Honey In House-Hold Use

Honey Facts

• Enhances browning and crisp. Great for glazing roasted and baked foods to promote surface browning.
• Flavor enhancer.  A natural sweetener for hot teas and cold beverages, when there is a wide range of flavors.
• Offers texture and feel. An excellent addition in pastries and cakes making.
• Prolongs shelf-life. It is a natural preservative for pickles and sauces.
• Retains moisture. An essential ingredient for providing moisture in rich cakes and prolongs moisture retention.
• Binding Agent. Due to its viscosity, it aids in shaping desserts such as pastries, pudding, and cakes.
• Adds color. Contributes a delightful golden hue to sauces, dressings, jellies and frozen desserts.

Honey Tips and Hints

• Honey can be used instead of sugar in recipes. It is twice as sweet as sugar, so while adding to a recipe, you must halve the amount. Also, honey is made up of 18% water, so the amount of water to be added for in baked goods by must be reduced by about one-fifth.
• If honey is to be measured by weight, then 1 cup will weigh 12 ounces.
• Lightly coat the utensil with a vegetable spray before measuring the honey, so that the honey can slide smoothly from the measuring utensil.
• Honey is the best option to be used in salad dressings, as its emulsifying qualities make it a perfect stabilizer.
• Add ½ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used, in order to neutralize its acidity and help the food rise.
• While baking sweets, lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit, as honey batter becomes crisp and browns faster than sugar batter.
• While using honey in jams, jellies, or candies, increase the cooking temperature, a little, to allow the extra liquid to evaporate.