Honey is one of natures most versatile products. This thick, sweet syrup has found its way not only to food and food preparation, but also in health care and cosmetics. Honey can be prepared in so many different ways that it has become one of todays most widely used natural commodities.
In medicine, honey has been known to cure several ailments such as cough and sore throat. One teaspoon of honey, topped with a pinch of lemon juice or black pepper can soothe any throat in a jiffy. Mixed with warm water, a tablespoon of honey can even be used as mouthwash that not only kills germs in the mouth but also cleans teeth and dentures.
Honey can also be applied topically to help heal wounds or simply for cosmetic purposes. In the old days, even until today, honey is added to gauze dressings to cover wounds. Its antiseptic and antibacterial ingredients help prevent germs from getting into the wound. As a cosmetic, honey also has excellent properties. Mixed with ground almonds, honey can be used as an exfoliating cleansing scrub. It can also be used as a moisturizing pack. Two tablespoons of honey mixed with equal amounts of water can help moisturize the face and the neck area.
But arguably, honey is more popularly used in food. I can be used as a healthier but equally sweet alternative to table sugar. It can be eaten raw or processed to become creamed honey, which is often used as bread spread. Honey can even be made mono-floral, which means the bees that made honey used nectar taken generally from a single kind of flower. One example is
organic clover honey.
Organic clover honey is a specialized form of raw honey that is made from the nectar of the clover plant. Clover is a creeping plant in the pea family which produces copious amounts of nectar. Beekeepers who want to produce clover honey place their hives in an area with a lot of clover, and they may also plant clover around their hives to encourage their bees to feed specifically on clover.
Honey is also often used in sweet treats. As a healthy alternative to sugar candy, honey
praline candies provide kids with a sweet treat that doesnt cause much damage to their teeth.
