The holiday season is in full swing. I should probably be writing out cards or working through my shopping list, but instead I've been spending every spare minute in the kitchen. Typical. First it was holiday granola, then onto several batches of my favorite Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti, and finally cute jars of epic home-infused honey. This honey, though.
If you haven't had infused honey before, let me preface by saying it's absolutely delicious. The steeping process provides a subtle hint of added flavor which makes for a unique treat, whether you enjoy it on toast, with tea, or just on its own! The great thing about infusing honey yourself is that you know it's made with the highest quality ingredients. No fake flavors here. And if you're like me and enjoy buying your honey raw, this is an infusion method lets you keep it that way. Yup, no cooking required.
I developed the recipe with three different flavors in mind: vanilla, orange and lavender. And after tasting them all, I couldn't decide which one I like most – so figured I might as well share all three! I'm still exploring all the different ways of using them, but so far I'm really enjoying the orange honey on toast. The vanilla honey goes with almost everything; and the lavender-infused honey is lovely in my morning tea! I've been slathering this stuff on everything. And eating it straight off the spoon. You might say it's starting to get a bit out of hand.
The process for infusing honey is so straightforward you almost don't need a recipe. Start with high-quality mild honey and a clean jar. Fill the jar with honey and then add your flavoring of choice. Let the honey steep for about one week or so, and once you've achieved the desired level of flavor, strain the honey. Package for others or keep for yourself – I strongly suggest doing both. Honey keeps for a long time, so you can set aside a batch for impromptu hostess gifts or just-because treats for your foodie friends! This honey gets a lot of attention with guests – serving it alongside evening tea / dessert or a cheese plate creates a memorable end to the meal!
And despite being perfect for the holiday season, this is also a recipe that works year-round. Go ahead and give it a try. Once you get the hang of the process, it's easy to get creative and try other flavors. But work with these recipes first – they're an awesome place to start.
May says
Do you think it’ll work with hazelnuts as well?
bri says
Hi May - We haven't tested it with hazelnuts, so unfortunately can't give advice on that. But if you give it a try, please let us know how it goes!
Linda Annunziato says
Can’t wait to try these. I had some wonderful almond flavored honey that I bought in Sicily. Can I add almond extract to make this? Thank you.
Becca Smith says
Hi Bri! Since I don't have any lavender, I'm going to try with some cinnamon sticks that weren't used when I made extract. Thanks for the inspiration!
Daphne says
I was thinking of adding dried chilli peppers to make a chicken BBQ glaze. Would that work?
william sinski says
is it really necessary to remove the vanilla bean from the honey?
Bri says
Hi William - You can leave it in if you'd like! We usually remove the pod after steeping because at that point most of the flavor is infused from the pod (the beans stay in). We find it easier to scoop/pour the honey without the pod inside. But if you prefer to keep it in, definitely go ahead! Enjoy!
Wanda says
I'm wanting to try the orange infused honey. I already have a package of dried zest. How much do you think a whole orange would equal? 1/2 cup? 2/3 cup? Not sure how much to add to 1 cup honey.
Erica says
Hello! I am trying to stave off cabin fever (due to the social distancing) by making a to-do list for each day. My to-do lists have mostly creative endeavors. Tomorrow, I will make the orange-infused honey. I am looking forward to it! Thank you so much for sharing.
Bri says
Hi Erica! Glad to hear about social distancing - and that's a great idea about the to-do list each day! Hope you enjoy the honey! We'd love to hear how it goes. xx Bri
Nancy says
Can you do this with a lemon?
Bri says
Hi Nancy! You most definitely could do this with lemon. Great thinking! I'd follow the instructions laid out for the orange. Drying the rind prior to adding it is recommended to remove excess water and avoid introducing moisture into the honey (which impacts its shelf life).
Amber says
Could you re-use any of the vanilla beans with a new batch of honey after straining? Would love to get more use out of my beans!
Bri says
Hi Amber! For the vanilla infused honey, you're going to want to cut open the pod and scrape the beans into the honey as well. Then let it steep. Once steeped and prior to using, you'll want to pull out the scraped vanilla pod. The teeny tiny beans themselves will remain in the honey! If your question is whether you can re-use the pod again, you could try using it for other things, but the flavor will be much more muted as the beans have gone into the honey. Hope that makes sense! If any other questions, let me know xx Bri
Valerie says
my honey doesn"t seem to be taking on the flavor of the vanilla beans, it has been 7 days. Am I doing something wrong or am I impatient?
Bri says
Hi Valerie! Just wanted to confirm you followed the part in the instructions that said to scape the seeds directly into the honey (before putting the pods in)? Because the contents of the vanilla pods (i.e. the vanilla seeds) go directly into the honey, the vanilla flavor should definitely be there. Much like some people add vanilla seeds directly to batters in baking, whipped cream, etc, which doesn't even require steeping time. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe your honey is quite strong in flavor, so the vanilla isn't as pronounced as you were expecting? Let me know if any other questions!
Jason says
The moisture is from the zest. I have the zest in a cheese clothe, so I will pull out in another week. My plan is to bottle in half pints for the farmers market.
Bri says
Gotcha - For retail purposes, it's usually safer to go with dried herbs for infusions, given it introduces little/no moisture and preserves the shelf-stable nature of plain honey. For home use, fresh like you did is likely quite fine as long as it is consumed relatively quickly. If the honey starts to bubble or smell fermented, it should be tossed. But hopefully it gets eaten up before then!
Jason says
I have done a half gallon jar of orange zest honey right now. It is very watery, I just reread and saw I should of baked/dried. I will let you know how it turns out. You think the infusing time needs to be the same or possibly less with the method I did?
Bri says
Hi Jason! Is the watery-ness from the fresh zest itself or did the oranges have a lot of water on them (after being washed?). Timing wise plan for a similar length of time, but taste as you go and strain when it's flavored to your liking. You'll want to make sure you use up the honey faster than you would do with plain honey (i.e. don't leave it kicking around for half a year;p), since it sounds like there's some moisture that got into it - but otherwise it's all good! Enjoy!
Yadu says
Thank you for sharing this. Do we need to dry the lavender and the orange zest before infusing?
Bri says
Hi Yadu! Generally speaking, it's best to use dried herbs when infusing. It prevents introducing moisture into the honey (which has low water content to start with), which means it'll last longer. While both lavender and orange zest probably have relatively little moisture content to start with, going with dried is extra prudent. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
e says
Made all 3 of these and they are quite delicious! Friends love them. Used Organic oranges and Organic Vanilla Bean Pods. Sprung a bit extra to order some French lavender on Etsy.com. (you can smell and see the color difference in the lavender buds)
Also paired them with Wholesome Sweetner Honey that is Non-Gmo, Organic, and Fair trade.
Bri says
So glad to hear you made all three of these and loved them! Your friends are so lucky to have you:) All your choices sound fabulous - especially that french lavender! We're lucky to have some lavender farms on Vancouver Island, so whenever I hear someone is heading over there, I usually place my order. Good quality lavender makes all the difference! Have a lovely rest of your week xx