National Honey Board hosts virtual R&D Honey Summit

Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery is no stranger to conferences on honey: in September 2016, one of my first travels as an editor on the brand was to Chicago, where I learned about all things honey on a National Honey Board trip.

That hands-on trip sparked a love of honey for me, and so I was excited to participate in the Honey Board's virtual R&D Honey Summit, hosted this past week.

The products that each industry professional received in a mailer prior to the tasting included:

• Beebad energy drink
• Kate's Real Food Lemon Coconut & Ginger bar (I actually received its "Lemon Coconut" variety)
• Five different varieties of honey
• Brianna's Marinades Sriracha Honey Ginger
• Rbel Bee Honey Gummies
• Sunday Sevens Oat Protein Cereal, Simply Honey flavor

There has been a 18% increase in honey in food and beverages since 2015. A survey from foodinsight.org found that people are more likely to consume foods and beverages with caloric sweeteners (such as honey) versus those with low-calorie sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and allulose, which supports this increase.

Other quick honey facts:

• About one-third of the U.S. diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honey bees are responsible for about 80^
• Honey has thousands of varietals, all dependent on where the bee forage for nectar
• Florida produces about 70% of the citrus crop in the U.S., followed by California, then Texas and Arizona
• Bees have a second stomach, or "honey sac," and each bee colony has about 200 male bees, 59,799 female, and one queen bee
• Bees use a "waggle dance" to communicate to each other where food is each day
• About 120 pounds of honey is made each year, but bees can only eat 60 pounds
• When stored properly, honey will never go bad. Honey should be stored at room temperature
• Honey can keep foods moist, such as bakery items (bread, cookies, and more)
• Honey can also coat, bind, and thicken foods

Of the five honey varieties we tried, one was very rare—Meadowfoam, which can only be found Willamette Valley, Oregon—and we were told to first look at the color of the honey, then give the honey a smell, and then taste it; almost like a wine tasting, where you aim to take in the whole package, not just the taste.

The other varieties we tried included Orange Blossom, Buckwheat, Watermelon, and Eucalyptus. I believe I've tried three or four of these before, but I had never tried Watermelon honey, which is grown in about 44 states commercially; the largest producers are Georgia, Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona.

What's an interesting product you've seen lately that's made with honey? Feel free to shoot me an email with it, whether you are a producer or a consumer.