How to Substitute Honey For Sugar in a Recipe
Perhaps because it's produced by bees, people have the impression that honey is somehow healthier for you than sugar, but in terms of caloric content, honey and sugar are neck in neck. However, because honey is sweeter than sugar, people tend to use less of it. For those who want to reduce the amount of processed foods they eat, honey is a good bet -- it is processed once; sugar is processed multiple times. When substituting sugar, there is more than just weight to take into account. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Consider the dish before you substitute. Honey adds acid to a recipe, according to PickYourOwn.org, an online resource for local fruit growers and buyers. If you're canning fruit, that extra acid could affect the taste of your preserves.
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Substitute ¾ cup of honey for every cup of sugar the recipe calls for. You need less honey than sugar because honey weighs more than sugar and because it is sweeter. It also has a different flavor than sugar and a little less will ensure that it doesn't affect the overall flavor too much.
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Reduce other liquids in the recipe by ½ cup for every 1 cup of honey you add, as PickYourOwn.org recommends. Honey adds a lot of extra moisture to a recipe and the result could be too soggy if the other wet ingredients aren't cut back to make way for honey. You want a light, fluffy cake, not a soggy, sticky one.
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Reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit -- if you're baking -- to ensure that the baked good doesn't brown too quickly.
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References
- Go Ask Alice; Honey vs. Sugar --- Which is Healthier?; May 1995
- Mayo Clinic; Diabetes Foods: Is Honey a good Substitute for Sugar?; Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.
- CNN; Is Honey a Healthier Alternative to Sugar?; Dr. Melina Jampolis; October 2009
- PickYourOwn.org; Substituting Honey for Sugar in Home Canning, Cooking, Making Jams, Jellies and Baking; 2010
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
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Comments
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I need honey recipes for cakes anything.
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I need honey recipes for cakes anything.
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If you're looking at it strictly in terms of calories, there is no difference in caloric intake. However, in terms of how your body processes them (probably related to the fact that honey is processed by nature, where sugars are processed by man) there is a significant difference. Not only is sugar empty calories, but it requires nutrients from your body in order to metabolize it. It also has more impact on your blood's glycemic load, and even suppresses the immune system. Honey on the other hand will actually contribute nutrients (more so if it's raw). So while I don't recommend copious use of honey, it is certainly the healthier option. Oh - and one more thing I forgot: a teaspoon of local honey per day helps reduce allergies from pollens. There are other medicinal uses that people swear by, but that's the one I've had experience with. The food industry may abuse the term "natural", and natural may not always be better in every situation, but one should take care not to go too far with the skepticism.
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If you're looking at it strictly in terms of calories, there is no difference in caloric intake. However, in terms of how your body processes them (probably related to the fact that honey is processed by nature, where sugars are processed by man) there is a significant difference. Not only is sugar empty calories, but it requires nutrients from your body in order to metabolize it. It also has more impact on your blood's glycemic load, and even suppresses the immune system. Honey on the other hand will actually contribute nutrients (more so if it's raw). So while I don't recommend copious use of honey, it is certainly the healthier option. Oh - and one more thing I forgot: a teaspoon of local honey per day helps reduce allergies from pollens. There are other medicinal uses that people swear by, but that's the one I've had experience with. The food industry may abuse the term "natural", and natural may not always be better in every situation, but one should take care not to go too far with the skepticism.
