People who enjoy honey will often lick the spoon after they’ve smeared the sweet sticky loveliness all over their bread — and then go back for more. But be warned: that’s a really bad idea, because honey is extremely sensitive to bacteria.
Germany’s Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE) warns that foreign substances like saliva and bacteria can quickly introduce unwelcome changes and ruin the taste.
That’s why you should only dip clean spoons and knives into a honey pot. In fact honey is a very delicate substance that needs looking after very carefully.
The ingredients of honey are also very sensitive to light and heat, so it should always be stored in a cool dark place (15 degrees Celsius is ideal). Keeping it above 18 degrees will alter it’s taste, aroma and colour, while refrigeration is not a good idea because this leads to crystallisation.
Honey rounds off the taste of many savoury dishes, such as red cabbage and root vegetables like carrots and parsnips. Pork chops can also be marinated in it.
But be careful when preparing recipes that include cornflour. Here it’s important to make sure the honey is properly cooked through, because if it’s added too late in the cooking process, the enzyme diastase breaks down the cornflour starch making the finished dish too runny.
Fans of crunchy biscuits should also avoid using honey as an ingredient, unless they’re going to eat them all straight away. Biscuits with honey soften during storage due to its water-attracting properties. This also means it’s important to quickly cover up anything containing honey to minimise its contact with the air. – dpa
