Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.
Mead, also called hydromel, is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling; dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.
Lithuanian cuisine features products suited to the cool and moist northern climate of Lithuania: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. Various ways of pickling were used to preserve food for winter. Soups are extremely popular, and are widely regarded as the key to good health. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Northern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with its Baltic neighbors and, in general, northern countries.
Chouchen is an alcoholic beverage native to Brittany. A form of mead, it is made from the fermentation of honey in water. Chouchen normally contains 14% alcohol by volume. Traditionally, buckwheat honey is used, and this imparts chouchen's strong colour and pronounced flavour.
Sima is a Finnish fermented low-level alcoholic drink and soft drink. It is traditionally a form of mead, an alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water, although nowadays the honey is usually replaced with different kinds of sugar, mostly syrup, which makes it a sugar wine. The drink also has a very low alcohol content due to limited fermentation. Sima is therefore a sweet sparkling beverage that is mainly seasonal and connected with the Finnish Vappu festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the flesh and rind of a lemon.
Tej is a honey wine, like mead, that is brewed and consumed in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It has an alcohol content generally ranging from 7 to 11%. It is often home processed and consists of three main ingredients; honey, water and a medicinal shrub called "gesho". Tej is also available commercially to buy in many different types. It is generally consumed during social events such as festivals or weddings, and religious events like Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash). Consequently, tej forms an important part of Ethiopian society and culture and is considered the national drink of Ethiopia.
Belarusian cuisine refers to the culinary traditions native to Belarus. It shares many similarities with cuisines of other Eastern, Central and Northeastern European countries, based predominantly on meat and various vegetables typical for the region.
Lindisfarne Mead is a mead from Northumberland in North East England. It is manufactured in St Aidan's Winery on Holy Island. The mead is unusual in that it blends honey, the traditional main ingredient of mead, with grapes.
Lufu is a type of fermented bean curd from Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It is colored reddish yellow, it has a soft texture, and it has a savory flavor. It is used as a condiment for kăo ĕrkuāi or made into a sauce for Yunnan-style barbecue or stinky tofu.
Stakliškės is a village in Lithuania, located east of Prienai, in Prienai district of Kaunas County on the Prienai-Trakai road. Stakliškės is a center of Stakliškės elderate. The famous type of Lithuanian mead, an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, honey and water is produced in Stakliškės. According to the 2011 census, the village had 747 residents.
Kūčiukai also called Christmas cakes, are a traditional Lithuanian dish served on Kūčios, the traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dinner. They are small, slightly sweet pastries made from leavened dough and poppy seeds. They vary in sweetness and are usually eaten dry but can be served soaked in poppy milk or with cranberry kissel.
Midu County is a county in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture located in west-central Yunnan province, China.
Borani is a salad dish from Iranian cuisine. It is also found in Turkish cuisine where it is associated with certain provinces like Isparta, Urfa and Van. Some versions are made with spinach and yogurt, while the Ancient Persian borani was made with eggplant, and a regional version from Urfa is made with lamb and vegetarian meatballs. Borani is also popular in the Caucasus and Afghanistan.
Mırra is a traditional type of bitter coffee prepared in the Hatay, Adana, Urfa and Mardin provinces of Turkey, as well as in some Arab countries like Lebanon and Syria, which is also sometimes correctly referred to as Arabic coffee because the name is derived from Arabic; mur meaning bitter. Since it is very bitter and dark, it is served in tiny cups without handles similar in size to Italian espresso cups. The coffee beans for Mırra are common coffea arabica coffee beans that are roasted twice to increase the bitter taste. They are ground so that they are still grainy, unlike Turkish coffee, which is more like a powder. The coffee is put into a narrow-topped small boiling pot called cezve, and water is added, usually accompanied by some cardamom to give a more aromatic flavour.
Mead is an alcoholic beverage within Polish culinary tradition made by alcoholic fermentation of a mixture of honey and water. It has a characteristic honey aroma and a flavour that may be enriched by the addition of fruit juices, herbs or spices. The colour ranges from golden to dark amber, depending on the type of honey used for production.
Kabarawan was a traditional pre-colonial Filipino mead-like alcoholic drink. It was made from boiling the ground up aromatic bark of the kabarawan tree until it was reduced to a thick paste. It was then mixed with an equal amount of honey and fermented. It was traditionally consumed from jars with reed or bamboo straws. The wine was mentioned by early Spanish colonists as being made by the Visayan people. However, the tradition has been lost in modern times. Kabarawan tree bark is also used to flavor other types of native wines, like intus and basi, which are both made from sugarcane juice.
Bais is a traditional Filipino mead from the Mandaya and Dibabawon Manobo of northeastern Mindanao. It is made from a mixture of honey and water at varying proportions. It is fermented for at least five days to a month or more.
Daiva Vaitkevičienė-Astramskaitė is Lithuanian folklorist, Senior Researcher, Department of Oral Folklore of the Lithuanian Institute of Literature and Folklore
Byais, is a traditional Filipino wine from the Mansaka people of Davao de Oro. It is made from boiled lengkuas mixed with honey or sugarcane juice which are then fermented in tightly sealed earthen jars. It has a sharp flavor reminiscent of citrus fruits or pine needles.
Mellivory is a term for the eating of honey. Honey is a sweet and viscous substance created by some eusocial insects, notably bees, for consumption by members of their hives, especially their young. Honey is also consumed by many other animals including human beings, who have developed beekeeping to make supplies of honey both reliable and plentiful. Despite honey's limited antimicrobial properties, it remains a food source for a variety of microorganisms.
