Dried honey and other stuff

[Mrs Baggins]

I was in the local grocery store today and they had granulated honey. I've seen honey powder before, but not this granulated stuff. It was called "Honey Bitzzz" and they really were little "bits" of honey.

Also in our World Market (might still be Cost Plus in some places) they have a whole section of foods in tiny packages - kind of like the "travel" sizes of toiletries you can buy. There are cookies, syrups, hot sauces, condiments, and more. For a short section hike, maybe a week or less, these little sizes would be just the thing.

[JERMM]

here's another place to get small size foods, condiments, toiletries etc.

http://www.minimus.biz/default.aspx

[beeman]

I was in the local grocery store today and they had granulated honey. I've seen honey powder before, but not this granulated stuff. It was called "Honey Bitzzz" and they really were little "bits" of honey.

It is an interesting piece of marketing, Mrs Baggins. I read the ingredients and the first ingredient is sugar. Seems like a honey product the way they market it though, doesn't it?

[Survivor Dave]

Here's a link. Unfortunately, the first ingredient is sugar. The link has more info.
http://www.ljminor.com/view.asp. Just scroll down the products scroll down to Honey Bitzzz. Sorry, there's no direct link to the page.

[Survivor Dave]

Here's a link to Honey "Pearls" which is pure air dried honey. Kinda expensive though....

http://white-lion-tea-company.amazonwebstore.com/Honey-Pearls-50-single-serving-packets/M/B00113NXJA.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=orga nic&utm_source=froogle


If you want some ass kickin' honey in the pourable or comb variety, get in touch with Beeman here at WB.

[Spokes]

On Iron Chef America the other night the secret ingredient was maple syrup. Included in the mix was what they called "maple sugar" which was really dried maple syrup in granular form.

Never saw that before. Makes sense you could do the same thing with honey.

[spindle]

Packet Gourmet has honey powder:

http://www.packitgourmet.com/Honey-Powder-p214.html

Maple syrup granules:

http://www.packitgourmet.com/Maple-S...anic-p208.html

Yummy stuff.

[Dogwood]

Yeah, Mrs baggins, I also was in World Market the other day, and as always, I was thinking about how some of the foods sold there could be used for the trail. Not a tremendous variety but there are things like single serving sized items like sausages, trail mixes, cheeses, wines, olive oil, trail mixes, nuts, Nutella, teas, pastas, Tasty Bites Indian meals, and, my favorite, small servings of crystallized ginger that I put in my breakfast oatmeal or trail mix.

[Mrs Baggins]

On Iron Chef America the other night the secret ingredient was maple syrup. Included in the mix was what they called "maple sugar" which was really dried maple syrup in granular form.

Never saw that before. Makes sense you could do the same thing with honey.

Saw maple sugar in the grocery store. It was with the regular sugar, powdered sugar, etc. Those kinds of "speciality" items tend to be on the top shelves of their aisles.

[Tinker]

How much was that maple sugar? Sounds like a decent replacement for regular table sugar in my pack (I'd have to try it in coffee, first ).

[Mrs Baggins]

How much was that maple sugar? Sounds like a decent replacement for regular table sugar in my pack (I'd have to try it in coffee, first ).

I'll be back in that same store today, so I'll let you know later if someone else doesn't find out first. I know that the Honey Bitzz were $3.49. Real maple anything tends to be pretty pricey, so I would guess between $4 - $6. A small bottle of real maple syrup is usually around $7.

[Farr Away]

Maple sugar is expensive. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of maple syrup. A 'typical' tree might produce 10-15 gallons of sap in a season. Sap (from a sugar maple) is usually about 2% sugar; syrup is about 67% sugar.

Around here, about the cheapest syrup I've found is about $15 a quart, but that was grade B. The only maple sugar I've found around here was at Cracker Barrel - a couple of the little maple leafs for $2 or so.

[Mrs Baggins]

Forgot to check the grocery store price but I did see a website that was selling maple sugar for $12.95 for 8 oz. Pretty pricey.

[Chowder]

I bet the maple sugar would be great for people starting out with plain oatmeal and making their own flavors. Add some nido and raisins, yummy!

[Mrs Baggins]

I bet the maple sugar would be great for people starting out with plain oatmeal and making their own flavors. Add some nido and raisins, yummy!

Now that sounds fabulous!

[max patch]

Around here, about the cheapest syrup I've found is about $15 a quart, but that was grade B.

Grade B actually tastes better.

[StandBy]

I was wondering the difference, so thank you. I want to check out Grad B

[GGS2]

Grades in Maple Syrup are a bit confusing. They are actually colour grades, with the higher grades being lighter. A lot of people like the darker grades. The colour actually comes from bacteria and the like in the collecting lines, but there's no danger from it, just colour and taste. In the old days, when sap was collected in buckets and a horse drawn tanker on skis, the grade 1 was more common. Now with the hoses, the sap takes longer to get to the boiler.

We used to get a brick of maple sugar each year as a treat. We'd shave some off the end for our porridge in the morning. Really great flavour, but very pricey.

Next spring, if you can get to maple sugar country (Vermont or Quebec, for example) try some maple taffy, or maple candy. It's hot, thick maple syrup poured onto fresh snow. Makes a taffy candy that is super sweet and flavourful. Traditionally eaten with doughnuts or Johnnycake. Also good with vanilla ice cream.