Folkways
by Maya Brown Zniewski. Illustration by Avram Dumitrescu.
HONEY
H
oney is that great and glori-
ous gift from the humble
bumble bee. I cannot imag-
ine a time in human history when we
did not forage for and collect this
most special of sweeteners.
I could speak here of the chemical
makeup of honey, showing the glu-
cose and monosaccharaides that are
the same level of sweetness as com-
mon table sugar. Place a reminder
here that children under the age of
two should not eat honey because
there is a risk of botulism due to dor-
mant spores that can remain in
honey. Mostly I will be waxing on
about the fine and tasty uses of
honey.
There is a cave painting in Spain
(which I have not seen in person) that
tells the importance of honey; depict-
ing or instructing how honey is gath-
ered. The importance of honey to the
lives of these people 8,000 years ago
was so great as to be painted on the
walls of their home. In the Nation of
Georgia, burial sites up to 5,500
years old have been found to have
pots of linden and other honeys. The
ancient Mayan people used honey
for wound care as well as for food, as
did the Egyptians, Greeks and
Romans. In Ayurveda (Indian) med-
icine honey is used for those with
weak digestion (honey contains all 22
amino acids, 28 minerals and more).
Honey is also used for wounds and
sores and as a first-thing-in-the-
morning drink when mixed with
lemon juice and water. In Chinese
Medicine honey is sweet and neutral
and is good for the lungs, large intes-
tine, spleen and stomach. It is com-
mon in many formulas for medicine.
You've heard that saying, “a tea-
spoonful of honey helps…” well,
everything.
I highly suggest making your own
honey cough drops instead of buying
candy sold to us as cough drops.
They are simple to make and you can
switch out ingredients to your liking.
Try honey, ginger and lemon drops.
24
Take 1/2 cup raw, local honey. I
get mine from a woman down the
road. When you buy it get the best
quality you can. Two Tablespoons
lemon, lime, grapefruit or other cit-
rus fruit. When the cactus tuna is in
season, I would love to try making
honey,
tuna,
ginger
cough
drops. One teaspoon or more (to
your liking) grated fresh ginger. I
imagine you could use dried
instead. You'll need a candy ther-
mometer (or know how to test hard
and soft stage for candy), waxed or
parchment paper and a tiny bit of
oil.
Everything goes into a pan, I use a
copper one or stainless is fine. I don't
trust glass pans on the fire but you
might do well with glass, too. As
everything comes to a boil, whisk
until it foams and starts building up
on the sides of the pan, remove from
heat and whisk until foam is reincor-
porated, then back on the heat. Keep
doing this until the thermometer
reads 300 degrees (hard crack stage.)
CHECK OFTEN! You want hard
crack stage. Drop a tiny bit into cold
water and check it. If it forms a semi-
hard ball when you play with it; it is
ready. Pour it out onto a cookie sheet
lined with parchment or wax paper
and spread pretty thinly. It will do
most of the work for you. Let it cool
then break into pieces. You can make
it into balls to resemble drops before
it completely sets but that’s a couple
of extra steps. Store in a closed con-
tainer.
Horehound cough drops are just
about the same but simmer the hore-
hound leaves in water for about 20
minutes, strain and use the hore-
hound water as a base for the cough
drops. Horehound is BITTER as
anything and the honey helps cover
up the bitterness. You can also add
mint or sage for health and flavor.
You will develop your own favorite
recipe!
In my recipe for elderberry syrup I
take a half-cup of dried elderberries,
Cenizo
Second Quarter 2017
add a half cup water, one cinna-
mon stick, 1/4 teaspoon fresh
grated ginger and two or three
cloves. Simmer gently until the
water turns purplish-blue and the
berries are all mushy, probably a
half-hour. Strain out the solids
and add an equal part of honey to
liquid. Store this in the fridge.
One teaspoon daily makes a great
immune booster.
You can also make a fantastic
facial cleanser with honey, plain
or mixed with clays, activated
charcoal, oatmeal, or calming
herbs like chamomile and laven-
der. Grind about a tablespoon of
your choice of ingredients, I like
oatmeal and chamomile. Mix
them with a tablespoon of honey.
Using a previously-unused paint
brush or makeup brush, apply to
your skin. Wash with warm water.
You'll want to mix up a fresh batch
every time.
I've started making switchels
recently, also called swizzys or hay-
makers punch, among other names.
The one I like best is Honoree. It is a
mix of honey and vinegar, just like
the drink. Honoree, which seems to
have originated in either the
Caribbean or New England (or I
imagine several other places), con-
tains apple cider vinegar (vinegar
with the mother, or floaters), honey,
lemon, lime or other citrus juice and
ginger. I like to add other herbs in my
mix, especially peppermint.
Combine 2 Tablespoons unfil-
tered raw apple cider vinegar, 2-3
Tablespoons honey to taste, 2
Tablespoons grated ginger and/or 2
or 3 minced peppermint leaves. (You
can also add sage, cloves, cinnamon,
or other herbs and spices to your lik-
ing. Reduce the amount if you’re
doing cloves and cinnamon to about
1/4 teaspoon.) 4-6 cups water, 2
Tablespoons lime, lemon or other
citrus fruit juice. When cactus tunas
are in season try the juice from them.
Mix everything together in a mason
jar, put a lid on it and store in the
fridge over night or for about eight
hours. Serve over ice with a mint gar-
nish.
There are probably as many
recipes for drinks like this as there are
families, develop your own family
recipe. I really think you'll love it. It is
so refreshing on a hot day.
You can infuse honey with flavor-
ful herbs. Try rose petals (please use
only organic or roses that you
KNOW have not been sprayed. The
pesticides used on roses are especially
harmful to us.) Pack a glass jar with
petals, and then fill again with honey.
Let set for a month or six weeks. Use
it as you would regular honey. I
like honeyed roses on toast or oat-
meal. Add it to seltzer water for a
sweet drink or you might try it with
lime wedges and a shot of whiskey or
tequila for a cocktail.
Feel free to visit my online apothe-
cary at mayamadesoap.com
Disclaimer: The purpose of these articles
is for information, not to provide health care.
Please consult a qualified herbalist or
other health care provider for assistance with
any health issue.