Sweet and Hot Honey
My Great-Grandmother, Arizona Henry, once told me a story about chasing honey bees during the Great Depression.
“If you could find a hive, it would be like finding a gold mine,” Grandma said. Food was in short supply during that time. Finding honey was a way for them to sweeten their food and make condiments.
The story Grandma told me was that she and some friends would sprinkle powdered sugar on the honeybees, which were collecting pollen from the dandelions in their yard. The white color made them easier to follow through the woods, back to their hives. I have always had a vision of her running through the woods, chasing a little white honeybee. She said that she was able to find a couple of hives using this method. Of course, finding the hive was the beginning of their great adventure.
I have developed a fondness for honeybees for various reasons. I lost both of my hives last year. I was lucky enough to catch two swarms and bought two nucs. I currently have four hives and a mentor who is teaching me about mites and helping me prepare my bees for the winter.
I can only imagine running through the woods chasing a bee for up to five miles to find honey. Honey bees are fascinating, and according to fda.gov, honeybees travel up to five miles a day in search of pollen and nectar.
I have learned a few fascinating facts from the Morgan County Beekeepers Association. Honey bees live in a colony with only one queen bee, who can lay more than two thousand eggs per day. Honey bees have two stomachs, one for eating and one for storing nectar. Honey bees are the only insects that produce food for insects and humans.
I get asked daily by my patients who have diabetes if they can eat honey. I always tell them yes, but honey is a sugar and should be eaten in moderation. One tablespoon of honey contains approximately 60 calories, consisting mainly of carbohydrates and water. I consider honey a nice substitute for sugar, which can be used to sweeten drinks or used as a condiment.
Sweet and Hot Honey
1 cup honey
1 tbsp. hot pepper flakes
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
Heat the mixture in a saucepan and mix well before adding to almost any dish.
Do not waste your money buying expensive, store-bought sweetened hot honey when you can make your own for less, and it will taste better, too. Please remember what Grandma said, which was: “Don’t let them in your pocketbook.”
Stacy Schultz is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a former Morgan County Commissioner and is the author of “It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s recipes” and “Great Grandma Zona’s Wisdom & recipes: Comfort food made easy.” She has been in healthcare for 35 years at War Memorial Hospital.