Honey, it’s sweet, golden; it’s an endearment, it’s said to have healing properties. Now that people are going back to natural foods, it’s nice to know that honey actually contains small amounts of vitamins and amino acids. It’s also fat free, cholesterol free and sodium free! So naturally, it’s the perfect sweet indulgence!
Here are a few tips when cooking with honey:
Honey is sweeter than regular sugar, so we can use less of it than sugar when we cook with it. A rule of thumb is to use 1/3 cup LESS honey for each cup of sugar your recipe calls for. Example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, you would only need 2/3 of a cup of honey.
It’s best to coat the measuring vessel you’re using with a bit of oil or cooking spray before adding honey so that the honey will come out easier.
When baking with honey, remember the following:It’s important to remember honey has more liquid content than sugar. So reduce any liquid in a recipe by 1/4 cup to compensate.
Add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for each cup of honey in recipes also. Honey is slightly acidic. The baking soda helps neutralize that.
Like using glass pans, if you reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees, when using honey in a recipe, your food won’t become browned too quickly.
Here is a “Sweet Fruit Salad” to try:
- 1/2 cup honey (such as clover or orange blossom honey)
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- Pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon
- 4 cups assorted fruit (berries, sliced apple, melon, peaches, plums, quartered kiwi, etc.)
In a blender or food processor, combine honey, juice and seasoning; blend until smooth. In a medium bowl, toss fruit with dressing and chill until ready to serve. Makes 4 servings.
Have a sweet day!
Mmmmm honey is the BEST! Is there anything honey can’t do? Well, don’t give it to babies under 1, then it can do some bad stuff. But besides that, honey is alllllllll good!