Beat the heat! Bee Berry Sorbet

Just in time for summer...

Bee Berry Sorbet from Honey.com

Ingredients

• 1 package (16 oz.) - frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup - honey
• 1/4 cup - fresh lime juice, including pulp
• 1/2 teaspoon - grated lime peel
• 1 cup - water

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Directions

Puree raspberries in blender or food processor. Strain through fine strainer using spoon to press puree through strainer into medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into canister of ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Freezer Method: Pour raspberry mixture into 9-inch freezer-safe pan. Place in freezer for 3 to 6 hours or until firm. Transfer mixture to mixer bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until slushy but not thawed. Return to pan and freeze for 2 to 4 hours or until firm

Modern Recipe: It's Adelle's Birthday!

I asked Adelle's to share her favorite recipe with honey in honor of her birthday. It's a pretty simple recipe... Enjoy!

1) Acquire honey

2) Open jar

3) Eat honey

Memorial Day Recipe: Honey Cranberry BBQ Sauce

A BBQ sauce for your Memorial Day grilling!

This recipe is from Honey.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups - fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1-1/2 cups - honey
• 1-1/2 cups - ketchup
• 1 cup - red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons - lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons - Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon - coarse ground black pepper

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Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove cover and simmer for 20 minutes more or until thickened (mixture will thicken slightly as it cools). To can, pour hot sauce into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe tops and threads of jars with a clean, damp cloth. Place lids on jars so that the rubber sealing compound sits evenly on rim and screw rings on firmly. Place each jar in a pot of water that comes 1 to 2 inches above the jar tops. Cover and bring to a boil. Hold water at a steady boil for about 45 minutes. Remove jars from pot and let cool on a dishcloth with space in between each jar. Store in a cool dark place. (In lieu of canning, sauce may be stored, covered, in refrigerator up to 1 month.)

SERVING SUGGESTION

Serve over turkey, chicken or pork, or use as a dipping sauce for egg rolls or potstickers.

Modern Recipe: Baklava!

It's my friend Leif's birthday today. I asked what his favorite recipe with honey is. Baklava! Probably the most popular recipe with honey in it... nuts, cinnamon, orange, and honey! What's not to love?

Ingredients 

Makes 3 Dozen

1 (16 ounce) package of phyllo dough

1 pound chopped walnuts

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Zest from half an orange

1 cup of water

1 cup white sugar

½ an orange, sliced

½ cup honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon and orange zest. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan.
 
Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
 
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
 
Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add orange slices and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
 
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Medieval Recipe: Von Einer Hirzlebern

This is a recipe from Sabrina Welserin’s “Ein Buch von gutter spise” published in 1553. This is a German cookbook. It has been translated only. I would love to hear what people come up with for a redaction and how well the recipe turns out! Leave a comment.

Von einer hirzlebern (Of a Deer Liver)

Ain birzes lebern sol man braten uf eime roste, die man lange behalten wil. und sol die dünne sniden zu schiben. und nim einen reinen honiesaum, den siude. und nim denne yngeber, und galgan und negelin. die stozze under einander. und wirfe sie dar in. und nim denne ein faz oder ein schaf dor in du ez wilt tun. und wasch ez gar rein. und giuz ez dor in ein schiht honiges. und lege denne ein schiht lebern. und also fürbaz. und legez vaste uf ein ander. und setzze daz hin.

One will roast a deer liver on a grill, which (grill) one wants to keep a long time. And will cut the dark to slices. And take a clean liquid honey and boil it. And then take ginger and galingale and cloves. Pound them together and throw them therein. And then take a tub or a jar in which you want to put this dish. And wash the tub very clean. And pour the finished honey in it. And then lay a finished liver and also still more (layers). And lay wide on the other and set that out.

Medieval Recipe: Honey and Poppy Seed Dormice

This recipe is from guest contributor the Honorable Lady Desiderate Drake:

"The dishes for the first course included... some small iron frames shaped like bridges supporting dormice sprinkled with honey and poppy seed." - Petronius, Trimalchio's Feast

Ingredients

Chicken thighs and drumsticks
Olive Oil
Honey
Poppy Seeds

Preheat Oven to 350

Leave skin on chicken pieces. Rinse and pat dry.
Place chicken pieces on greased baking sheet or baking dish
Brush chicken pieces with Olive Oil
Bake chicken until skin is crispy and juices run clear (about 40 minutes)
Warm honey in small pan, until it is thin and runny (do not boil)

When chicken is done, brush each piece with honey and sprinkle with poppy seeds. 

Source: Pass the Garum: Eating Like the Ancients

Modern Recipe: Honey Packed Peaches

It's canning season!

Honey was used in the middle ages and Renaissance as a preservative. It is still used to this day. Use honey instead of a sugar syrup to preserve your fruit.

Canned Peaches recipe found on Honey.com

Honey Packed Peaches

YIELD: 6 PINTS

Ingredients

• 2-3/4 cups - water, divided
• 1/4 cup - lemon juice
• 5 lbs. - peaches*, peeled, pitted and cut into wedges
• 1-1/4 cups - honey
• 2 Tablespoons - vanilla extract
• 6 small - strips lemon zest

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Directions

In a large bowl, mix 1/4 cup water and lemon juice. Stir fruit in gently, coating all pieces. Set aside. In a small saucepan, bring honey and remaining water to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cover pan to keep contents hot. Pack fruit gently into 6 hot sterilized pint jars, filling to 1/4 inch from top of jar, and place a piece of lemon zest in each jar. Fill jars with honey mixture up to 1/4 inch from tops. Wipe rims of jars; top with lids. Screw on bands. Place jars on rack in canning kettle of hot water, adding water if necessary to bring water level to 1 inch above tops of jars. Bring water to a rolling boil; boil for 25 minutes. Remove jars carefully and cool on a wire rack. *Apricots or nectarines may be substituted.

TIP

Every honey variety has its own unique color and taste. There are approximately 300 varieties of honey in the United States - with flavors that range from delicately sweet to richly bold. In general, the lighter the color of honey, the milder the flavor. Try a light honey such as Clover or Orange Blossom in Honey Packed Peaches and Honey-Lemon Jelly. Experiment with a more robustly flavored honey such as wildflower or avocado when making Strawberry Jam or any of your favorite recipes.

A History of Honey and Its Use in Period: (Part 4 of 6): Tithes and Tolls

This is the fourth part in a series of entries on the use of honey in pre-1600's history.

Honey was also required as a tithe. St. Augustine Abbey monks in Canterbury were noted to be stringent on honey as a tithe. They wrote in their “Black Book” that “Honey must also be tithed” (Crane 1999, p490). Peasants in 1290 Schleswig-Holstein were required to pay a tithe from their beekeeping yields to the church.

Tolls were charged for moving honey into another town or across a bridge. For example, in the years 1080-1082, monks of St Aubin’s in Angers, France required tolls on items peddled by peasants in neighboring markets. Wax and hives were charged a half penny to transport. Charters of 1285 and 1412 in England list portage (tolls) charges on honey crossing Montford Bridge in Shropshire according to the number of tons, carts or jars (Crane 1999, p 491)

History of Honey and Its Use in Period: (Part 1 of 6): Introduction

This is the first in a series of entries on a brief history of honey and its use in pre-1600's history. 

Introduction:

Honey is an all natural food that has been produced by bees for over twenty million years. There is evidence that man has exploited honey for about ten-thousand years (Crane, 1980, pg 19). Bees and honey have been regarded as sacred objects for just as long as evidenced by cave paintings. The earliest known evidence of beekeeping, as opposed to honey-hunting, is 3,000 years old (Friedman, 2008). Honey was a staple in the Medieval and Renaissance household until sugar became cheaper.

Honey was an important staple in the Medieval and Renaissance household and economy. It had more uses than just food. It was used to barter with and make mead with. As sugar became more popular and cheaper to produce, honey became less and less important.

Modern Bee Fact #1

Honey Bees (Apis Melifera) pollinate one-third of all of our food.