Can honey preserve food?
Sugar was one of the first things to be eliminated from my husband’s diet when he began an elimination diet many years ago in an effort to help manage a somewhat severe autoimmune condition.
Not only did he have a fairly large sweet taste, but in order to completely eliminate cane sugar, it needed careful reading of the ingredient labels on all of his packaged food. It was a challenging journey (and ultimately giving it up).
Because sugar may be addicting, cutting down on our use of it was challenging for us, particularly for psychological reasons. The sweetness of honey was a savior. In point of fact, this shift in nutrition as well as a change in our general way of life ultimately prompted us to begin raising honeybees.
As soon as we were situated in North Carolina, I got to work preserving fresh foods from the area. We had access to farmers outside of the city who grew an abundance of fresh, organic vegetables for us to choose from.
I began with a simple method, which included pickling veggies in a canner containing water. But the fruits of the North Carolina summers were demanding to be put up and savored throughout the winter months, so I began canning apples, peaches, raspberries, and blackberries.
I immediately realized that in order to preserve fruits (either as whole fruits or as jams and jellies), huge quantities of sugar were necessary; in some recipes, there was almost as much sugar as there was water.
Although the end products were delectable and very addicting, we were only able to give them away as presents and were unable to indulge in them ourselves. I spoke with the beekeepers in my area about other options.
My beekeeping instructor gave me a copy of the book “Putting it Up With Honey,” and ever since then, I haven’t been able to put it down. There aren’t many preserving and canning recipes available online that call for honey, which is why I consider this book to be my summer canning bible.
There is no need for me to try any other recipes for fruit spreads, jams, or preserves since I never use them. When it is peach season here in our area, the canned whole peaches are really delicious, and my husband drinks the juice after he has finished a jar of peaches.
I would strongly suggest that any beekeeper, honey enthusiast, or anybody with a specific diet who is interested in canning (moving away from cane sugar) explores alternatives with honey.
This is because honey is an excellent alternative to cane sugar. Before you go any further, there are a few things that you absolutely must be aware of.
Preserving food using honey takes a significant quantity of honey.
While honey can not go bad on its own, the possibility of fermentation exists if moisture and bacteria from other sources, such as fruit, are present (think of mead making). Honey should never be skimped on, and canning directions should always be followed to the letter. Always. They have been designed and examined to ensure that they are risk-free.
To begin, get some fresh produce.
The quality of your completed product is directly proportional to the quality of the fruits and vegetables you use in its production.
The honey will lose some of its nutritious value if it is canned, so avoid doing so.
There is no sugarcoating the following: Heating the honey will destroy the beneficial aspects of the honey as well as the nutrients and trace quantities of pollen that it contains.
But more than anything else, the goal of pickling fruits and vegetables in honey is to provide a sugar substitute and alternative while the product is being preserved. Be sure to always have some raw honey on hand for use in cooking and other remedies.
Learning how to can with honey has allowed us to enjoy locally grown product at its peak of freshness, preserve produce for longer use, and support our community’s farmers as well as the local economy.
Because of this, we now have the opportunity to stock our pantry with delicious organic goods that we have personally overseen in their production from beginning to end.
It is an opportunity for us to learn and practice a tradition that has been lost, and it is an opportunity for our children to see where their food comes from and all of the steps that are required to process it, from picking the peaches and harvesting the honey to enjoying those preserves on winter treats. This is a tradition that has been lost.
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