Honey is natures sweetener.
Laborious bees, convert flower's nectar into Honey storing it in beehives.
Honey contains a treasure chest of hidden nutritional and medicinal value known for centuries. The sweet golden liquid from the beehive is a popular kitchen staple loaded with antibacterial and antifungal properties that has been used since the early days of Egyptian tombs.
Cave paintings in Spain from 7000BC show the earliest records of beekeeping, however, fossils of honey bees date back about 150 million years!
Its 'magical' properties and versatility has given honey a significant part in history:
The earliest record of keeping bees in hives was found in the sun temple erected in 2400BC near Cairo. The bee featured frequently in Egyptian hieroglyphs and, being favoured by the pharaohs, often symbolised royalty.
The ancient Egyptians used honey as a sweetener, as a gift to their gods and also as an ingredient in embalming fluid. Honey cakes were baked by the Egyptians and used as an offering to placate the gods.
Greeks, too, made honey cakes and offered them to the gods.
The Greeks viewed honey as not only an important food, but also as a healing medicine. Greek recipes books were full of sweetmeats and cakes made from honey. Cheeses were mixed with honey to make cheesecakes, described by Euripides in the fifth century BC as being "steeped most thoroughly in the rich honey of the golden bee."
The Romans also used honey as a gift to the gods and they used it extensively in cooking. Beekeeping flourished throughout the Roman empire.
Honey continued to be of importance in Europe until the Renaissance, when the arrival of sugar from further afield meant honey was used less. By the seventeenth century sugar was being used regularly as a sweetener and honey was used less.
The honey bee was introduced to New Zealand in 183916 by English settlers, and Mary Bumby was the first bee-keeper here. New Zealand had two native species of bees, but neither was suitable for producing honey.
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