National "I Love Honey" Day

Bzzzz…it's National "I Love Honey" Day! Honey has been used as a food and medicine for thousands of years. In ancient times it was the most important sweetener. It was used to make mead, and mixed with wine and other alcoholic drinks. In Egypt, it was used as an embalming agent, while in India and other Asian countries, it was used to make cakes and sweets and to preserve fruit.

With 17 grams of carbohydrates and 64 calories per tablespoon, honey is a natural source of energy and is great for muscle maintenance. A viscous substance, it can be combined with many foods—fruits, vegetables, meats, and whole grains—and plays a prominent role with baked goods, candies, and cereals. It's used to top oatmeal, in tea, and to make hot toddies. It not only sweetens foods, but locks flavor and moisture into them, and extends the shelf life of baked goods. It also works as a cough suppressant.

Honey is made naturally by bees. Female bees visit the flowers of plants and pollinate them, and bring nectar back to their hives, where it breaks down into simple sugars in their honeycombs—structures made of beeswax and propolis—and becomes honey. Bees use honey as food, with it providing energy for their flight muscles. It also provides heat for them in winter.

Bees make more honey than they need, so beekeepers can collect the excess. Beekeepers scrape off the wax caps that bees seal each cell in the honeycomb frames with, and put the frames in an extractor where they are spun by a centrifuge that forces the honey out of the honeycombs. The honey is then strained to remove any leftover wax or particles, before being bottled and labeled. It is often pasteurized, which kills any bacteria, but raw honey is preferred by many because it has more nutrients.

There are over 300 varieties of honey. The color, flavor, and aroma of honey depends on the type of nectar the bees harvest. Temperature and rainfall can also affect the honey. The color may range from light to dark. For example, honey from orange blossom nectar is light, while honey from the nectar of wildflowers may be dark amber. Light-colored honey is usually milder in flavor, while dark-colored honey is stronger. Some of the most common honeys are clover, wildflower, buckwheat, lavender, tupelo, and chestnut.

How to Observe National "I Love Honey" Day

• Buy some honey. Pick up a few different varietals to try. Use the National Honey Board's Honey Locator to find local honey.
• Put some honey in your tea.
• Put some honey on your oatmeal.
• Make a hot toddy.
• Try a recipe from the National Honey Board.
• Make some recipes from "23 Recipes to Make With Honey" or "39 Recipes with Honey That Will Have You Buzzing."
• Have a spoonful of honey.
• Learn about different varietals of honey.
• Listen to songs with "honey" in them.
• Become a beekeeper.

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