warm water, or set it on top of a warm stove after the oven has been on. Or just scoop it out with a spoon! It is still fine to use for just about any purpose. :)

How to Make Honey Water

  1. Add a little warm water to your container of crusty honey. Start with a tablespoon or two. If the container is glass, you may use hot water. If it is plastic, only use warm water so you do not risk leeching chemicals into the honey.
  2. Put a lid on the container and shake!
  3. Shake until the honey has dissolved. If necessary, add more water, a little bit at a time. 
  4. If you are having trouble getting the honey to dissolve, let the water sit in there over night. In the morning it will probably be dissolved!
  5. Pour your honey-water into a jar and store it in the fridge. Use within a few days, but know that I've used mine for up to two weeks and I was just fine. :)

What's your favorite use for honey?


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