Honey has been used as a food by humans dating back to at least 9,000 BC. We now know that in ancient Egypt honey was used as a sweetener, and in various foods. The ancient Egyptians also use honey to preserve their decease from decaying effects. There have been vats of honey found in the Pyramids of Egypt from ancient times, that is still good to eat today.
Then, there are the cave drawings of Spain depicting ancient men climbing trees to harvest honey. As well, the ancient Chinese appeared to have known the importance of honey; as they too, practice the art of beekeeping. An important note here: Without the bee, we would have no food on the entire planet within about four years!
Honey in Religion
Most of our religious books talk about honey in a positive light. From Christianity to the Hebrews, and even the Hindus mention honey. Honey has been known from ancient times as both a great food, and for its medicinal purposes. Even in Buddhism honey it noted as an important natural food. With a little research, one could find that honey has been a wonder-food for ages!
Honey Production
Honey is made by bees, and is one of nature’s sweeteners. The honey bees collect nectar from flowering plans, and make honey through a process referred to as regurgitation and evaporation. The bees must tap two million flowers to make one pound of honey. Honey is the bees’ primary food, and is stored in wax cells (honeycombs) in the beehive. We extract the honey straight from the beehives, cut the wax caps off, and spin the honeycombs. The honey then goes directly into our containers.
Crystallization
Honey is primarily sugar and therefore prone to crystallization. The rate at which honey crystallize is dependent on the types of flowers visited by the bee. As well as, the sugar profile found in the nectar harvested. The aforementioned, is contrary to popular believe that it is relative to the honey being raw.
For example, if the bees made honey consisting of fruit sugars known as fructose it may not crystallize before use. And, if it does it will be very slowly. But, honey containing mostly glucose sugars will crystallize at a much faster rate. If you buy honey and this happens it is quite normal. Just place the bottle of honey under hot tap water and it will return to liquid.
Honey for Health
Honey is a great remedy for sore throats, we learned that from our grandparents and it still works. Grandmother said to put a little lime juice in a table-spoon of honey. Honey is, also, a natural energy enhancer and has been known to fight symptoms of the common cold. Lately we have found honey to be in some skin moisturizers. We think it is because of the fact that honey retains moisture; it is a natural humectant. So too, honey and cinnamon is good for longevity. Remember to always check with your doctor when sick!
HEALTH WARNING: Infants under one-year old should not be ingesting honey. Honey may contain Clostridium Botulinum spores that can cause infant botulism. Although rare, infant botulism is serious and can affects the nervous system of young babies (age one and under). C. botulinum spores can be found is dirt and dust, and improperly canned foods. Adults, and children over one-year old, are routinely exposed to Clostridium Botulinum spores. However, normally they are not affected by it.
