Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- About This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- Icons Used in This Book -- Beyond the Book -- Where to Go from Here -- Part 1 Honey, Give Me the Lowdown -- Chapter 1 Dipping into Honey's History and Its Importance Today -- Introducing Discoscapa apicula - the World's Oldest Bee? -- Raising Bees in Ancient Egypt -- Embalming with Honey and More -- Discovering the World's Oldest BeeHives -- In Praise of Honey -- Islam -- Hinduism -- Judaism -- Buddhism -- Christianity -- Sikhism -- Finding Honey in Literature and Folklore -- Honey Bees Come to America -- Honey Today: Celebrity Status -- Chapter 2 Looking at How Honey Is Made and Harvested -- Gathering Their Groceries -- Understanding the Composition of Honey -- Harvesting Honey: From Bee to Bottle -- It's all about timing -- Driving the bees out of the honey supers -- Removing the honey from the comb -- Chapter 3 Appreciating the Different Styles of Honey -- Walkin' Talkin' Honeycomb -- Savoring Liquid Gold - Extracted Honey -- Getting Chunky with Chunk Honey -- Whipping Your Honey -- What's the Story on Honey Straws? -- Part 2 Nutrition, Health, and Honey -- Chapter 4 All About Apitherapy -- Bee Venom -- Bee Pollen -- Royal Jelly -- Propolis -- Beeswax -- Enjoying the Many Benefits of Honey -- Cuts, burns, and scratches -- Fixing sore throats and coughs -- Getting the honey glow -- Chapter 5 Making Honey Remedies at Home -- Mixing Up Some Honey-Based Hair and Skincare Products -- Honey-Based Elixirs -- Part 3 Honey Varietals -- Chapter 6 Discovering the World's Top Honey Producers -- 1. China (500,000 tons) -- 2. Iran (112,000 tons) -- 3. Turkey (110,000 tons) -- 4. India (85,000 tons) -- 5. United States (81,000 tons) -- 1. North Dakota (19,000 tons) -- 2. South Dakota (19,000 tons) -- 3. Montana (7,000 tons).

4. California (6,850 tons) -- 5. Florida (5,950 tons) -- 6. Minnesota (3,905 tons) -- 7. Texas (3,700 tons) -- 8. Michigan (2,650 tons) -- 9. Idaho (1,650 tons) -- 10. Wisconsin (1,500 tons) -- 6. Russian Federation (70,000 tons) -- 7. Ukraine (66,500 tons) -- 8. Mexico (57,000 tons) -- 9. Brazil (42,400 tons) -- 10. New Zealand (23,000 tons) -- Chapter 7 Getting to Know 50 Varietals of Honey -- Learning about Varietal Honeys -- 1. Acacia -- 2. Ailanthus -- 3. Alfalfa -- 4. Avocado -- 5. Basswood -- 6. Bell Heather -- 7. Blackberry -- 8. Black mangrove -- 9. Blueberry Blossom -- 10. Borage -- 11. Buckwheat -- 12. Chestnut -- 13. Coriander -- 14. Cranberry Blossom -- 15. Dandelion -- 16. Eucalyptus -- 17. Fireweed -- 18. Gallberry -- 19. Goldenrod -- 20. Honeydew -- 21. Honeysuckle -- 22. Huajillo (pronounced wa-HE-yo) -- 23. Japanese Knotweed -- 24. Kāmahi (pronounced car-MY) -- 25. Kiawe (pronounced kee-AH-vay) -- 26. Kudzu -- 27. Lavender -- 28. Leatherwood -- 29. Ling Heather -- 30. Litchee -- 31. Macadamia -- 32. Manuka -- 33. Meadowfoam -- 34. Mesquite -- 35. Ōhi'a Lehua -- 36. Orange Blossom -- 37. Rapeseed -- 38. Raspberry -- 39. Rhododendron -- 40. Rosemary -- 41. Sage -- 42. Saw Palmetto -- 43. Star thistle/Knapweed -- 44. Strawberry tree -- 45. Sunflower -- 46. Thyme -- 47. Tulip poplar -- 48. Tupelo -- 49. Ulmo -- 50. Yellow Sweet Clover -- A Word about Wildflower Honey -- Chapter 8 All That Glistens Is Not Liquid Gold -- Laundering Honey -- Transshipping Honey -- Removing Pollen to Conceal the Honey's Origin -- Blending Honeys -- Cutting Honey -- Intervention of Humans -- Part 4 Becoming a Honey Tasting Expert -- Chapter 9 Thinking Like a Honey Sommelier -- Differentiating Taste and Flavor -- Taste sensations -- Flavor sensations -- Other taste sensations -- Are You a Supertaster? -- The Nose Remembers -- Describing What You Taste.

Tuning Up Your Taste Buds and Sharpening Your Sniffer -- Training your sense of taste -- Refining your sense of flavor -- Chapter 10 Knowing How to Taste Honey -- Looking, Smelling, and Tasting: Sensory Analysis -- Creating the Right Environment for Tasting -- Making certain you are fresh and rested -- Staying healthy -- Fasting before tasting -- Avoiding extraneous smells -- Setting Up For Honey Tasting -- Picking honeys to sample -- Gathering your tasting tools -- Getting organized using a tasting mat -- Picking a palette cleanser -- Writing Tasting Notes -- Starting with a basic look-see -- Determining liquid or solid -- Discovering undesirable stuff -- Evaluating clarity -- Defining the Color of Honey -- Smelling Your Honey -- Profiling Honey Characteristics -- Using the Aroma and Flavor Chart -- Trigeminals -- Determining the Honey's "Finish" -- Talking About Texture -- Chapter 11 Taking the Terror Out Of Terroir -- Capturing the Flavors of Local Foods -- Ensuring quality standards -- Certifying and protecting honeys -- Influencing Nectar -- Getting the Dirt on Honey (Geology) -- Honey and Geography -- Knowing What Weather Has to Do with It -- Rain, rain don't go away -- Here comes the sun! -- Chapter 12 Looking at What Can Go Wrong With Honey -- Recognizing Defects -- Burnt honey -- The brood factor -- Medico mayhem -- Smoky stuff -- Just one word - plastics! -- Metal madness -- Crossing Crystallization Defects -- Incomplete crystallization -- Crystal striping -- Separation of honey -- Knowing Why a Honey Tastes Like Beer -- Part 5 Hey, Honey, Let's Party -- Chapter 13 Shopping for Your Honey -- Knowing Where to Shop -- Go straight to the source -- Farm stands and farmers markets -- Gourmet markets -- Cheese shops -- Deciphering Labels -- Nutrition labels -- True Source -- Gluten-free -- Vegan.

Raw, natural, organic, all natural - Descriptors that mean nothing -- GMO -- Fair Trade Honey -- Chapter 14 Brewing Honey Wine (Mead) -- Discovering Mead's Long History -- Introducing Seven Types of Mead -- Traditional mead -- Sack mead -- Hydromel -- Bochet mead -- Metheglin -- Sack metheglin -- Mead made with fruit juices -- Getting the Necessary Mead-Making Equipment -- Understanding Useful Mead-Making Terms -- Chapter 15 Cooking with Honey -- Chapter 16 Baking with Honey -- Swapping Out Sugar for Honey -- Checking Out Some Recipes -- Chapter 17 Using Honey for Thirst-Quenching and Celebratory Beverages -- Making Honey-Inspired Beverages -- Mixing Honey-Based Cocktails -- Gin -- Tequila -- Vodka -- Scotch whisky -- Whiskey (bourbon or rye) -- Rum -- Chapter 18 Pairing Honey with Cheese and Other Foods -- Pairing Honey with Cheese -- Understanding the dynamics of honey and cheese -- It's a matter of taste -- Conjuring Creative Pairings -- Choosing complementary duos -- Considering that opposites attract -- Taking texture into account -- Staying local -- Just go for it! -- Considering Classic Pairings of Honey and Food -- Chapter 19 Honey, Let's Have a Party -- Planning the Party -- Deciding on the theme -- Setting the mood -- Assembling the Right Stuff -- Developing Your Menu -- Creating Honey Grazing Boards -- Piloting Tasting Flights -- Including Fun Honey Games -- Trio tasting game -- Honey spelling game -- Show Friends How It Went -- Part 6 The Part of Tens -- Chapter 20 Ten Great Honey Festivals -- Oregon Honey Festival, Ashland, Oregon -- Philadelphia Honey Festival -- NYC Honey Week, Rockaway Beach -- Honey Bee Fest, New York -- Sweet Bee's Honey Festival, New York -- Vermont's Golden Honey Festival -- Arizona Honeybee Festival, Phoenix -- Michigan Honey Festival -- Tennessee Honey Festival -- Uvalde Honey Festival, Texas.

Chapter 21 More Than Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Honey -- What's the best way to store honey once the jar has been opened? -- Does honey ever spoil or go bad? -- Why does my honey look like it has two different layers? -- My honey has crystallized -- can I get the honey liquid again? -- What's organic honey? -- What's the difference between Grade A and Grade B honey? -- What accounts for the different colors and flavors of honey? -- Why do honey bees make honey? -- Is it true that eating local honey will relieve pollen-related allergies? -- What does "raw" honey mean? -- How can I test my honey for authenticity? -- Why does honey from the same local beekeeper taste different sometimes? -- Why shouldn't you feed honey to a baby? -- How many flowers must honey bees visit to make one pound of honey? -- How much honey does a worker honey bee make in her lifetime? -- What famous Scottish liqueur is made with honey? -- What's the U.S. per capita consumption of honey? -- How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States? -- Do all bees make honey? -- Chapter 22 Ten Honeys for your Bucket List -- The Most Expensive Honey in the World: Elvish -- Most Sacred Honey: Sidr -- Most-Difficult-to-Get Honey: Pitcairn Island -- Most International Awards: Sourwood -- Most Bitter Honey: Strawberry Tree Honey -- Psychedelic Mad Honey: Deli Bal -- Most Unique Texture: Ling Heather Honey -- Volcanic Honey: Wenchi -- Silkiest Honey: Ulmo Honey -- Most Buttery Honey: Kāmahi -- Part 7 Appendixes -- Appendix A Glossary -- Appendix B Helpful Honey Resources -- Index -- Supplemental Images -- EULA.