RECIPES FOR COOKING WITH HONEY

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 77, Issue 1, 15 July 1948, Page 93

RECIPES FOR COOKING WITH HONEY

THOSE who keep even one hive of bees will probably find they have honey to spare, and this surplus can be used instead of sugar for many sweetening purposes. Honey is good for bread baking and for most types of cake, as the products have better keeping qualities, though for the lighter sponge type of cakes it is not so suitable, as it makes them a. little too moist and not quite so light in texture.

FOR sweetening fruit, honey •is used in much the same proportions as sugar, though, as it is not only a sweet but a sweet with a flavour, it frequently alters the characteristic taste of the fruit. Preserved fruits can also be put up with honey, or better still, with part honey and part sugar. The fruit flavours are altered slightly and the appearance of the finished bottles is darker and not quite so attractive when all honey is used.

' All honey may be substituted in baking recipes in which the amount of sugar required is smallfor instance in scones, breads, and some biscuits. In cakes and puddings for which more sweetening is necessary it is better to use part honey and part .sugar, for the two substances differ in composition. Sugar is a sweet containing no acid and no. moisture, but honey consists of several types of sugar in solution with water and has a slight degree of acidity. Therefore, when honey is used instead, of sugar in a recipe the moisture and acidity ■of the honey must be taken into consideration. It has been found that by observing the following rules practically any recipe may be adapted for the use of honey:— 1. Measure honey in the liquid form; if it is granulated, heat it over warm water until it is liquid before measuring it. 2. For each cup of honey used reduce the liquid asked for' in the recipe by about one-fifth so that the batter or dough is of. the usual consistency. 3. Use J teaspoon of baking soda to each cup of honey to counteract the' acidity. ' / . For most cake, bun, and biscuit recipes use half sugar and half honey, reducing the liquid content and adding baking soda in the proportions given. Fruit cakes are an exception; they may be made with all honey, which improves both keeping qualities and flavour. In milk puddings, sauces, pie fillings, and the like add the honey with the thickening. Honey for Breakfast When the family begins to tire of comb, liquid, or granulated honey try some ,of these recipes on the breakfast toast: — Apricot and Honey Marmalade This quickly-made confection requires no cooking. Soak dried apricots for 10 minutes in hot water, drain them, and put them through a mincer, using the finest cutter. With each cup of minced apricots thoroughly mix lj-

cups of honey and fill sterilised jars. Cover the jars closely and store the marmalade for at least two weeks before using it. It is delicious on toast or scones and can also be used for filled scones. , Make the usual scone mixture, cut it into rounds, make an indentation" in the centre of each, and fill it with a little apricot marmalade. Brush the" scones with melted butter or milk and bake them for 10 minutes. Orange Honey Spread 2 cups of honey j cup of grated i cup of grated - grapefruit rind orange rind K . Pinch of salt Mix the ingredients well and stand them over warm water for half an hour to blend the flavours thoroughly. Put the spread into small pots. Honey Butter for Filling Grapefruit Beat 1 cup of honey and f cup of butter to a soft cream. Add the grated rind of one or two oranges or lemons according to taste, and beat again to blend thoroughly. Put the mixture into a wide-mouthed jar and stand it in a cool place to harden. Halve grapefruits, loosen the pulp from the pith, and remove the centre core. Fill each half with honey butter. For Use with Meats Honey Mint Sauce for Lamb Chops or Boast Mutton 1 cup of honey J cup of chopped mint 2 tablespoons of J cup of water vinegar Heat the. water and vinegar, dissolve the honey in the liquid, then 1 add. the mint. Use the sauce to baste roast mutton or serve it separately at the table. Horse Radish Sauce for Roast Beef 3 tablespoons of J cup of honey grated horse radish 1 tablespoon of 1 cup of top milk or vinegar cream. . Warm the honey until it is liquid and add it to the milk and horse radish. Add the ' vinegar gradually. Stand the sauce aside in a cool place until it is ready to use. Salad Dressings Boiled Salad Dressing (1) 1 egg Pinch of cayenne 4 tablespoons of pepper melted butter 1 cup of ' vinegar 1 teaspoon of mustard 1. tablespoon of flour 2 tablespoons of 1 tablespoon of com- .... honey . flour 1 cup of milk Pinch of salt Melt , the butter, add the flours, and stir them to a smooth paste.. Add the milk slowly, stirring continually, and

cook the mixture until it is thick. Add salt, pepper, vinegar, and mustard to the beaten egg and put them through a strainer into the thickened mixture. Cook it for a few minutes, then add the honey. Store the dressing in a jar in a cool place and dilute the required quantity with top milk when needed. Add more honey to the diluted dressing if it is desired sweeter. ■ ■ Boiled Salad Dressing (2) 1 teaspoon of salt 3 tablespoons of 1 teaspoon of mustard honey Shake, of pepper 1 tablespoon of 2 egg yolks butter 1 cup of vinegar 1 cup of milk 2 tablespoons of flour ' \ Mix the mustard, salt, pepper, and flour together, then add the . milk, honey, and egg yolks. . Stir the mixture well and cook it over hot water until it is thickened.. Add the vinegar and butter, stirring well to make a smooth mixture. This dressing keeps well and can be diluted with cream or milk when required for use. Fruit Salads When the ingredients are raw fruits which have little juice of their own, such as melons, tree tomatoes, Chinese gooseberries, apples, and bananas, honey syrup makes a satisfactory and delicious addition to fruit salad. Mix 1 cup of honey with | cup of water, bring them to the boil, cool them, and add the strained juice of a lemon. Prepare the selected fruit, slice' it into a salad bowl, and pour over it the required quantity of honey syrup. Melon Salad 1 cup of diced water Juice of 1 lemon melon . i cup of whipped I cup of diced rock , cream (when availmelon able) • s cup of honey Blend the honey and lemon juice, pour them over the fruit, and leave the salad to stand for an hour or more. Fold in the whipped cream and serve it on small glass plates or individual salad dishes. Autumn Salad Skin tree tomatoes after dipping them into boiling water and slice them into a salad bowl. Add sliced bananas, diced apples, and the pulp of one or two passion fruits. Pour over them the required quantity of honey syrup, made in the proportions given. Decorate the salad with slices of Chinese gooseberry and stand it in a cool place for an hour or two to - allow the flavours to blend. Pies Using Honey Pumpkin Pie 15 cups of mashed I cup of honey cooked pumpkin - 1 teaspoon of ground II cups of milk ginger 2 eggs ■ 1 teaspoon of nutmeg 1 cup (packed ' tight) • J teaspoon of ground of brown,sugar , cloves 1 teaspoon of cinna- Salt ’ mon Beat the ingredients together, thoroughly and pour them into a pie plate lined with pastry; the quantities given

are sufficient for a 9in. pie plate. Flute the edge of the pie crust and decorate the top with pastry shapes. Bake the pie for about 40 minutes in a moderately-hot oven until the edges of the 'filling are set and the centre is still rather soft. Honey Fruit Pie 11 cups of raisins, I cup of honey currants, and 2 tablespoons of sultanas mixed butter 1 tablespoon of orange • 2 tablespoons of cornand lemon peel - flour 4 tablespoons of 1 cup of cold water lemon juice Pinch of salt Mix the cornflour with a little of the cold water until it is smooth, then add honey, . fruits, butter, and the rest . of the water. Bring the mixture to the boil and cook it for 3 or 4 minutes until it begins to thicken. Pour it into a pastry-lined deep plate, cover it with pastry, and bake the pie in a moderately-hot oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Apple Pie Slice prepared apples into a piedish and pour over them 1 cup of honey mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or water. Add a few cloves or i teaspoon of cinnamon and dots of butter. Cover the fruit with a pastry crust, flute the edges, and prick the top for decoration and to allow steam to escape. Bake the pie for about 40 minutes in a moderately-hot oven. Baked Puddings Honeyed Apple Crisp ■ Spread 4 cups of sliced apples in a shallow dish and pour in 2/3 cup of honey mixed with 1 tablespoon of warm water, or slightly more if the apples are a dry variety.: Mix together in a bowl j cup of flour and i cup of brown sugar and work in i cup of butter, making the mixture crumbly. Add i cup of chopped walnuts and spread the mixture evenly over the apples. Bake the pudding in a moderate oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the apples are tender and the crumb crust is crisp and browned. Woodside Pudding Make a standard scone mixture using 1 cup of flour, and cut the dough into rounds. Melt 2 tablespoons of honey in 1 pint of hot water, pour it into a baking dish, put it into the oven until the syrup is boiling, . then arrange the scone rounds in the dish. Bake them in a moderate oven, basting them frequently with the honey syrup. For a variation 3' tablespoons of desiccated coconut can be added to the honey mixture in the dish. Honey Pudding 5 cup of flour f. 1 cup of milk 1 teaspoon of baking 4 tablespoons of powder ’ currants 1 cup of sugar 1| teaspoons of grated 2 tablespoons of lemon rind butter Cream the butter and add the sugar gradually, beating well after each addition. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and beat again. Add the sifted flour and baking powder alternately

with the remaining milk, beating the mixture well until it is smooth. Add the currants and lemon rind. Turn the batter into a well-greased dish and pour over it a mixture made with 2 tablespoons of butter, i cup of honey, 1| cups of boiling water, and a pinch of salt. Bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 40 to 45 minutes. Pudding Sauces For serving with plain steamed or baked puddings, sauces made with honey have a smooth taste and distinctive flavour. Hot Honey Sauce 2 dessertspoons of Juice of 1 lemon,' cornflour orange, or grapefruit | cup of honey '■ 1 dessertspoon of 1 cup of water ? butter Mix the cornflour with a little of the water, add the honey and the rest of the .water, then cook the mixture over hot water until it is thickened. Add the butter and lemon juice, and serve the sauce in a jug or sauce boat with a plain, steamed ,or baked pudding or on pancakes. . ' . Honey Hard Sauce Cream 1/3 cup of butter until it is very soft and gradually beat in f cup of honey. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vanilla essence and set x the sauce , aside to become firm before being served. Apple Bolls with Honey Sauce Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 level teaspoon of baking powder, J- cup of dripping, and J , cup ■ of milk as for scones, handling them as little as possible. Roll the mixture out jin. thick and spread it with sliced apples sprinkled with -J cup of sugar and a little cinnamon or mixed spice. Roll it up and cut it into lin. slices. Place the slices cut side down in a greased baking dish and put 1 teaspoon of melted butter over each. Bake them in a moderately-hot oven (400 degrees) for 20 to 25 minutes. For the honey sauce mix 1 cup of honey, 1| cups of water, 1 tablespoon of cornflour, 1 tablespoon of butter, and a pinch of salt and cook them until the mixture is clear, stirring constantly. Add vanilla to taste and serve the. sauce with the apple rolls. Honey Custards 2 eggs 1 pint of milk J cup of honey > 1 teaspoon of vanilla Salt ' ' . 1 tablespoon of butter Beat the eggs, add the honey and milk, and beat them well. Flavour with vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture into a buttered piedish or individual custard cups and dot the rest of the butter on top. Bake it in a slow oven. Serve the custard in cups or turned out on to dessert plates and surrounded with stewed or fresh pulped fruit. For a change put 1 teaspoon .of honey into the bottom of each custard cup before filling it. When the custards are baked turn them out on a serving dish and the honey will make a brown sauce over each..

Baked Fruit 8 halves of pears 1 teaspoon of cinna- | cup of lemon juice mon or 8 cloves 2 tablespoons of . -J cup of honey butter Arrange the pears in a well-buttered shallow glass ovenware dish. Pour, over them the lemon juice and honey mixed, sprinkle them with cinnamon or, if using cloves, insert one into the blossom end of each pear half. Dot them with the rest of the butter and . bake them in a moderate oven until they are tender. . < , Peaches may be prepared in the same way. For baked apples core the required number, leaving a little core in the base to act as a plug. Fill the cavity with honey and raisins, honey and dates, or honey and spice. Cake Fillings Honey Orange Filling Mix i tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon of cornflour, 1 beaten egg yolk, 1 cup of honey, and salt until they aresmooth and put them in a basin in a saucepan of hot water or in a double saucepan. ’ Stirring constantly, add slowly 2 tablespoons of orange juice,. 1 tablespoon of water, and 1 - dessertspoon of lemon juice. When the mixture is hot blend in 1 teaspoon, of butter and the grated rind of half an orange. . Continue cooking until, the mixture is smooth and thick. Cool it before spreading it between, layers of cake. Boiled Honey Icing 1 cup of honey Salt S cup of sugar Flavouring and colour2 egg whites ing as desired Measure the honey into saucepan,, stand it in a larger saucepan of boiling water, and simmer it over a low heat for 10 minutes. . Add the sugar and egg whites and beat the icing hard for 10 minutes over the heat until it piles up readily. Add any flavouring, or colouring required and spread it. over the cake. Honey Soft Icing Measure 1/3 cup of honey into a. small saucepan and heat it gently for 10 minutes. Cool it, then add 2 egg whites, and beat them well until the icing forms peaks. Colour it slightly and ice the cake. Grated orange or lemon rind added to the meringue icing will give both flavour and colour. Small Cakes Honey Nut Puffs (illustrated on opening page) 1 cup of honey 1 cup of chopped 1 cup of chopped nuts raisins 4 tablespoons of, crisp Juice of 1 lemon breadcrumbs Mix the ingredients thoroughly and place teaspoonfuls on 2in. squares of pastry. Moisten the edges and press them together to form triangles. Bake the puffs in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 25 minutes. Honey Snaps (illustrated on opening page) 1 cup of honey i cup of butter 1 cup of flour j cup of sugar 1 teaspoon of vanilla Salt

Heat the honey until it is boiling, remove it . from the heat, add the butter, and stir until it is melted. Add the sifted flour, sugar, and salt carefully and stir until there are no lumps. Add the vanilla and drop the mixture from a teaspoon' on to a well-greased baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between sj&onfuls. c Bake them in a slow oven (300 degrees) for 10 to 15 minutes until they are thin, bubbly, and browned. Take them from the oven, cool them a little, then pull the wafers from the sheet, rolling them with the top side out; if the wafers become too hard to roll, put them back in the,oven to soften again. Take care that the oven is. not too hot or the snaps will scorch and the honey flavour be lost. Sweets Made with Honey Honey' Toffee 1 cup of white sugar 1 cup of brown sugar 1 cup of honey 1 teaspoon of butter 1 cup of unsweetened Pinch of /salt condensed milk Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and heat them until they are boiling slowly, stirring continually until the sugar is melted. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the hard ball stage is reached is, when a little toffee dropped into cold water will roll, into a hard ball. Take the toffee from the heat and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and J cup of chopped nuts. Pour it into a well-greased tin and mark it into strips when it is half cooled. Honey Caramels 1 cup of white sugar 1 cup of unsweetened 1 cup of brown sugar . condensed milk I cup of honey Pinch of salt Combine the ingredients and cook

them to boiling point, stirring continually. Continue boiling the mixture . gently, stirring occasionally, until the soft ball stage is reached. Remove it from the heat and add 1/3 cup of butter. Cool it at room temperature until' it is lukewarm (when the hand can be held comfortably under the saucepan the toffee has cooled sufficiently). - Add f cup of chopped nuts and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat the mixture until it holds its shape, then drop it’from a teaspoon on to waxed paper to set. Wrap each caramel in waxed paper. Honey Fudge ■2 cups of sugar 1 cup of unsweetened 2 tablespoons of cocoa condensed milk 1 cup of nuts 1 teaspoon of butter J cup of honey Pinch of salt Boil the sugar, cocoa, and milk together for 5 minutes, then add the honey and cook the mixture to the soft ball stage, stirring as little as possible. Add the nuts and butter. Cool the fudge, beat it until it is creamy, and spread it in a greased tin to set. , ’ Drinks, Hof and Cold Honey adds its distinctive flavour to drinks, and also sweetens them. For winter parties and social gatherings a hot, spicy, honey punch is just the right thing to speed the parting guests. Hot Honey Punch I cup of honey Juice of 2 lemons II cups of hot water 1 thinly-sliced lemon 1 pint of fruit juice or orange 2 cups of hot, fresh 6 cloves \ , - tea 2 pieces of root ginger Grated nutmeg . . Combine the honey, cloves, ginger, and water, simmer them for 5 minutes, then strain them. Add the freshlymade tea, lemon juice, and fruit juice,

which ' can be any kind available; diluted syrup from preserved peaches, pears, apricots, nectarines, or, black currants is suitable. Bring the punch just to the boil and remove it from the heat. Add orange or lemon slices and grate nutmeg over the slices. Honey Lemonade Hot or cold lemonade has an extra flavour when made with honey ; instead of, sugar. Use 1 cup of honey to 1 quart of water and J cup of lemon juice. - • • . • • x Honey Cocktail . A delicious beverage of the more solid kind, honey cocktail is excellent for the convelescent’s/‘little something at eleven.” Beat together 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of honey, the juice of 1 grapefruit or sweet orange, and the juice of half a lemon until ' the mixture is fluffy. Beat the egg white until it is stiff and fold it into the first mixture. ' . ■ ■ Honey Fruit Drink (illustrated on opening page) Here is a recipe for a long, cool, refreshing drink to serve in summer: 2 cups of honey 4 bottles of ginger ale I cup of lemon juice 1 cup of well-crushed II cups of fresh, fresh fruit strong tea Soft fruits like strawberries, raspberries, currants, and passion fruit are the kinds to use. Mix all the ingredients except the ginger ale and stand them aside for several hours to mellow. Add the ginger ale and, x if available, cracked ice just before serving the drink. Float on each tumbler tiny leaves of bruised mint, a waferthin slice of lemon, or a small whole fruit of the kind used in the drink.