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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 MAY 2016 35 Honey Honey is a natural occurring food that derives its well-known sweetness from monosaccha- rides, fructose and glucose. Honey is produced by bees as a form of storage for the winter months, though beekeepers have developed methods of making the bees produce excess honey that can be used for human con- sumption. Through a process of regur- gitation and partial digestion nectar collected from flowers is transformed into honey and stored in honeycomb cells. How- ever as the honey is still high in water content and natural yeasts sugars in the honey begin to fer- ment at this stage. In the hive bees continuously fan the hon- ey with their wings, enhancing evaporation and preventing the fermentation process. Ripe hon- ey, as removed from the hive by a beekeeper, has a long shelf life, and will not ferment if properly sealed. The main uses for honey are in cooking, baking and as a spread or as an addition to beverages such as tea and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages. Nutritionally, honey is made up of a variety of sugars including fructose, glucose, sucrose and maltose as well as trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti- oxidants. It is a healthier choice than sugar as, though it contains more calories than table sugar, the sugars are simple and do not need to be broken down before the body can absorb them, giv- ing honey a healthier glycemic index. Honey is classified by the floral source of the nectar from which it is made. It can be from specific flower nectars, from indetermi- nate origin or blended after col- lection. To produce monofloral hon- ey, beekeepers have to ensure that bees have access to only one type of flower, though due to difficulties in containing the bees a small proportion of honey will be from the additional nec- tar of other flowers. European examples of monofloral honey include thyme, thistle, heather, acacia, dandelion, sunflower, honeysuckle and varieties from lime and chestnut trees. Most commercial honey is blended af- ter collection. The Maltese islands have been famous for their unique blended and spicy honey since ancient times. The characteristics of Maltese honey are attributed to the vast range of wild flowers within the Maltese Islands. The honey is a blend of the seasonal flora, and not of just one particular crop, although the largest amount of pollen and nectar that influences the taste, include wild thyme, citrus and carob. About 1,000 species of mostly wild flora flow- ers are identified in Malta, such as wild thyme, white clover, bi- tumen clover, white mustard, and borage. The carob, citrus and stone fruit trees also help to give the honey a more special taste. Bees may travel as far as five miles away from their hive and visit more than 200 flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a drop of honey. The honey bee is known to have inhabited the Maltese islands for centuries and a sub-species has been identified as different from other Mediterranean bees, being slightly smaller in size, dark in colour with apparently no yel- low bands, incredibly resistant to diseases, viscous and highly active. High-quality honey can be dis- tinguished by fragrance, taste, and consistency. Ripe, freshly collected, high- quality honey at 20°C (68°F) should flow from a knife in a straight stream, without break- ing into separate drops. After falling down, the honey should form a bead. The honey, when poured, should form small, tem- porary layers that disappear fairly quickly, indicating high viscosity. If not, it indicates excessive water content (over 20%) of the product. Honey with excessive water content is not suitable for long-term preservation In jars, fresh honey should ap- pear as a pure, consistent fluid, and should not set in layers. Within a few weeks to a few months of extraction, many va- rieties of honey crystallize into a cream-colored solid. A fluffy film on the surface of the honey (like a white foam), or marble-coloured or white-spot- ted crystallization on a contain- er's sides, is formed by air bub- bles trapped during the bottling process. Fine food of the week Natural sugars from natural sources Food Ingredients Crust • 250g plain flour • 100g icing sugar • 227g butter • Little cold water Filling • 170g butter • 200g soft brown sugar • 350ml honey • 120ml double cream • 250g shelled Diamond walnuts, toasted • 2 tsp vanilla extract • 1 tsp coarse sea salt Garnish • 100g dark chocolate • 1 tsp coarse sea salt METHOD 1. To make the crust, pre-heat the oven to 180C. 2. Combine the icing sugar and the flour. 3 Rub in the butter and add a lit- tle cold water until a dough is formed. Add the water very slowly as too much water will make the dough too sticky to handle. Dust your hands in flour if the dough gets sticky. 4. Line a pan with greaseproof pa- per and press the dough into the bottom. 5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until golden. 6. To make the filling, melt the butter with the brown sugar and honey in a deep saucepan. Once the mixture starts to boil it will approx. double in volume. 7. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for approx. 5 mins, stir- ring occasionally. 8. From the heat and stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, stirring until combined. 9. Stir in the toasted walnuts and pour the mixture on top of the crust. 10. Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 mins. The mixture will still be wobbly in the centre but should be covered in bubbles. 11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature un- til firm, ideally overnight. 12. Melt the chocolate in bain marie. 13. Cut the bars into bite-sized piec- es and drizzle with chocolate. 14. Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top and serve. 15. These bars will keep for approx 2 weeks. Salted honey and walnut bars Recipe of the week Good quality honey should form small, temporary layers which disappear quickly when poured