08 Mar Oh Honey, My Sweetness
As I sit musing over the last morsel of my honey-coated spoon, I wonder how something so sweet, so luxurious and seducing, is also so natural. With its creaminess melting on my tongue, the buttery floral aroma seducing my tastebuds into a zen-like state, I am impervious to everything except this supple luxury.
Honey, thick and luscious, is one of nature’s oldest and most treasured ways to sweeten your life. Nothing compares to the comfort and bliss it adds to a cup of tea, the sweetness it lends to a slice of warm bread with butter, and even the delicate, yet enriching flavor it evokes in savory meats and vegetables.
One of the few ingredients whose production is exclusive to nature, honey is 100% pure honey, with no elements added by man. Like wine, cheese and olive oil, honey reflects the earthy characteristics of its source. Hundreds of honey varieties exist, over 300 within the United States alone, and each distinct flavor and aroma depends upon the tree or flower a bee chooses to pollinate. Delicate and mild or fragrant and robust, honey flavors range in personality from fruity, floral, spicy or earthy, and hues from light gold or copper to deep amber.
Not only is honey an indulgent delicacy eaten on its own, but this sophisticated sweetener is also a versatile ingredient that provides immense pleasure and quality to cooking. It marries well with almost any ingredient imaginable, making honey a component of many diverse recipes from cakes to cookies, and salad dressing to stir fry. Sweeter and more robust than refined sugar, honey enriches and adds an infusion of inimitable flavor and luxurious texture to baked goods; its adaptability has also deemed it a popular choice for in just about every type of cooking, from sweetening savory dishes to acting as a base for numerous sauces.
Another sweet advantage to cooking with honey is that its hydroscopic (meaning it attracts water) characteristic bestows honey with food preservation qualities, enabling baked goods to stay moist longer, and thus adding to their shelf-life.
While honey can be used as a natural substitute for sugar in most recipes, there are some important tips to remember when cooking or baking with it:
- Honey is sweeter than sugar, so less is needed when replacing the sugar in recipes – use only ½ to ¾ the amount of honey as sugar is called for
- As almost one fifth of honey is water, reduce any liquids in the recipe by ¼ cup for each cup of honey used
- Neutralize the acid in honey by adding ½ tsp of baking soda for each cup of honey used
- Honey causes foods to brown faster than other sweeteners, so reduce the oven temperature by 25°F to avoid over-browning when baking
- One 12-ounce jar of honey yields 1 cup
- Always store honey at room temperature to retain its luxuriant texture
Finally, inspired by this month’s luxurious ingredient, the Test Kitchen crew indulged in our cravings for all things sweet and savory, creating recipes to illustrate honey’s versatility and highlight its most luxurious qualities.