Wellness Weekly

By Sandy Considine

Honey of course. But have you ever wondered what honey is, exactly? Honey is essentially a natural liquid sugar. It’s made by hardworking honeybees, who collect nectar from flowers and take it back to their hive, where they chew on it until it turns into honey. Then, they deposit the honey into tiny, waxy storage units called honeycombs and fan it with their wings to dry it out, a process that makes it stickier.

Cool, right?! But just because honey is all-natural doesn’t mean we can eat as much of it as we want. Unlike regular sugar, though, it does have some specific and unique health benefits.

Does it matter what kind of honey you eat?

The best honey doesn’t come in a cute little plastic teddy bear. That kind of honey is processed and less beneficial than its counterparts. The clearer the honey, the more processed it is. “Raw honey seems to be the better choice.”

But what does that mean?

Raw vs. pasteurized honey
As you might expect by its name, raw honey comes straight from the hive, and nothing has been done to it except to gather it up and portion it out into containers. It’s often sold at farmers’ markets and by other independent sellers.

“Raw honey is the least processed and has the most antioxidants,”
Raw honey is considered safe to eat (except for children under 1 year old). But it may look different from the honey you’re used to seeing in grocery stores.

Raw honey often has some pollen and more enzymes in it because it’s not treated with heat, that makes the honey look foggier.

The type of honey that you typically find in the grocery store is pasteurized honey, which has been processed to remove imperfections (like pollen) and to improve its shelf life.

Pasteurized honey is also sometimes diluted with corn syrup or other sweeteners. Legally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires these products to be labeled as a “honey blend,” so pay close attention to labels and ingredient lists.

Why is some honey light and others dark?

The hue of your honey depends on which kind of plant its nectar came from.

Dark buckwheat, for example, yields dark honey and nutritionally, there’s evidence that darker honey has less water and more antioxidants than light-colored honey.

Does that mean that dark honey is better for you than light honey? Yes and no. More antioxidants are always a good thing, but don’t stress too much about trying to find the so-called healthiest honey.

Because honey should be consumed in very limited quantities, it’s OK to go with whichever type of honey you like best, even if it’s not the darkest of the options.

Types of light honey

Light-colored honey tends to be mild in flavor. Varieties include:

Acacia honey has floral scents and sweetness but doesn’t change the taste of the foods you put it in, like tea and oatmeal.

Alfalfa honey is a mild honey that’s common in the U.S. and Canada. It comes from flowers with purple blossoms.

Clover honey is also common in the U.S. “It has a floral, sweet taste and a bit of a sour aftertaste. It’s good for baking, sauces and dressings.

Tupelo honey is a rare, amber-colored honey that comes from Florida and Georgia, where white Ogeechee tupelo trees grow. It has a high fructose content, a low glucose content and natural notes of cinnamon.
Types of dark honey

Dark varieties of honey are known for their stronger flavors; varieties of dark honey include:

Buckwheat honey doesn’t taste as sweet as other types of honey. This full-flavored honey can be used in marinades, It’s especially high in antioxidants.

Manuka honey comes from the nectar and pollen of the Manuka bush in New Zealand.
Wildflower honey is a polyfloral honey, meaning it comes from the nectar of different types of flowers. It’s potent, earthy and sometimes a little fruity.

How can you tell which type of honey you like best? Just as they all look a little different, they all have different flavor profiles, too — and the shade can give you some clues about the taste.

Honey has so many different tastes compared to plain sugar, it can be sweeter or more bitter depending on the flower source.

Here is an idea!

“Instead of eating flavored yogurt, which comes with lots of added sugar, try sweetening plain Greek yogurt with a light drizzle of honey and add your own fruit,”

Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon Honey Yogurt Dip
Ingredients
8 peaches, 2 2/3 inches in diameter
8 ounces plain non-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, granola optional
Preparation
•Preheat grill or grill pan.
•Combine yogurt, honey and cinnamon in a bowl; stir well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
•Cut peaches in half and remove pits.
•Place peaches cut side down on grill.
•Grill peaches for about five minutes (until marks appear and peaches begin to caramelize).
•Remove from grill, and cool slightly.
•Dip in yogurt mixture.

Please feel free to email on what you what to know about for a future article at
sandra.considine@yahoo.com