Honey

[Patrick S]

Also, I'm 99% sure that GM rice is not being produced commercially in any country yet. China has adopted several GM crops, in particular GM cotton, but I think GM rice is still in field trials in China at this point. Golden rice --rice engineered to produce the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene-- is, for a variety of reasons, not yet being produced in large quantitites in any country to my knowledge.

[NickLam]

GM rice is probably still in field trials in a public sense, but to that I leave to the scientists. A major Japanese car company has dwelved into biotech and currently does lots of research and experimenting in Thailand with a University. As their standards are really really strict, none of these are released for public consumption, only testing purposes. My mate's family has a JV with em up north where they are trying to cultivate short grain rice like hoshihikari to be adaptable to a non-Japanese climate, but taste like it does in Japan. Once you taste hoshihikari in Niigata and the ones grown elsewhere....you can taste and feel the difference. They believe in karma, so are very strict on permanently disposing of rice that has been carded for destruction.

However, we do know of lots of backdoor deals in China that go thru to the golden triangle. One of our associates currently grow their own rice in India for pressing oil with but resorted to that only because the cheapest ones they could get their hands on were backdoor ones that were meant to be destroyed. In Asia, most of this info is available only on the ground through networks and getting ones hands dirty. A few bucks here and there goes a long way.

Fortunately in Thailand, they grow amazing rice and it is strictly regulated due to great governance by his Majesty the King. One day, I hope to visit the royal farm, if ever the opportunity arises. Most rice grown is either consumed locally or exported to richer countries.

What I'm trying to say is that lots of things go on behind the scenes that are not reported or widely known. In these countries, people are so poor and hungry that they won't throw away the rice or destroy it as told. Thats why you still have people in villages eating birds that die of H5N1. You can't really blame them for they are not as fortunate as we are. Seen some pretty disturbing stuff at the producer of chickies for the lyke me fingees people. Can't really compare it to the standards in the west. All those 'undercover' reports exposed in newspapers don't come close to reality.

And my apologies if I do not name names as there may be legal issues here for myself and the forum, and that will not lend credibility to my words. Unfortunately, these businesses have the financial means to shut peoples' mouths. If the moderators should feel this is pushing the line a little, I will stop this completely, but I just hope to share more about what I've seen and heard from the ground. Don't mean to scare or offend anyone, but I love food and hate it when unscrupulous businesspeople destroy what is so sacred and dear to us, and give business a bad name.

[petrus]

I have noticed that supermarket shelves are often well-stocked with vareties of honey. It doesn't feature much in the cookbooks I have read. Who buys the stuff (and what to they use it for)?

[pigeonpie]

I do! I Love honey.

What do i do with it? Mainly eat it on toast.

But I also eat it on yogurt, put it in bread (ie as an ingredient in making bread) drizzle it over muesli, add it to the pan when deglazing pork chops, stir it into lemon juice and hot water when I have a cold.

Or just eat it by the spoonful from the jar

And I love the fact that the supermarkets sell lots of different types now - I buy them all, plus I tend to buy honey wherever I find some that looks good/interesting/different, so that I generally have eight or so different kinds floating around in my larder to choose from.

Mmm, hot toast, dripping with honey. Yum!

[IowaDee]

I always top pancakes and waffles with honey. Beats maple syrup all to heck in my book! Nothing better than hot cornbread dripping with butter and honey.

[Mrs Woman]

I adore honey on toast, with butter too, the combo is gorgeous. I use it marinades and I've mixed it up with chopped fresh mint and drizzled it over a leg of lamb for the last 10 mins in the oven

[rjs1]

Keeps the peas on the knife.

[Mrs Woman]

I eat my peas with honey

I've done it all my life

It makes the peas taste funny

But it keeps them on the knife!

[jennahan]

I always have 2 types of honey on hand, one runny and one creamy. The creamy is to put on toasted and buttered bread and the runny to drizzle on yogurt, porridge, in tea, and to cook with. I use honey in braised lamb and pork dishes and various other oriental dishes,

[The Old Foodie]

I use it in my home-made breakfast granola mix - gives it a lovely sweet crunch, and smells divine while it is drying and baking in the oven.

[petite tête de chou]

Do the English and Irish add honey to their tea? What I mean to ask is do they use it a lot as opposed to white sugar?

[Corinna Dunne]

Hmmm... I don't add it to tea, but I add it to a hot whiskey, with a slice of lemon studded with cloves. A great remedy for winter colds.

[Carlovski]

Also supermarkets like to offer a bewildering selection of anything that has a long shelf life - it gives an illusion of quality and choice without any problems of wastage.

Hence the 257 types of Jam, chutney, breakfast cereal etc but only 2 types of potato.

[malcolmwilliamson]

...2 types of potato

.

Don't you mean colours of potato? A bit like a supermarket stocking one red and one white wine.

[June Pickering]

I've used honey in lots of different recipes over the years but recently have started to use it in marinades for fish. Mixed with crushed fennel seeds and garlic and a few other ingredients, it makes for a really good tasting cod or any white fish. There seems to be more honey varieties on the UK shelves than I've seen in the U.S. It must be versatile and a good seller.

[The Old Foodie]

I forgot - there are lots of lovely honey cake recipes too.

[Charlie O]

The Economist has an article on the rise of gormet honey:

"...honey is once again becoming a luxury item—the new olive oil, so to speak, defined by its myriad assortments, subtle personalities and soaring prices."

Read more here.

Personally, I only ever eat it with toast but this thread has given me ideas...

[cognitivefun]

Just wondered. I often guesstimate when I cook and often when I bake. But where precision is required, for cakes for example, how do I measure honey or, for that matter, any really viscose liquid such as corn syrup or molasses?

1/4 to 1/2 seems to remain in the spoon...

[SweetSide]

I LIGHT spritz of cooking spray helps it to not stick. But, if I don't want to drag out the spray for a tablespoon or two, I scrape it all out with my finger.... Plus, I have a liquid measure that is 4T, marked into 1/2T increments (made by OXO). Use it for just these things that stick, so I only have to scrape it all out once. Like to get every last drop......

ETA: If I'm measuring oil in a tablespoon also, I do that first and can avoid the spritz of cooking spray.

Edited September 23, 2006 by SweetSide (log)

[prasantrin]

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the rest out. I have a few small spatulas, and they work well for that.

I've also heard that coating the spoon with a bit of oil helps, but I've never tried it (works for stuff like peanut butter, too, I hear).

[claire797]

For baking, I just set the whole bowl of batter on the kitchen scale, set the tare to zero, then add however many ounces/grams of honey the recipe requires. Unless you know the conversions by heart, you'll need to check the label on the honey to see what the weight of a tablespoon is, then add accordingly .

[SweetSide]

For baking, I just set the whole bowl of batter on the kitchen scale, set the tare to zero, then add however many ounces/grams of honey the recipe requires.  Unless you know the conversions by heart, you'll need to check the label on the honey to see what the weight of a tablespoon is, then add accordingly  .

←

If I'm doing a larger amount, I do that too. Just be sure to watch out for an inadvertant "glug" at the end...

[chezcherie]

if you use a metal measuring spoon, and you rinse it in very hot water first, the honey will slide right out.

[srhcb]

I've found that Powdered Honey works well in baking.

SB

[zoe b]

I scrape the residue out of the spoon with my (clean!) index finger--hands are useful tools.