In our last post, we explored the sweet history of honey. This sweet liquid produced by bees from the nectar of flowers that has long been a singular naturally-occurring sweetener that has incredible versatility and infinite possibility as an ingredient in the kitchen!
A thick and viscous liquid, honey is a wonderful ingredient! Depending on a variety of factors, like the floral source, the species of bees, the season and the region in which it is made, honey can range from pale yellow-white in colour, to golden, deep amber, even molasses black; it can have drastically varying bouquets of aroma and flavour, and a host of other therapeutic and medicinal properties.
Honey is about 70 to 80 per cent sugar, containing the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. This makes it a wonderful, albeit sweeter, substitute for refined cane sugar.
Honey available in markets for our consumption can be broadly categorised as raw and pasteurized. The former is typically just filtered to remove pollen and stray pieces of beeswax from the extraction process. The latter means the honey is heat-treated to kill any microbes that may naturally be present in it, to increase its shelf stability. There are other processes too, and different honey producers choose to use different processes. In my research, I also learned of a process called dehumidification, used by Saffola Honey, which uses mild heat (45 – 55oC) under vacuum to standardise the concentration of the honey, without subjecting it to high temperatures. This is wonderful because honey is made when bees digest the sugars from nectar and convert it into a supersaturated solution, full of Anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals & prebiotics. Heating honey to high temperatures may cause some of these properties to change.
Apart from having these therapeutic and beneficial properties, honey also lends itself well to culinary purposes. It can be drizzled over anything from breakfast cereals and porridges to desserts, added to milkshakes and smoothies, and into salad dressings. Honey also acts as a thickener for sauces, dips, marinades and gravies.
Another interesting quality of honey as an ingredient is that it is a supersaturated solution of sugars, which makes it attract water, making it act as a natural humectant. This is why incorporating it in glazes when cooking meats or roasting vegetables can help keep them moist as they cook. It is important to remember though, that this kind of application means that when cooked, the nutritional value of the honey will change.
Otherwise, add honey to cheese platters, or churn into yoghurt with nuts and freeze for a frozen treat. Whip honey and softened butter together for a delightful spread on warm toast. Or, create a signature honey flavour by infusing it with herbs and spices for wonderful twists on flavour. In fact, a variety of infused honeys are now available in the market or can be easily made at home, to add interesting flavourful twists to recipes. For example, tingly pepper honey, luxurious saffron honey, and even the recently trending hot honey, which infuses fiery chilli peppers into honey by gently warming the two together.
This brings me to my current obsession. Fermented Hot Honey! When it comes to flavour combinations, the marriage of sweet and chilli hot is a no-brainer, which is probably why it has been much loved in many international cuisines down the ages. But this year, while I was working on the food trends report, I came across “Hot Honey.” I was totally intrigued by this condiment that has become popular with food lovers the world over!
Hot honey is basically honey infused with chillies. A sweet condiment with a welcome kick of heat. The honey absorbs the capsaicin from the chillies rounding off the spicy notes of the chilli, while the spiciness from the chilly tempers the sweetness of the honey. I loved the idea from the moment I read about it! But I had some ideas on playing around with it. So I decided to get experimental! And OMG the experiments have resulted in fantastic additions to my pantry! This Fermented Hot Honey is THE BOMB and should be perfect to brighten up any cloudy days to come!
Fermented Hot Honey Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Fresh Red Chillies of your choice
- 1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 2-3 cups Saffola Honey
Method:
Remove stems and crown and chop the chillies.
In a mixing bowl toss them with salt and red chilli powder. Leave overnight to sweat and let off juices. (Refrigerate if you live in a warm place.)
The next day, add the honey and mix well. Transfer to a jar and leave in a sunny corner for 3-4 weeks or until the chillies have completely let out all their juices and the honey has turned thin and runny. On opening, you will find slightly fermented aromas and some bubbles on the surface.
You now have several options (all of them work!)
- Store the Fermented Hot Honey as is. To use, remove as much as you need, and coarsely chop or mash the chillies with the runny honey and use.
- Puree and store in a bottle in the fridge.
- Cook the Fermented Hot Honey as is, or after pureeing, until it has thickened to the consistency of actual honey. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature.
What to do with your Hot Honey?
Well, you have a condiment that has a legion of potential uses. So many that you might run out of the sauce before you run out of ways to use it. But here are some tried and tested options.
- Use it as a dipping sauce, either as is, or stirred into mayo, hung yoghurt or cream cheese
- Use it as a drizzle over anything
- Use it as a marinade for meat – chicken, pork, beef, all work. It is also fab as a finishing glaze for mushrooms and potatoes (it gives a whole new meaning to honey chilli potatoes).
- Combine 2-3 tbsp Fermented Hot Honey with 2 tbsp softened butter. Use as a spread for parathas, toast, or sandwiches – particularly good with roast meat or ham sandwiches!
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Note
All the recent news about the adulteration of honey had me worried. Especially the part about added sugar as an adulterant. Post some research and talking to experts and otherwise, I finally zeroed in on Saffola Honey for daily use because it's tested using FSSAI parameters as well as NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test and has been proven to be free of any adulteration and specifically has no added sugar. Stay tuned as we explore the traditional uses of honey across India in the next post. This series of recipes with Honey is sponsored by Saffola Honey
Sources (click on links to access):
Everything you need to know about honey, 2018, Medical News Today
Brenntag Food & Nutrition, Humactants
Singh, Magandeep; 2017, The Indian Spirit: The Untold Story of Alcohol in India, Penguin Viking
