Raw Honey…: $6/Jar -> Ryan

Return your jars for credit or cash.

Honey facts:

·       Honey can be stored nearly indefinitely.  Thousands of years-old honey has been found in Egyptian tombs.

·       Honey is the only known food which has all the ingredients needed to sustain life: water, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes to give the body energy, and Pinocembrin an antioxidant that improves brain function.

·       Honey has been shown to help treat seasonal allergies.  Sufferers can use locally produced honey to build up immunity to local plants which trigger allergies.

·       The average American consumes about one pound of honey per year.  That’s about 1 1/3 cups.

·       Raw (unheated) honey has more positive cultures and health benefits.  All honey is known to have benefits to the heart, wound healing, gut microflora and blood antioxidant status.  It has been studied for cancer treatment.

·       Substitute honey for sugar: the darker the honey, the stronger its taste.  You’ll want to choose a light-colored honey to keep the sweetness as neutral as possible.  Honey is sticky, so when using measuring cups and spoons, coat them with water, oil, egg white or non-stick spray.  Because honey is sweeter than sugar, the rule of thumb is 3/4 cup honey for every cup of sugar.  When your recipe calls for at least 1/4 cup sugar, you’ll need to add a pinch of baking soda.  Baking soda reduces the acidity of the honey and adds lightness to your baked goods, which is needed because honey is more dense than sugar.  Honey retains more moisture than sugar, so there’s no need to add extra milk or water.  Honey causes baked goods to brown up faster than sugar does.  To keep your baked goods perfectly golden brown, lower your oven temp by 25°F and monitor your baking time.

Bee facts:

·       A typical beehive can make anywhere from 30 to 100 pounds of honey a year (or more).

·       Working together, a hive of honeybees can make and store up to two pounds of honey in a single day.

·       Growth of almonds is almost entirely dependent upon honeybees for pollination.  Other crops such as blueberries and cherries are thought to rely on honeybees for up to 90% of their pollination.

·       To make one pound of honey, bees will need to visit two million flowers and fly approximately 55,000 miles.

·       A bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1000 flowers and produces less than a teaspoon of honey.

Other trivia:

·       Cats cannot taste honey because they lack the taste receptors to do so.

·       The glycemic index (GI) of honey is equal to 60.  The glycemic load (GL) of honey is equal to 45.8.

·       Sugar is higher on the glycemic index (GI) than honey, meaning it raises blood sugar levels more quickly. This is due to its higher fructose content, and the absence of trace minerals.

·       Sugar is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose.  Honey contains 40 percent fructose and 30 percent glucose.

·       100 grams of honey contain 309 kcal (1293 kJ), 1.4 grams of proteins, 76.4 grams of carbohydrates, and 0.2 grams of fats.

…Raw honey crystallizes faster!  If liquidity decreases, insert the jar in hot water.  It typically melts at temperatures of about 104 to 122 °F (40 – 50 °C).  It does spread easier when crystallized.  Honey should not be fed to infants under one year of age.  It is perfectly safe to feed to pregnant and nursing mothers.