By Umar Nsubuga
Many people are known for their sweet teeth. However, their love for sweet things is more inclined to ice cream, sweets, and yoghurts among others. Not honey!
Isaac Mulinde, a senior chef says honey is heavily rewarding and medicinal. It acts as an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent and helps disinfect and speed the healing process in wounds, scrapes and burns.
“Honey is an enzyme that is secreted by bees from nectar. The nectar is collected from different plant flowers and secreted into cells in the hives, which is then allowed to mature into honey,” explains Eriaza Nsubuga, an expert in beekeeping and hives maker in Nakaseke.
In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use stored honey as their source of energy.
“Honey can be eaten on its own or taken on bread (toast or otherwise), while other people apply it on any other pastry of their choice. And for those watching their calory levels, honey can be a perfect substitute for sugar in tea or coffee,” Jennifer Tumushabe another beekeeper in Kitagwende district added.
Today, honey is increasingly becoming an evident ingredient in exotic cuisines. For example, a puree (mixture of onions, tomatoes and spices) can be enhanced to make it thicker with honey. Likewise, the inclusion of honey in the making of desserts would be ideal.
“For the simpler approach, even the actual licking of honey off a spoon is good enough to speed up digestion. However, caution should be taken on the quantities applied because honey is sweet, so it might not blend well with spices and other ingredients if used in large quantities”, Tumushade added.
Honey is composed of glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. It contains vitamins B1-2 and C, it also has copper, lodine and zinc in small quantities.
