Honey

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As a Substitute for Sugar

Honey is sweeter than refined sugar, so you normally won't use it as a cup-for-cup replacement. You can use more or less in a given recipe, as needed, but 3/4 cup of honey provides the same sweetening as 1 cup of refined sugar. You'll need to reduce other liquids in your recipe by 1/4 cup for every cup of honey you use, and -- in most cases -- add a pinch of soda to neutralize the honey's acidity. Honey also browns more rapidly than sugar, so it's helpful to reduce your baking temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the U.S., the National Honey Board suggests substituting no more than half the sugar in your recipe with honey to start, until you've gotten a feel for how it behaves in your baked goods. Where possible, use recipes written specifically for honey. That's especially so with jams and jellies, where honey can affect the "set." Mass-market commercial honey has a blandly consistent flavor, but small-batch artisanal honeys are variable and can have assertive flavors of their own.

Other Uses

Nectar of the gods?

Honey can be used to preserve psychoactive mushrooms such as the Amanita ...

As Survival Food

Survival honey (or jut honey) is a wonder food that should be stockpiled by every prepper. It is considered by some the ultimate survival food due to its long shelf life and healing proprieties. Honey has been used by humans since Ancient Times and cave paintings have been found depicting humans hunting for this golden wonder.

It was used as a sweetener for multiple dishes, as medicine but also as an embalming for the dead. It is such a valuable food that it was used even in religious rituals from the Hinduism culture to the Judaism culture and Buddhism practices.

The best part about survival honey is that it has a shelf life that is beyond the life of a human being, that’s right it can last forever! It is a food that never spoils and in time only its look will change mostly due to the hardening or crystallization process. Today, the US is the fifth largest honey producer in the world, so you won’t have any problems to acquire and stockpile it.

In case you have a jar of honey that got crystallized (it has a harder texture with a white color), it is rather simple to return the honey to its initial liquid state as all you need is a bowl of hot water. You can put the container in the bowl and let the honey melt for about 30 to 60 seconds.

Some people prefer to boil the entire jar (if it’s made of glass) if the ratio of crystalized honey is bigger than the one of liquid honey. Remember that crystallized honey has a melting point of between 104°F and 122 °F.

Now let’s see why survival honey is such a valuable resource and how it can be used:

Survival honey as a food source

honey survival food 2 Used for consumption since the Stone Age due to its pleasant taste, today we know that survival honey is a highly energetic food (100 gr of honey will give you 304 kcal) that will never turn rancid. It is well absorbed and assimilated by the human organism and it is a valuable dietetic food as it is absorbed easier than commercial sugar.

It is an important source of probiotics, vitamins and minerals, but it also contains antioxidants that are being researched by scientists more and more as it seems survival honey has healing proprieties. Survival honey provides a punch of Vitamin C and B vitamins, and it is a good source of calcium, copper, iron, sulfur and zinc.

The main uses of honey are in cooking, as an addition to various beverages, such as tea, and as a sweetener. It is also used in baking, being spread over pastry products to provide a sweet taste and it is the main ingredient in various sauces, such as honey mustard or honey barbecue.

Using survival honey as a healing aid:

honey survival medicine Survival honey can boost your appetite as it stimulates the stomach juice secretion and it has a normalizing and laxative effect on intestinal track when one is constipated. 100 – 150 grams of honey consumed daily stimulates metabolic processes, muscular tone and improves heart activity.

Raw honey is a very strong antimicrobial, even stronger that some antibiotics and it’s all due to its content of sugars, organic acids, glucosidases and ferments inhibitors. Honey dilates blood vessels of the heart and the cerebrum. It also stimulates and improves nervous and endocrine systems activity. It has been discovered that honey is biologically active and contains growing substances. Survival honey promotes growth and stimulating animal and human tissue formation and regeneration.

Survival honey has a beneficial and wholesome effect on the entire human body due to its biogenic stimulators. It improves health, mental and physical activity.

Using survival honey as medicine:

For cold/influenza If you have the following symptoms: runny or stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing, or sniffling, mild body aches, headaches and a general feeling of fatigue you probably caught a cold and you will need to deal with it.

Survival honey is a great remedy for cold in combination with a surprise element, the garlic. This remedy has been used for centuries in the cold regions or Russia as a cure for cold. You will need the following: two teaspoons of honey, two pods of garlic and one cup of hot water.

Smash the garlic pods on the bottom of the cup and add the two teaspoons of honey. Mix well the ingredients and add the hot water. Stir and let it cool before drinking it. You will need to drink this mixture two times per day (morning and evening) for up to five days.

For stomach pain and insomnia

It is recommended to drink a chamomile tea before you go to sleep if you suffer from insomnia and stomach aching. One hour before hitting the bed you should prepare and drink this tea as it will do wonders for relieving stress, reduce inflammation in your stomach and balance the acidity level in your stomach.

Here is what you will need: 1 teaspoon of honey, 2 teaspoons of chamomile flower petals and one cup of water.

Boil the water and add the chamomile petals, stir and let them simmer for 1 minute. Remove the water from the heat and let the petals soak for about two minutes before straining them. Add the honey teaspoon, stir and let it cool. Drink the beverage while still warm, ½ – 1 hour before going to sleep.

For sore throat

The flue, the dry air, allergies and outdoor pollution, as well as various illnesses can cause sore throats. Some of these illnesses will not respond to antibiotics and in this case honey is your salvation. Honey mixed in tea/hot water or simply taken straight up has long been a natural remedy for sore throat that actually works.

It will also suppress the common cough preventing the aching to spread and speed up the healing. Drink one cup of tea or warm water mixed with honey up to three times per day, before each meal. Another alternative is to take two tablespoons of raw honey, two times per day, in the morning and in the evening.

For cuts and burns

For centuries honey has been used as an effective remedy for wounds, burns and ulcers. In recent years there has been renewed interest in the medicinal properties of honey. Survival honey has a high osmolality being a saturated or supersaturated solution of sugars. It has strong interaction with water molecules inhibiting the growth of microorganisms.

Honey produces hydrogen peroxide via a glucose oxidase enzyme reaction when it’s diluted by wound exudates. This is released slowly to provide antibacterial activity but does not damage tissue. Some honeys still have antimicrobial activity even when hydrogen peroxide activity has been removed.

The honey from Manuka trees has been found to have high levels of this antibacterial phytochemical and it’s being used even by the New Zealand Army.

Here are some tips on how honey may be used for wound care: If the wound exudes large amounts of fluid it will require large amounts of honey to be applied The frequency of dressing changes depends on how rapidly the survival honey is being diluted by the exudate. Dressing should be change every 6, 12 or 24 hours depending on the wound. It should become less frequent as the wound starts to heal. After each dressing change, clean the wound with warm water. Spread the honey on dressing pads or pieces of fabric and apply them to the wound rather than applying it directly onto the wound. Occlusive dressings help to prevent honey oozing out from the wound. Cavity, abscesses or deep wounds should be filled with honey before applying the dressing pads, this will assure a deep penetration of the wound tissues.

Using survival honey as food preservative:

survival meat preservation in honey Ancient Romans used honey to preserve herbs, flowers, seeds, meat and even rare game that had been brought overseas from the conquered countries. And this food was destined to be consumed only by the nobility.

During the medieval period, people often kept vegetables and fruits in honey filled jars. The high concentration of sugar in survival honey inhibits bacterial growth. It allows the food to be stored for prolonged periods. In addition, the honey acted as the sweetening agent for the fruits, which were rather poor during that time.

Today Arabs still preserve meat in honey in order to protect it from decomposition. Researchers from the University of Illinois discovered that honey can preserve meat without changing its taste. At the same time it slows the oxidation process of lipoproteins that causes decay.

A few methods for preserving meat in survival honey: Please note that it is important to keep a good hygiene in you working area before starting.

In glass jars (for smaller stockpiles): Procure the meat of your choice and grill or smoke it. It can also work with raw meat as long as it was drained of blood and washed. Allow the meat to cool down and start preparing the jars. Choose your jars depending on the size of the meat you’ve acquired (sheep, goat or cattle, etc.). The larger the jar the more honey you will need to fill it up. Put a pan with water on the fire and submerge the jars and lids in the water once it starts to boil. Boil for about two minutes and get the jars out of the water, allowing them to cool down. Add honey in the jar until it’s half filled. Add the pieces of meat until the honey starts to rise up, reaching the top of the jar. Remember the meat has to be completely submerged. Seal your jars and store them for future use. Make sure you check on them from time to time to see if the meat is still good. It should last forever if you followed the steps and kept a good hygiene. In wooden barrels (for larger stockpiles): Procure the meat of your choice and grill or smoke it. It can also work with raw meat as long as it was drained of blood and washed. Allow the meat to cool down and start preparing the barrels. Grease the inside of the barrels with honey using your hands (make sure you wash them before). Add honey in the barrels until you have a two inch layer of honey on the bottom of the barrel. Add the pieces of meat, forming a pile that doesn’t touch the sides of the barrel. Make sure you add honey in layers every time you add new pieces of meat. Remember the meat has to be completely submerged. Seal your barrels and store them for future use. Make sure your barrels are sealed tight and don’t have any imperfections that will allow honey to drip out. You cannot check the barrels as if you would do for the jars, but the meat should last forever if you followed the steps and kept a good hygiene. Regardless of how you use survival honey, one thing is certain, it should never miss from one’s food storage and preppers should get their hands on it. This wonderful product was used long before technology was available. It will be used for sure, long after technology will be gone.

Sources

6-gallon buckets of honey are not difficult to find online. I prefer more local sources as (even beyond supporting local folks) the pollen is best suited for alleviating allergies in the area, etc..