On Saturday night, clocks are set back 1 hour (i.e., gaining one hour) to “fall back.” Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour earlier on Nov 5, 2023, than the day before. There will be more light in the morning.
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Honey’s benefits have been touted since antiquity — and it turns out the ancient Greeks and Romans were onto something: Honey really can hit the sweet spot when it comes to our health.
Though honey — a sweet, sticky liquid made by honeybees from flower nectar — is technically a sugar, “it’s also really rich in a lot of different bioactive substances,” says Mayo Clinic registered dietitian (and hobbyist beekeeper) Joy Heimgartner. Those include a range of good-for-you minerals, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants and other phytochemicals. There are four common types of honey: Raw honey is defined by the National Honey Board as “honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding heat.” Manuka honey, produced from the flowers of manuka trees, is known for its unique antibacterial properties, attributed to a compound called methylglyoxal, says Jordan Hill, lead registered dietitian for Top Nutrition Coaching.
Organic honey is produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, pesticides or GMOs. And locally produced honey has been reported to provide relief from seasonal allergies to local pollen, though scientific evidence to support that claim is limited, says Hill. According to Hill, honey can be substituted for sugar in recipes, but remember: It has a distinctive flavor (which varies depending on the source flowers); it’s sweeter than sugar (the general rule of thumb is to use ¾ to 1 cup of honey for every 1 cup of sugar); it’s a liquid, so you may need to cut back on other liquids or slightly increase the dry ingredients in a recipe; and it browns more quickly than sugar (so reduce the oven temperature by 25°F).
But whatever way you use honey — in a recipe or as a condiment — always keep in mind that it is a sweetener. “Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution, and we should limit added sugars of all types,” says Heimgartner. Still, “if you’re looking for a sweetener that has more to offer, honey is fantastic.” Honey’s benefits Here are six reasons why. Continue reading 6 Health Benefits of Honey
Absolutely, honey is a wonderful natural sweetener produced by bees using nectar from flowers. It’s a versatile ingredient that can be used in various beverages to add natural sweetness and flavor.
YIELD: Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 pint – fresh strawberries, stemmed and cleaned
1/4 cup – honey
1 can (6 oz.) – frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups – brewed green tea, cooled
1/2 cup – water
DIRECTIONS
In a blender or food processor container, combine water, strawberries and honey; process until smooth. Add orange juice concentrate; process until well blended.
Stir into cooled tea.
Serve over ice.
INGREDIENTS
For Ginger Honey Syrup:
1 cup – honey
5 – thin slices of ginger, peeled
1/2 cup – water
For Lemonade:
1 cup – freshly squeezed lemon juice
24 oz. – apple juice
5 cups – water
lemon slices, for serving
DIRECTIONS
Simmer the Ginger Honey Syrup ingredients in a heavy saucepan for about 30 minutes, set aside to cool. Remove the ginger slices and discard.
In a large pitcher combine the lemon juice, apple juice and water. Stir in the cooled Ginger Honey Syrup.
Fill each glass with ice and the lemonade, garnish with a lemon slice.
TIP
You can substitute club soda for the water if you prefer.
Remember, you can adjust the sweetness of these beverages according to your taste preferences. Honey not only adds sweetness but also brings its unique flavor profile, making these drinks even more enjoyable on a hot summer day. Enjoy responsibly and stay hydrated!
Honey is a nutritious, healthy and natural food produced by the bees. Its benefits go beyond its use as a sweetener as it contains several minerals, enzymes, vitamins and proteins that confer unique nutritious and organoleptic properties. Honey can be monofloral if one specific plant nectar and pollen content prevails in pre-defined percentages or polyfloral if it contains an unspecified mix of different nectars and pollens. Due to environmental, geographical and climatic conditions honey may vary in pollen content and relative humidity. Honey is produced in all five continents and its consumption varies from country to country also due to cultural reasons and eating habits.
Honey bees may provide livelihood or a source of income for many beekeepers all over the world. This could happen through the services provided by the bees (mainly pollination service, apitherapy and apitourism), or directly through the bee products. The last include: alive bees to guarantee always new queen bees or bee packs, honey, pollen, wax, propolis, royal jelly and venom. Bee products may be used as food for humans, feed for animals, cosmetics, medicines used in conventional medicine (mainly vaccination), or in apitherapy, or other like manifold products, carpentry, attractant, sweeteners, etc.
We all know the bee basics. They’re important pollinators. They make honey. They make buzz. They like to join you at picnics.
But did you know that they also provide us with medicines and even help keep our planet beautiful and healthy?
There’s no denying that honey and the bees that make it have become an integral part of America’s way of life, not only because of the sweet liquid they provide, but their pollination work ensures that we have a healthy global food supply (Fun Fact: honey bee pollination is an agricultural benefit that accounts for nearly $15 billion in added crop value, according to our friends at the FDA). But did you know that honey bees as we know them today are actually not native to this land? Since we are celebrating the first true American holiday later this week, we thought it would be fun to take a look at honey and honey bees in the time of the Pilgrims in this edition of Honey in History: Colonial America!
Although there was a now-extinct species of honey bee in the area, as evidenced by a 14 million-year-old fossil unearth in Nevada in 2009 (believed to have died out long before the 17th century), the European honey bees that buzz around America today were first introduced to our land by European settlers who came over in the early 1620s. Realizing their value as pollinators, they were sent along to help establish the many fruits and other crops that the Pilgrims brought over. Continue reading Honey in History: Honey Bees in Colonial America
The diversity of the beekeeping craft has evolved over time, and managed pollination is just one of the ways beekeepers make a big impact on the world. Managed pollination is the practice of caring for hives and honey bees in order to pollinate the crops that sustain us all.
The Honey Bees’ Second Shift
In addition to gathering nectar to produce honey, honey bees perform a vital second function – pollination, making them a critical component of today’s agricultural market. In fact, about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honey bees are responsible for 80 percent of this pollination.
Pollination
While honey bees are gathering nectar, they’re also fertilizing flowering plants. Pollination occurs when pollen is transferred from the anthers of a flower to the ovules of another flower. This pollination greatly increases the quantity and quality of many crops including a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts such as almonds.
According to the Bee Health Collective, while many pollinators are important contributors, honey bees have several traits that make them well-suited for the job of crop pollination:
Honey bees pollinate crops in all 50 U.S. states
The bee-plant relationship (pollination), is necessary for our food supply and for our ecosystems. Honey bees are the “workhorses” that make it possible to produce good yields of many foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and even meat and dairy (which depend on bees to pollinate livestock feed crops like alfalfa). While many pollinators are important contributors, honey bees have several traits that make them well-suited for the job of crop pollination. They can be managed and moved in large numbers from crop to crop by beekeepers, they are resilient generalists which means they forage on (and pollinate) many types of blooms, and they are considered by growers to be the best “bang for your buck” for pollination. Pollination often provides more revenue for beekeepers than honey production.
Dietary Impact
Many of the ingredients that contribute to a balanced and healthy diet wouldn’t be possible without honey bees, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the hard work of beekeepers and managed pollinators. It is thanks to them that we can enjoy Mother Nature’s sweetener and feed communities with nutritious crops like fruits, vegetables and nuts. Not to mention meat and dairy, which depend on bees to pollinate livestock feed crops, like alfalfa. There are 90 different crops that are reliant on beekeepers and honey bees so this is an invaluable practice that ultimately puts food on dinner tables across the nation. Check out this infographic to see just some of the foods pollinated by honey bees.
This wasp earned its nickname from preying on honeybees. It can swoop down and grab them out of the air. The hornet then carries this treat home to nourish young hornets. A raiding party of several dozen Asian giant hornets can kill a whole hive. The attackers can kill thousands of bees in just a few hours. In such mass attacks, hornets bite the heads off adult bees. Attackers leave the adult bodies in heaps. They carry off young bees as protein for young hornets.
V. mandarinia ranks as the world’s largest hornet. Queens can grow some 5 centimeters (2 inches) long, about the length of an average-sized woman’s thumb. Wingspans can exceed 7 centimeters (2.8 inches), not quite the full width of a woman’s palm. Workers are smaller.
Such true hornets are big, predatory, colony-forming wasps. They belong to the genus Vespa. None are native to North or South America. Most are native to Asia. They need meat to feed their young. That’s in contrast to honeybees, which collect plant pollen as protein. Another difference: A honeybee dies after its single-use stinger rips out of its body. Hornets can sting over and over. Continue reading Murder Hornets preying on honeybees
by Angela Van Alten, Nutritionist and Beekeeper’s Daughter
People who are looking for ways to get closer to a natural diet often wind up turning to paleo. The paleo diet has lots of dos and don’ts, and it can be hard to predict what foods are allowed and which ones are verboten. Paleo, in general, takes a harsh stance against sweeteners. But, what about honey, which is a completely natural sweetener, and ones our paleolithic ancestors probably used? Understanding more about honey, as well as the philosophy behind paleo eating, can help you make the right choice for you and your optimal level of health.What Is Paleo? Continue reading Is Honey Paleo?
(CNN)We are all better after a decent night’s sleep — and insects are no different.
Continue reading Bees aren’t getting enough sleep, thanks to some common pesticides
Honey Watermelon Granita with Honeycomb
INGREDIENTS
1 medium – seedless watermelon
1/2 cup – honey
juice and zest of 4 limes
3″ – square piece of honeycomb, optional
fresh mint and additional lime, to garnish
DIRECTIONS
Cut the melon in half and scoop out the flesh into a blender. Remove any seeds that may be in the watermelon as best you can. Blend the watermelon until pureed, pausing to stir and fully blend as needed.
Add the honey, lime juice and zest and blend until well combined.
Pour the watermelon mixture into a large shallow pan and place in the freezer uncovered.
Wait one hour and with a fork, run the tines through the mixture to break up any ice crystal, return to the freezer and repeat every 30 minutes until fully frozen and icy. This mixture should be icy crystals, not a frozen block and not slushy.
To serve, scoop into shallow glass and garnish with a bit of honeycomb, mint leaves and a lime wedge.
TIP
This recipe can be made into a light watermelon wine granita by adding 12 oz. of moscato or sparkling rose to the mixture before placing in the freezer. This may take additional time in the freezer. You can also add a drizzle of a fruity liqueur such as limoncello or melon liqueur over the granita when serving. This makes a unique and refreshing “after dinner” dessert!