Thursday, January 30, 2014

Whipped honey...

Do you remember Sue Bee Spun Honey from back in the day -- the milky, smooth honey that you could actually spread on your bread with a knife?  A year or so ago, I was reminiscing about that lovely honey and wondering if I could make a similar product at home with the raw honey I bought from our local bee keeper.  The answer:  Yes!  I found easy-to-follow instructions from Bite my cake and have been making it ever since.

Basically, you start  with raw honey that is crystallized and thick.  Mine looks something like the picture below.  It's fairly yellow and has flecks of bee stuff in it -- wings, legs, pollen, and other goodies that bees carry into the hives.  I take my gallon of raw honey and gently melt the outer edges in a bowl of just-boiled water.  When it has softened up a little and there's some liquified honey around the edges of the container, that's when I pour the whole thing into my stand mixer.  When you pour it from your container into your mixing bowl, you will notice that the majority of the honey is still crystallized.  With whip attachments on, start the mixer and whip that honey for quite some time -- between 15-20 minutes.  The honey will magically turn from yellow to a creamy white.  It's a molecular thing that happens between the crystals and the liquid honey that gives it the spreadable consistency and milky color.


I pour my whipped honey into smaller jars.  Either jelly jars or wide-mouth pint jars work best.  You want to be able to get into the jars easily with a table knife or spoon.  As the honey cools from the whipping process, it will firm up more and become a glorious honey-butter of sorts.  Store your whipped honey in a fairly cool cupboard and it will set up beautifully.

 Whipped honey is so easy to use in comparison to runny-honey.  You can spoon out just a little bit or a lot without all the drippy mess, and you can spread it on bread or toast just as efficiently as you can spread peanut butter.  We absolutely LOVE it.

Today Peach and Toodles were here while their parents went grocery shopping in town with baby brother in tow.  Peach asked if we could have tea and scones after lunch, and that sounded perfectly lovely to me.  I made a pot of Citron Oolong and we had biscuits and honey.  Deeeee-lish!

 

The shearers were supposed to come tomorrow to shear the sheep, but we had a couple inches of snow overnight and more snow during the day today so the sheep are wet with snowy wool.  We'll have to wait and see if they melt off tomorrow and dry out enough to shear on Saturday.  We're just about 10 days away from having baby lambs!  Stay tuned.

22 comments:

  1. I remember whipped honey. We had a cabin near a monastery and they sold the most beautiful whipped honey. Thanks for the instructions.

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  2. I don't know about that, Jody. Haha. I love how you are always trying new things and I would like to taste that honey spread. Your teapot is beautiful!!!!

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    1. I always figure there's got to be a way to make things at home so I like to give it a try. This was a very successful endeavor. Thanks for the teapot love.

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  3. Sue Bee Spun Honey?!?!! I love that stuff. Still buy it when I see it on the shelves at my local store. I think I like your honey even better. If I get my hands on some raw honey, I am going to try this. Mmmmm…I think I need a piece of toast. Thanks, Jody.

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    1. I still see the spun honey in the stores, but it is screamin' expensive. I get my local honey fairly cheap because I buy it by the gallon and it's unprocessed.

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  4. It's been a long time since I ate any whipped honey, but I might like to try this. With my new love affair with honey, I have taken to scooping up a teaspoonful of the crystallized stuff and making it last a while. Simple dessert!

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    1. I like the way you eat your "dessert." I do that too when I want a sweet treat. It's good for us too.

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  5. G'day Gumbo Lily. That honey looks fabulous. I will try it if I can get some raw honey. Take care. Liz...

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  6. Whipped honey - never heard of it or tasted it for that matter but all your pictures and words have me drooling. I must try this. First to get myself some raw honey.

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    1. Glad you stopped by, Maya. You're gonna love that raw whipped honey.

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  7. I remember Sue Bee, too. Yum! I'm taking a break from wheat so no toast to put honey on. Sad. I guess I could spin some honey for my oats. Have a sweet day, good Jody!

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    1. I eat very little bread now, but on occasion, I love it with honey. Putting it on oatmeal is a good thing or just straight in your mouth from the spoon.

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  8. Wonderful! And perfect timing... Our dear friends in Montana have so been blessing us from their hive that I can't seem to keep up with the influx. Honey 'butter' it is!

    Thankful to be here, Debbie :)

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    1. Debbie,
      This honey, divided into smaller jars, makes great gifts! Everybody loves it.

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  9. It looks delicious. I'm not sure if I've ever had it before...

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  10. I haven't thought of that in years. My grandparents always had it on the kitchen table.
    I need to try it again.

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  11. It looks amazing! But you don't mention if or how you remove the "bee stuff". Your honey looks beautiful and pristine. What happened to the bee stuff?
    Stacy

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    1. I leave the bee stuff in and just mix it right up when I whip the honey, but if you don't want that, you can skim the top off and proceed.

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  12. That is AMAZING, Jody. I pinned that, and will return to it when Adam starts pulling honey. Very good to know!

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  13. I LOVE raw honey! Can I please come over for a finger-dip of that honey-goodness> Just a tittle-bittle bit?!

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