Honey: Difference between revisions

Line 103:

In 2023, world production of honey was 1.9{{nbsp}}million [[tonne]]s, led by China with 24% of the total, and [[Turkey]], [[Ethiopia]], and [[Iran]] as secondary producers (table).

== Modern uses ==

=== Food ===

Over its history as a food, the main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, as a spread on bread, as an addition to various beverages such as tea, and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages.

Due to its energy density, honey is an important food for virtually all [[hunter-gatherer]] cultures in warm climates, with the [[Hadza people]] ranking honey as their favorite food. [[Honey hunting|Honey hunters]] in Africa have a [[Mutualism (biology)|mutualistic]] relationship with certain species of [[honeyguide]] birds.

=== Fermentation ===

Possibly the world's oldest [[fermented beverage]], dating from 9,000 years ago, [[mead]] ("honey wine") is the alcoholic product made by adding [[yeast]] to honey-water [[must]] and fermenting it for weeks or months. The yeast ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]'' is commonly used in modern mead production.

Mead varieties include drinks called [[metheglin]] (with spices or herbs), [[melomel]] (with fruit juices, such as grape, specifically called [[pyment]]), [[hippocras]] (with [[cinnamon]]), and sack mead (high concentration of honey), many of which have been developed as commercial products numbering in the hundreds in the United States. Honey is also used to make mead [[beer]], called "braggot".

@@ Line 103: / Line 103: @@
 In 2023, world production of honey was 1.9{{nbsp}}million [[tonne]]s, led by China with 24% of the total, and [[Turkey]], [[Ethiopia]], and [[Iran]] as secondary producers (table).
+== Modern uses ==
+=== Food ===
+{{Main|Mellivory}}
+Over its history as a food, the main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, as a spread on bread, as an addition to various beverages such as tea, and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages.
+Due to its energy density, honey is an important food for virtually all [[hunter-gatherer]] cultures in warm climates, with the [[Hadza people]] ranking honey as their favorite food. [[Honey hunting|Honey hunters]] in Africa have a [[Mutualism (biology)|mutualistic]] relationship with certain species of [[honeyguide]] birds.
+=== Fermentation ===
+Possibly the world's oldest [[fermented beverage]], dating from 9,000 years ago, [[mead]] ("honey wine") is the alcoholic product made by adding [[yeast]] to honey-water [[must]] and fermenting it for weeks or months. The yeast ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]'' is commonly used in modern mead production.
+Mead varieties include drinks called [[metheglin]] (with spices or herbs), [[melomel]] (with fruit juices, such as grape, specifically called [[pyment]]), [[hippocras]] (with [[cinnamon]]), and sack mead (high concentration of honey), many of which have been developed as commercial products numbering in the hundreds in the United States. Honey is also used to make mead [[beer]], called "braggot".