primitives discuss substituting honey for sugar

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x47226

hippywife  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 10:33 AM
Original message

Subbing Honey for Sugar
   
In my never ending quest to use more local product, I am thinking of switching from sugar to honey in all uses possible. I have been reading a little bit about doing it and it seems it's fine, even for canning.

Has anyone else ever attempted to eliminate cane sugar from their kitchen?

supernova  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 10:45 AM
Response to Original message

1. I don't use sugar any more.
   
But I don't do so much baking any more (sensitivity to grains)

But for the stuff I do use it for: sweetening drinks, drizzled over sweet potatoes or fruit, the occasional sweet pastry like baklava. I can definitely use honey. I also like using Agave syrup. It's not local since it's a SW plant and I don't live out west, but it is a very good low GI sweetner that can be used everywhere you use honey.

hippywife  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 11:00 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. Thanx for the input.
   
The local aspect is really the only consideration for me at this point. I can get honey from our co-op, also the labor issues surrounding cane sugar are really atrocious.

Crisco  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 12:02 PM
Response to Original message

3. I Use Both
   
For sugar I use raw cane for *most* cooking uses, white sugar if I'm baking something delicate. I'm fortunate to live in an area where there is some *killer* wildflower honey - but it doesn't come cheap.

The main thing about using honey is that it doesn't dissolve and disperse well if you put it in with cold ingredients.

hippywife  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 06:31 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. I really want to get to a point where I only use honey. As far as dissolving in something cold, my husband drinks unsweetened tea, unsweetened coffee, and water. I only drink water. Can't think of anything else cold I would need to sweeten right off the top of my head, but it still dissolves in something cold better than sugar does, I think.

Warpy  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 12:41 PM
Response to Original message

4. I did when I sold health foods and got it wholesale
   
It allowed me to sample the various types of honey and find out which was best for each use.

Generally speaking, the lightest honeys, alfalfa and orange, were best for baking. Strong honeys like buckwheat and wildflower added wonderful flavors to herb teas and granola. Clover honey was great on pancakes and toast.

Now I seldom use it. I use sugar in baking and for making hummingbird syrup. Honey is reserved for tea and toast and to balance the occasional Chinese sauce that calls for sweetening. I use honey only in things where I want to taste the honey, not a finished product where the flavor is a distraction.

Be aware that honey is very high in fructose, something that can affect health conditions.

Anybody know what "hummingbird syrup" is?

hippywife  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 06:33 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. I'm not too concerned about a slight taste difference really. And I've found that if I stick to my diet of whole foods, I can have anything I want really, as long as I don't go totally hogwild, of course.

Warpy  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 06:41 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Honey is expensive enough that people who convert tend to use a lot less of it than they would other cheaper sweeteners. That's a good thing.

I know that I managed to kill my sweet tooth off years ago. Now if I crave sweets, it's a piece of fruit or cup of yogurt. Rarely, I'll have a teaspoonful of chocolate chips if I get a chocolate Jones. The last pound I bought in bulk has lasted me over 2 years.

hippywife  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 06:49 PM
Response to Reply #7

8. I rarely have a sweet tooth, either.
   
The husband on the other hand is a different story. I really do only anticipate using it for baking for the most part.

Dover  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 08:32 PM
Response to Original message

9. I've been subbing sugar often with agave nectar or honey.
   
My honey isn't always local, but I try. And agave nectar is from Mexico which is just over the border.
I mainly like to use it for mixing with wet things (drinks, sauces, etc.) although it works fine with dry ingredients too so long as you account for the extra moisture.

They are both wonderful, although I still keep white sugar around for the hummingbird formula and for those few things that absolutely require sugar.

[Chris_]

Fore the most part your body can't tel the difference.

[Lord Undies]

Vegans don't eat honey.  I thought DUmmies were all vegans.  The lack of protein would explain the brain dystrophy.

[franksolich]

You know, I dunno.

It's weird I wouldn't know this, given how the parents and all the siblings died way too early, from diseases of affluence and decadence, the too-easy, the too-secure, life.

But I'm wondering.  Refined sugar is bad for diabetics; even I know that.

Is honey safe for diabetics?  Might that be why these primitives use it, or wish to use it?

[Flame]

Frank, Hummingbird syrup is the stuff people put in hummingbird feeders.

[franksolich]

Frank, Hummingbird syrup is the stuff people put in hummingbird feeders.

I know that now, although I didn't know that last night.

About 6:00 a.m. central time, 5:00 a.m. mountain time, I was at the Village Inn Restaurant in the big city.

We had a new waitress, her first day on the job.  In fact, her first hour on the job.

I ordered waffles.

She inquired as to which kind of syrup I wanted.

Now, normally I just use regular syrup; one syrup's the same as another syrup, anyway.

This time, I said, "Well, I'd like to try this with hummingbird syrup, to see what it's like.

"You suppose it might be syrup with a flavor of poultry?"

She didn't know, and so went to get the manager, who had encouraged her to approach him whenever she had questions that stumped her.

Anyway.

I left her a $4 tip on a $3 breakfast.

[Miss Mia]

Frank, Hummingbird syrup is the stuff people put in hummingbird feeders.

I know that now, although I didn't know that last night.

About 6:00 a.m. central time, 5:00 a.m. mountain time, I was at the Village Inn Restaurant in the big city.

We had a new waitress, her first day on the job.  In fact, her first hour on the job.

I ordered waffles.

She inquired as to which kind of syrup I wanted.

Now, normally I just use regular syrup; one syrup's the same as another syrup, anyway.

This time, I said, "Well, I'd like to try this with hummingbird syrup, to see what it's like.

"You suppose it might be syrup with a flavor of poultry?"

She didn't know, and so went to get the manager, who had encouraged her to approach him whenever she had questions that stumped her.

Anyway.

I left her a $4 tip on a $3 breakfast.

LOL!