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What is Infused Honey?
Infused honey is honey that has had herbs, flowers, fruits, or vegetables added into it when bottled. The honey sits in the jar with the added ingredients for an extended period of time to allow the flavors and properties to permeate the honey. For thousands of years, cultures have been infusing honey to boost its medicinal properties. Honey by itself is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and rich in antioxidants. When infused with other beneficial substances, it can be used to treat a variety of aliments — as well as taste delicious and unique!
How to Make Infused Honey
Making infused honey is fairly simple. You will need a jar with a lid, raw honey, a wooden stirrer such as a chopstick or wooden spoon handle (avoid metal, as it can scratch the jar), a clean cloth for wiping the rim of the jar, and a strainer.
Step One: Prepare your additions. Herbs should be dry —the same goes for fruits, use dried slices. Vegetables, such as garlic and jalapeños, may be added raw. Herbs can be in the form of whole sprigs or separated leaves, buds and petals. Chopping your herbs, fruits, and vegetables up small will help them infuse faster, but, fair warning, they will be harder to strain out.
Step Two: Combine additions and honey. Place your ingredients in the bottom of the jar and fill the jar almost to the top with honey. Then, use your chopstick or other implement to stir the mixture, making sure everything is fully coated with honey and not clumped together. Top off with more honey to fill the jar, and wipe the jar rim with the clean cloth so you can screw your cap on tightly. We recommend you label your jar with the date and its contents so that you don’t forget!
Step Three: Infuse. Let the honey infuse for at least 5 days. For a more intense flavor, wait for another week or longer. If your ingredients float to the top, turn the jar over a few times to keep them well coated.
Step Four: Strain. Strain the honey into a clean jar. You can use a regular kitchen metal mesh strainer, no fancy equipment necessary!
Step Five: Store. Store your infused honey in a tightly covered jar in a cool, dry place. It will last indefinitely. Honey doesn’t go bad, because of its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Archeologists have found honey in Ancient Egyptian tombs from thousands of years ago that is still edible! It may crystallize, but there’s an easy fix for that: simply place your jar of honey in a hot (but not boiling!) water bath to encourage the sugar crystals to redissolve.
Best Bees Recommendation: Garlic Infused Honey
Cold and flu season is approaching! After finding inspiration in ‘Unconventional Remedies’ Garlic/Honey Immune Boosting post, we at The Best Bees Company decided to try out the recipe.
There are many health benefits of using garlic and honey as combined ingredients; raw honey and garlic both have antiviral, anti fungal, and antibacterial properties. Other benefits of honey include aiding the digestive process and soothing sore throats. Garlic also lowers blood pressure levels, improves cardiovascular health, and kills infections while boosting your immune system. Even though garlic is beneficial, it has a powerful taste that not everyone enjoys, so with the addition of sweet honey, you can still boost your immune system without an overwhelmingly strong taste.
We tried out the recipe provided in the post and are excited to see if we notice any cold symptoms subside.
The recipe is easy, fun and hands on. If you try this project yourself, we would love to hear any feedback!
