Food With A Point

My friend Danielle is into bees and she knows her honey like nobody’s business. So obviously when I was recently in the market to replenish my stock, I sought out her advice. So valuable was her guidance that I felt the desire to pass it on. Here are her words of wisdom on one of nature’s most amazing products.

First of all, make sure that you are buying honey from a local producer, preferably a small producer. That ensures that the honey is actually local because often Canadian honey is mixed with honey from China and Argentina, which can contain antibiotics and sugar.

Honey is classified by the types of nectar collected from the flowers that are in bloom. Not all flowers are in bloom at the same time thus why there are different flavours of honey and why most often honey will be classified by season and color.

• Spring honey (dandelion and linden flowers) is the clearest honey in appearance and also the most delicate in taste.
• Summer honey (clover, alfalfa) is also clear although slightly darker than the spring honey. It is also the most common because summer is when the most amount of flowers are in bloom and production peaks.
• Autumn honey (Golden Rod) is darker in colour and flavour.

There are specific types of honey that exhibit more distinct flavours. This feature should be taken into account when using them in sweet and savoury recipes. Here are some that are made in Quebec:  

• Buckwheat honey is the darkest and has the strongest taste – like really strong beer. Use sparingly.
• Raspberry and blueberry honeys are sweeter and are delicious on yogurt and pancakes.
• Mint honey is slightly herbal and wonderful in glazes for white meat.

For those who were wondering, creamed honey is just summer honey whipped like cream into butter. It's just aerated!

And finally, honey never goes bad. It may crystallize but this is entirely normal. If you want it liquefy it, just heat it gently in a hot water bath or in microwave. To ensure the best taste, always keep honey at room temperature.