A honey of a party

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Neal Fraser, co-owner and executive chef at the restaurant Grace, didn’t eat much honey as a kid. But he’s since been converted.

At a party given by the National Honey Board to show its product off, Fraser cooked several dishes, including pulled pork on corn bread and seared duck breast, both marinated in honey, among other ingredients.

Fraser says the ‘high’ from honey is mellower, compared with other sweeteners. He likes the way it cooks, in marinades and sauces. He also likes that it’s the same product it’s been for thousands of years.

Bruce Wolk of the National Honey Board says that clover and wildflower blends are the most common kinds of honey, but that there are hundreds of others, including mesquite, thistle, eucalyptus and sage -- each taking flavor from the plants. He says more than 400 million pounds of honey are sold each year in this country.

A few notes on honey: It’s got 64 calories per tablespoon. To bottle it, beekeepers scrape the wax caps from the comb, and then place the frame into an extractor that spins the honey off and into a tank.

-- Mary MacVean