Contents
Honey is the sweet ingredient of antiquity, a natural luxury that energizes us and does us good. It is also a very versatile product, whose nuances are the result of the subtle balance between the wisdom and work of man and those of Nature. To speak of honey is to speak of a gourmet product, which has nothing to envy to a good cheese or a good wine. Ten proposals to make the most of this fabulous ingredient.
The sweetest ‘superfood’
It may not seem as exotic to us as the Açaí or the Mangosteen, but honey is definitely a superfood. It is rich in vitamins (B2, B6, C, H, K), mineral salts (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, copper), proteins and organic acids. In addition, it is very energeticTo get an idea, one kg of honey is equivalent to 50 eggs, 5 liters of whole milk or more than one and a half kg of beef.
Thanks to the tireless work of worker bees, sucrose in flower nectar is converted into fructose and glucose. The resulting liquid is stored in the combs, loses water and matures. To produce a single Kg of this delicacy, it takes nothing less than 50.000 “trips” or flights of bees. Pure gasoline for the body.
Infinity of nuances
The taste of honey depends on flowers and the plants chosen by the producing bees, the race to which they belong, the climate, the geography, the method of obtaining it and even the time of year in which it is produced.
They say that beekeeping, the art of taming bees, is a Spanish, specifically Andalusian, invention that dates back to the Bronze Age. In Spain there are monofloral honeys (in which the pollen of a single plant is detected in a percentage equal to or greater than 45%) for all tastes. From the best known such as orange blossom, heather, rosemary or chestnut, slightly sweet but very aromatic and intense, until the most extravagant such as strawberry tree, mint, oregano, carrot or avocado, very dark and with a salty touch.
Thun: the quintessence of honey
Mieli Thun is a small Italian company made up of nomadic beekeepers, as they define themselves. Each of his twenty types of monofloral honey It is made by bringing the hives closer to the flowers at the exact moment they open and are more generous with their nectar. The most exclusive variety, very delicate, is that of Quintessence acacia, which is obtained by collecting honey from tiny payments in virgin combs, a kind of “Cru squared”, as explained by the manager Andrea Paternoster.
Another determining factor is time, since the collection is carried out in the two or three days that coincide with the acme of flowering, minimizing the presence of other nectars and thus obtaining a extremely pure honey.
Fashionable honey: manuka honey
It is the most exotic and sought-after monofloral honey of the moment. The manuka is the tea tree originally from New Zealand. The unique properties of manuka honey They are measured based on parameters that generally refer to methylglyoxal or MGO, which makes this honey a natural antibacterial and antioxidant. The higher the MGO concentration, the higher the price.
250 gr. of this product with an MGO index equal to or greater than 696 mg / Kg can cost 60 euros. A jar of 125 gr. marketed by the New Zealand brand The True Honey Co. and with an MGO index higher than 1.000 mg / Kg it exceeds 70 euros. At the moment it cannot be purchased through its website outside the United Kingdom, but it is possible to place an order by phone.
Sweet gold
artMuria It is the luxury Spanish honey par excellence. This company from El Perelló (Tarragona) has been dedicated for six generations and 200 years to making this product a very exclusive experience.
Not only high mountain honey, orange tree, rosemary in elegant glass jars, but also saffron, black truffle, white truffle and, the most exclusive of all, orange honey with small gold leaves. 170 gr. of this delicacy they cost around 14 euros.
From the bees, to the poison
Honey is not the only, exquisite, gift of bees. A few decades ago, royal jelly – also called porridge or bee milk – was a kind of precursor to superfoods. Is about a mixture of water, honey and pollen that the bees use to feed the larvae and the queen bee. It is one of the most complete foods that can be found in Nature, rich in proteins, fats, mineral salts and vitamins.
We call pollen to the yellow grains that constitute the protein reserve of the bees in the hive. It is also rich in amino acids, vitamins, mineral salts and, according to some, it is an excellent rejuvenator. The propolis It is a mixture of natural resins, wax and pollen manufactured by bees. Supposedly, it is beneficial to health and an ally of dermatology. As strange as it may seem, even the poison of the bees it is good, because it is attributed antirheumatic effects.
Bona Mel: raw and organic
The Alicante company Bona Mel has been in beekeeping for three generations. Their honeys boast of two adjectives: raw (i.e. unpasteurized) and ecological.
They come mostly from Spanish natural parks, such as La Cebollera, in Soria or Sierra de Mariola, in Alicante. The of lemon, which is harvested between April and May, comes from organic lemon trees in the Natural Parks in the Sierra de Baza, in Granada. Two varieties of honeys, acacia and linden, come from the natural forests of the province of Valcea, in Romania. An authentic gourmet honey, with a price a little above the average: almost 7 euros for a 450 gr jar. This same brand also sells pollen, royal jelly and propolis.
Acacia honey straight from the honeycomb
There is nothing quite like tasting honey still stuck to the perfect cells of a honeycomb. Perhaps it is one of the few things that in the metropolis is not so easy to find.
The british house Cartwright and Butler remedies this problem by marketing acacia honey, the most elegant, clear and delicate of all types of honey, in its honeycomb and in a beautiful wooden frame. Is he perfect gift for honey lovers and, more generally, for the most demanding foodies.
Crystals of purity
We are used to very liquid and amber honey. But honey can have many shades, both from a chromatic and aromatic point of view, as well as from a texture point of view.
Raw honey, which has not been pasteurized, tends to have a thicker texture and tends to crystallize, becoming more opaque. Of course, it is more difficult to spill on toast, cheese or yogurt, but it is much richer in aromas, nutrients and beneficial properties for health. We can heat it in a bain-marie and problem solved.
More sweet tips
Honey is the perfect complement to cheeses, a rich alternative to sugar to sweeten teas and infusions, and a brilliant secret ingredient in the preparation of some types of meat. Roast Duck with honey and lavender is a classic on the menu of Eleven Madison Park, the brand new number 1 in the world according to 50 Best list. Honey must be kept at room temperature in a cool, dry place and in a glass jar. It withstands the passage of time well, as they tend to stay perfect until they are two-three years old.
The utensil that should not be missing in the kitchen of a true foodie? A wooden honeysuckle. Streamlines operations without spills and wasted time. Luxury has its rules.