There are some incredible claims for the health benefits of chestnut honey. Still, sometimes, we focus so much on the medicinal qualities of this sticky golden substance that we forget to report of its other wonderful use as a food staple. French chestnut honey is a great choice of honey for any creative cook.
My Notes:
The chestnut tree is in the same family as oaks and beeches. The chestnut was a main source of nutrition for the peoples of the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean for thousands of years. The honey comes from the following species of chestnut:
- Sweet Chestnut (found mainly in Europe)
- Allegheny Chinkapin (grown in Eastern USA)
- Japanese Chestnut (grows mainly in S. Korea)
- Chinese Chestnut (grown in China)
In Europe, fresh chestnut honey is everywhere from the months of May through to July in Italy. The Italians love to add it to a lot of their dishes. Both French and Italian gourmet chefs love to use this dark Italian honey in their fine cooking. Note that the honey does vary in taste somewhat, depending on the region it derives from. In general though, this dark colored honey has a mild spicy flavor to it. It is slightly bitter, but that's what sets it apart from the sweeter honeys.
As a Food
A lot of people like to drizzle a little of the honey over strong cheeses like Gorgonzola, Goat and Stilton. It's also popular smeared onto buttered toast. It goes a treat with blue cheese and apple too. In fact, advocates of this beautiful honey like to drizzle it on practically anything. Anyone who is not convinced wants to toss some of it over roasted root vegetables; they'll soon change their minds.
Because of the honey's richness, it's more akin to a sweet sauce than a natural sweetener. The secret to adding this nutritious honey to food is by experimenting. The way to use it is limited only by one's imagination.
Aside from being a wonderful food, this honey also has many medicinal benefits as well. This is due to its high mineral content and strong antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties, thus making it a powerhouse of goodness.
The Health Benefits of Chestnut Honey
- Helps to slow down aging
- Makes for a good sugar substitute
- Helps to relieves fatigue
- Helps to treat acne
Anti-aging: The high amounts of antioxidants in the honey help to remove free radicals. These free radicals are responsible for premature aging. With fewer free radicals in your system, the more you get to protect yourself from the aging affects. This is how the regular consumption of Italian honeys will help to keep you looking younger for longer.
A sugar substitute: Sugar is the new nicotine or sweet poison, as some nutritionists now call it. So the less table sugar we consume the better. This honey is a great sugar substitute. Better still is that it has a slight bitter taste to it. This makes is less sweet than regular sugar and other honeys. Stick with it until your taste buds adjust and you'll also get to remove any sugar cravings you might have. Don't forget too, that white sugar is just about devoid of minerals. Raw honey, on the other hand is not. This is why honey is much healthier as a sweetener than table sugar.
Relieves fatigue: Chestnut honey has high amounts of fructose, which serves as a good source of energy. A spoonful of chestnut honey each day will help to relieve fatigue almost immediately.
Honey for Acne: People who suffer with acne will tell you that this is a condition which is so much more than just a physical upset. Acne can hurt too, and hurt a lot. It's not just a condition that affects adolescents either. Adult acne is a growing problem in modern times too. Many of the conventional acne treatments are hit-and-miss. Some even make the problem worse. The antibacterial action of chestnut honey makes it an ideal natural way to treat acne. You can apply the honey direct, as a face mask. Another way to apply it is to mix the honey with oat meal. This helps to reduce inflammation and also helps to exfoliate the skin.
A report on antibacterial and antimitotic activities of Slovenian honeys, including chestnut, are effective antibacterial and antifungals, and can be applied for medicinal purposes.
Br J Biomed Sci. 2012;69(4):154-8.
Antibacterial and antimycotic activities of Slovenian honeys.
Kuncic MK1, Jaklic D, Lapanje A, Gunde-Cimerman N.
Summary
It's probably fair to say that chestnut honey is one of the best varieties of honey. Not only is it a great addition to so many dishes, but it also boasts strong medicinal properties too.