Sweet Kitchen Tricks

Using natures sweetener has endless possibilities! From cooking to baking, maybe using it as a sweetener, or utilizing it in your meal as a flavorful glaze, your imagination awaits. Use these 8 sweet kitchen tricks to use honey like a pro.

1. Get that last drop: Over the course of a worker bee's life, she will collect enough nectar to make 1/12 teaspoon honey. So make sure you get all of the honey out of your measuring cup so you can enjoy her hard work! Before measuring out your honey, spray the utensil down with cooking spray to help the honey glide out of the utensil.                                                                                                        
2. Crystallized to liquified: Honey will naturally crystallize but you can liquify it by placing the jar in a warm water bath and stiring until the crystals dissolve. You may also microwave a microwave-safe container with the lid off, stirring every 30 seconds until the crystals dissolve. To slow the process of crystallization, store honey at room temperature.                                                                          
3. Substitute: Honey can be substituted for granulated sugar by beginning to substitute honey for up to half of the sugar that is needed in that recipe. With some experimentation, some recipes can have all of the sugar subsituted with honey.                                                              
4. Turn the temperature down: Honey can increase the speed of browning in the oven. For baked goods, reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees to prevent over-browning from occuring.                                                                                                                                          
5. Reduce the liquid: Honey naturally has more moisture than granulated sugar so to acheive the same consistency that you would with granulated sugar, you need to reduce the liquid used. For every cup of honey that is used in the recipe, reduce any liquid by 1/4 cup.                      
6. Neutralize: Honey has an acidic nature making it great for marinades as the acid can tenderize meat. To neutralize the acid when baking, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for each cup of honey that is used. The acidic nature of honey is what makes honey self-preserving.                                                                                                                      
7. Choosing honey: There are over 300 varieties of honey available in the United States, each with a different flavor because of the floral source. So how do you choose which type of honey to use for each recipe? A lighter colored honey typically has a milder taste while a darker honey will have a more bold flavor. A dark honey is great to use in sauces and a lighter colored honey tastes splendid in tea or lemonade. Experiment with the many different varieties of honey to see which honey works best in your favorite recipes.                                                                                       
8. Honey conversions: If a recipe calls for 1 cup of honey, all you will need is a 12 ounce jar of honey. The conversion is 1 cup = 12 ounce jar of honey. 

Experiment with the over 300 varieties of
honey available in the United States!