Wednesday’s Helping: Honey

Pouring on nature’s golden sweetener
The Mixed Stew Crew has to give props to honeybees for this all-natural and super sweet food ingredient. Honey has a flavor that’s unmistakably unique to only this golden and viscous substance. Glucose, fructose, and water are the three major components of honey. A chemical reaction between the collected nectar of flower blossoms and the honeybees’ saliva produces honey. Colors range from nearly black, dark amber, to light gold and pale water-white. Darker colored honey tends to have a stronger flavor while lighter-colored varieties tend to be sweeter. The color and flavor of honey depends on the nectar source or the majority of blossoms, such as clover, that the bees choose to visit. A general rule of thumb means that lighter-colored honey is more expensive; for example, sage honey (with a light golden color) is more sought after than amber-colored clover honey. More than 300 varieties of honey can be found in the United States. Health studies suggest that consumption of honey can help improve liver function and maintain a healthy liver.