 Honey
(English)
Shahd (Hindi)
Thean (Tamil)
Man
has been aware of the value of honey for many centuries.
Indians
used honey in cooking and for medicinal purposes and made sacrificial offerings
of it to their gods, thousands of years before.
The
most popular use for honey was in cooking before the advent of white sugar and
also in the preparation of alcoholic drinks.
The
flavor and color of the honey is a
result of the nectar of the flowers the bees collect. The most popular honey is clover.
Bees
draw up nectar from the flower and store it in their honey sacs. Conversion into
honey then starts immediately. It takes place in 2 stages - firstly fermentation
and secondly,
evaporation of any excess moisture.
Evaporation
of excess moisture is achieved by the worker bee in the hive, who can tell
instinctively if the honey has the correct texture - a concentration of about
80% sugar.
The
last job is to seal the cell with wax so that the honey will keep indefinitely.
It
takes about 2 million flower visits by honeybees to produce 1 pound of honey.
The
average bee only produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime.
A
bee will visit between 50 and 100 flowers in one trip alone and up to 2 miles to
collect honey from the same type of flower.
Bees
pollinate about one-third of the vegetables and fruits we eat. Pollination is
the process of fertilizing a flowering plant.
Instant
Energy:
Honey is made up of simple sugars. It is therefore easily and quickly absorbed
and is a source of quick energy.
Digestion:
It
promotes the correct working of the digestive organs and can be taken as a
laxative.
Baby
Food: (not for age under
one)
Babies whose diet includes honey rarely suffer from Abdominal pain.
Please
note babies under the age of one year should never be fed honey because their
immune system is undeveloped.
Antibiotic:
When honey is applied to burns, it will prevent the formation of blisters and
promote quick healing of the skin.
Honey
can absorb moisture and it has been prized for its mild antibiotic properties
for centuries due to this fact. When bacteria is trapped in honey, the honey
will absorb moisture from the bacteria and so kill it off.
Cosmetic:
Many hand and body lotions, facial creams, face packs and soaps contain honey.
It will penetrate tiny crevices through which even water will not pass. It
therefore makes an excellent emollient as well as a protective, germ-proof
shield.
Nutritional
Value:
Honey contains all the vitamins and trace elements which nutritionists consider
necessary for health:
the
B vitamins, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, biotin, ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) and nicotinic acid.
Trace
elements include iron, copper, manganese, silicon, chlorine, calcium, potassium,
sodium, phosphorus, aluminium and magnesium.
No
Expiration Date:
Honey
is the only food that will never spoil.
Unlike fruit and vegetables, it will never lose its vitamins during harvesting,
storage and preparation.
Darker
is Stronger:
The darker honeys have the highest mineral content and can contain four times as
much iron as lighter honeys.
It
is delicious, eat it raw.
It is a
yummy topping on toast and ice creams.
Fruits
taste better with Honey. Soak the fruit pieces in honey for 10 min.
It is
soothing in tea. Milk tastes better with honey.
You can
replace honey for sugar in most recipes.
Honey
helps to keep baked goods fresh longer because it retains moisture. |
