When talking about honey, the first image that comes to my mind is of Winnie the Pooh, happily holding a big jar with the yummy delicacy. “Isn’t it funny,” the most famous teddy in the world used to exclaim, “How a bear likes honey!”

But it is hard to imagine how anyone, let alone bears, could ever resist this sweet seduction!

We all know that honey is made from the nectar of flowers which is collected by honey bees. But did you know that to make just one pound of this tasty treat, the bees have to fly over 50 thousand kilometres, which is more than once around the Earth, and visit approximately two million flowers? These tiny honey producers attend up to 10 flowers per minute and stop at more than 600 flowers before making its way back to the hive. What relentless work!

However, not all bees are such hard workers, as out of 20,000 species of bees, only four make honey. And did you hear about bee dancing? There are two types of dance honey bees perform: the round dance and the waggle dance. By dancing, these amazing creatures send signal to each other to indicate that there is a food source that has just been discovered, its distance and direction. Thus, for them “leg shaking” is a method of communication.

All over the world there are more than 300 honey varieties, each with its distinctive colour, texture, aroma and flavour.

The sweetness of honey largely depends on the type of flower the nectar was collected from. The flowers that produce the most popular varieties of honey are clover, orange blossom, avocado, buckwheat and sage.

History of honey roots back to about 150 million years. Indeed, from the times of yore, humans have eaten it, bathed in it, treated their wounds with it, applied it as a beauty ingredient and even used it as a mode of payment in trade. In ancient Egypt, honey was used to preserve the pharaohs that were mummified. Moreover, archaeologists discovered honeycombs in the Egyptian pyramids, which contained honey despite over 2,000 years beneath the sands, were still eatable!

Greeks and Roman referred to honey as a food fit for the gods. There even was a famous Greek custom to offer honey to the deities to evoke their good graces. In China, honey was known to be a special menu for the royal family. It was considered so special that they even send honey as gifts.

In Pakistan, besides being favourite ingredient in many foods and beverages, honey was, and still is valued for its medicinal properties. In fact, honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including water. This golden treat contains a load of minerals and vitamins vital for our good health.

Unrelenting sore throat makes you upset? A teaspoon of honey can prove to be a reliable throat soother! Looking for a natural energy booster before the tiresome exams? A wonderful teaspoon is here to assist you again!

Though there is a common belief that honey is a ‘winter’ food, I think, the goodness of honey can be relished regardless of season. Today, I would like to share with you my favourite honey recipe which is easy to prepare and perfectly fit for hot summer days. Here it is:

Honey popcorn: You will need 10 cups plain popped popcorn, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup honey and 2 tbsp butter.

In a large frying pan, place the brown sugar, honey and butter, and stir over low heat until the mass is bubbling and the sugar is entirely dissolved. Now turn heat off and add the popcorn to the pan. Tumble until all the corn is covered in the syrup mixture; lay on a tray to cool. You can also shape this honey popcorn into popcorn balls. Just wait until it is slightly cooled and roll tablespoon size balls, but make sure you rub a little oil on your hands so the coating washes off easily.