If you’ve ever been to your local health store or farmer’s market, you may have noticed that there are packages that sell honeycombs. If you have never tried comb honey before, you may wonder what it tastes like and how do you eat it?
The best way to eat honeycomb is to consume pieces of the honeycomb as a snack, as comb honey is the purest form of honey that you can find. Alternatively, you can sprinkle bits of honeycomb over ice cream, salads, warm toast, muffins, pancakes, and waffles to create an intriguing, sweetened meal.
Honeycomb has some surprising benefits, as it is the purest form of honey that you can find. Comb honey can add additional health benefits to your sweetened treat as it does not go through all the same processes liquid honey goes through. There are several different ways to eat honeycomb, some of which can be very surprising.
How To Eat Honeycomb?
Honeycomb provides the purest form of raw honey, as it is extracted directly from beehives without being put through any processing or pasteurization. Bees create honeycomb, and it forms part of the hive. The bees make their honeycomb by constructing little hexagonal cells from beeswax.
These perfectly constructed waxy cells form the building blocks of the beehive, providing a home for bee larvae to grow. However, they also have a second use, which is to store all the honey that bees create.
While it does sound gross, beeswax is entirely edible, and humans have been eating comb honey for thousands of years. The entirety of the honeycomb can be consumed, as the waxy cells that contain the raw honey are edible. The wax helps give the raw honey a more textured body, which many people enjoy.
Many people would agree that the best way to eat honeycomb is by consuming it as it is, straight from the tub or jar it came in. However, if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, plenty of dishes come alive when comb honey is added or sprinkled on top.
The Best Ways To Eat Honeycomb
Honeycomb can be quite a versatile addition to any dish. It can be used as a sweetener for savory flavors like cheese or a topping for sweet treats like ice cream. There are infinite ways that you can eat this incredible food.
Eating Plain Honeycomb
One of the best and simplest ways that you can eat honeycomb is by eating it straight out of the tub or jar it came in. on its own, as a snack, comb honey allows you to chew the bits you break off, so it is a lot different than just having a spoonful of liquid honey.
Chewing the honeycomb will release the honey inside, and you have the option of whether you would like to spit out the leftover wax or swallow it as it is edible. The wax can become relatively flavorless and hard, so many people opt to spit it out. However, the leftover wax can also be used as a type of chewing gum.
Spreading The Honeycomb Over Hot Food
If you’d like to add the honeycomb to other food for a little flavor boost, spreading the honeycomb over hot foods such as toast, warm waffles, pancakes, or muffins is a great idea. The honeycomb makes an excellent, flavorful addition to any of these breakfast foods, and the heat will allow the honeycomb to melt, making it easier to spread.
Adding The Honeycomb To Cereals And Oatmeal
Instead of sprinkling processed sugar over your cereal and oatmeal, you can opt for some delicious honeycomb. Not only will the comb honey sweeten your meal, but it will add some much-needed texture and density to your food.
Adding Honeycomb To Cheese And Crackers
While cheese and crackers sound like a savory snack, adding some sweetened honeycomb to combine the savory and sweet world will undoubtedly rock your tastebuds. Surprise some friends with a fancy cheese and honeycomb platter or spread a thin layer of comb over your cracker and add some cheese.
The best kinds of cheese to eat with honeycomb are cheddar and brie. Adding some honeycomb to creamy cheeses is also a great idea, as the honeycomb’s sweetness will reduce the cheese’s saltiness and provide some texture.
Sprinkling Some Honeycomb Over Ice Cream
Honeycomb can be an excellent topping for any ice cream. Simply break the comb into smaller pieces and sprinkle it over your bowl or cone. Not only will the honeycomb provide extra flavor, but it will also give your ice cream some texture.
You should ensure you eat all the ice cream in one sitting, as you cannot refreeze any ice cream with honeycomb. The raw honey within the comb will crystallize inside the freezer and become hard and brittle.
Use Honeycomb As A Topping For Salads Or Sandwiches
Honeycomb can make an excellent topping on salads, along with some crumbled goat cheese. The difference in flavors and textures between these salad toppings will blow your mind. Using small honeycomb pieces and sprinkling them on top of savory sandwiches can also make the flavor of certain cheeses or hams pop.
Using Honeycomb To Tame Spicy Dishes
We all have that one individual in the family who cannot handle chili. Using a little cream with some honeycomb in your chili dish will tame the spice and add some flavor. So now, almost everyone can enjoy your raging hot chili.
Is Honeycomb Good For You?
While we already know that honeycomb can be a fantastic addition to virtually every food dish, is it good for you?
While it may surprise some people, honeycomb doesn’t just add flavor to your food. There are also numerous health benefits from eating raw, unprocessed honey. Below are a few reasons to add honeycomb to your monthly shop.
Honeycomb As A Sugar Alternative For Diabetics
Honeycomb can be an excellent alternative for people who have diabetes. As honey is sweeter than sugar, you won’t need to use excessive amounts to sweeten a drink or food. Studies have also shown that honey affects blood sugar levels better than refined, processed sugars.
However, this doesn’t mean that people living with diabetes can eat excessive amounts of honey. Honey can still raise your blood sugar levels, so you must consume reasonable amounts.
Another great advantage of eating pure raw honeycomb is that the beeswax alcohol extracts can reduce insulin levels by up to 37%, which is highly beneficial for people with diabetes.
Honeycomb Can Reduce Coughing In Children
If you’ve ever had a child, you will know that children regularly get chest infections which can lead to excessive coughing, which becomes unpleasant and leads to a dry, sore throat. Using pure, unprocessed honey from honeycombs can help ease a cough in children.
Studies show that buckwheat honey reduces a child’s cough and discomfort more effectively than standard cough syrup. The children who were given honey in the study also reported having a better night’s sleep and feeling more rested – which is crucial when fighting an illness.
Honeycomb Is Rich In Nutrients
Another benefit of eating honeycomb is that it is rich in nutrients that liquid honey would not provide – as it has not been processed and is the purest form of raw honey.
In its purest form, raw honey contains certain enzymes such as glucose oxidase, which gives honey its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. These crucial enzymes are usually destroyed by the processes that liquid honey goes through.
Raw honey from honeycombs also contains higher amounts of antioxidants than commercially processed honey. Antioxidants help protect you against many diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and even some types of cancer.
Another fantastic benefit of eating honeycomb instead of liquid honey is the beeswax that comes with it. Beeswax contains many long-chain fatty acids and alcohols, which are extremely good for your heart and can even help lower your cholesterol levels.
Honeycomb May Give You A Healthier Liver
When opting for comb honey instead of liquid honey, you don’t want to skimp out on the comb part. One of the most beneficial things about honeycomb is its beeswax. Honeycomb may help certain people to improve their liver function.
A recent study shows that a mixture of the beeswax alcohols that are found in honeycomb was given to a group of people with liver disease. 48% of the respondents saw decreased symptoms such as bloating, nausea, and abdominal pain.
In an even more astonishing result, 28% of the people in the group saw their liver function ultimately return to normal. While there are still many tests that need to be done, it is clear that consuming honeycomb can have numerous benefits.
Who Should Avoid Eating Honeycomb?
While adding honeycomb to your weekly snack has numerous benefits, not only in taste but health-wise, a few people will need to be cautious when consuming this delicious snack. You should always research a new type of food before trying it to avoid potentially dangerous scenarios.
People With Allergies Should Avoid Eating Honeycomb
You should avoid eating honeycomb if you have a known pollen or bee venom allergy. Although the risk that you will experience an adverse reaction to eating honeycomb is minuscule, those with severe life-threatening issues should never take the chance when they could experience an allergic reaction.
Babies And Pregnant Women Should Never Eat Honeycomb
The group most at risk when eating honeycomb is children under 12 months and pregnant women – this is because the honey carries a high risk of contamination from C. botulinum spores. These spores can be dangerous for anyone who is currently pregnant or small children.
People Who Are At Risk For Bowel Obstructions
If you have ever suffered from a bowel obstruction, you should not eat excessive amounts of honeycomb. However, if you do not swallow the wax and spit it out, then the amount of honeycomb you choose to eat should not be an issue.
The reason for this is that the wax from the honeycomb could cause intestinal blockages and stomach damage. If you have recently eaten a lot of honeycombs while swallowing the wax, and you are now experiencing abdominal cramps, stomach pain, or constipation, you should immediately seek medical help.
People With Diabetes Shouldn’t Overindulge In Honeycomb
If you have diabetes, you should not consume excessive amounts of honeycomb daily. As the honey from the comb is still extremely high in sugar, you will need to watch how much you are eating and track your insulin and blood sugar levels accordingly.
People Who Are Struggling With Their Weight
If weight loss is your goal, but you just can’t seem to shed those last few pounds, it is best to stay away from excessive amounts of honeycomb. Honeycomb can have an extremely high caloric content, as honey is made of 40% fructose, a type of sugar.
If you’re trying to watch your calorie and sugar intake, staying away from eating honeycomb is best.
Where Can I Buy Honeycomb?
The best place to buy honeycomb is your local farmer’s market. If you are unsure whether your area has a farmers’ market, you can search for groups on Facebook where the dates and times of the market are usually advertised.
You can also buy honeycomb from your local health store or go straight to the source. Many beekeepers are happy to sell raw honey in the form of honeycombs. Simply contact your local beekeeper and ask them if you can purchase a jar or container of honeycomb.
Conclusion
Honeycomb is a delicious treat that is perfect for almost every occasion. The best way to eat honeycomb is by consuming little pieces straight from the container it came in. However, you can also make exotic dishes by adding a few pieces of honeycomb into your food for a burst of flavor.
Honeycomb works well with just about any type of food. Ice cream, pancakes, salads, chili, and even sandwiches can all benefit from having a little bit of honeycomb sprinkled over them.
References
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/eating-honeycomb
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/raw-honeycomb
https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/recipes/2011/08/how-to-use-honeycombhttps://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Honeycomb
