Healthier foods are still on the back burner where children are concerned. While 80% of kids have tried crisps, chips, and burgers, natural alternatives like aubergines, hummus and prunes have been sampled by less than 20%. A quarter of 7 12 years olds do not even recognise a prune and over 40% dont know that honey comes from an insect.
In a survey by the Honey Association, new findings show the concerning way in which most children know far more about processed foods than natural healthy items. Nearly all children (95%) knew that chips come from vegetables, but half wrongly believed yoghurt came from fruit rather than an animal. Worryingly, 30% of boys and 20% of girls said they werent actually interested in knowing where the foods they eat come from.
In response to our childrens apathy about natural foods and to celebrate National Honey Week (12th -18th February), the Honey Association who carried out the survey have developed a fun booklet for parents featuring everything from filo pear and honey tarts to a vitamin C boosting Berry Ripple. For mums and dads, theres tasty offering including honey-glazed ham, bang bang chicken salad and even honey-fried bananas. Recipes can be found on www.honeyassociation.com
Nutritional expert Anita Bean and Brian Butcher from The Honey Association are here to provide their top tips about this versatile food and share their favourite recipes. Join us live online on Monday 12th February at 2pm.
H: Jane Constantinis, Host
A: Anita Bean, nutritionist
B: Brian Butcher, the Honey Association
H: Hello and welcome to the Food and Drink show brought to you by the Honey Association, Im Jane. Today were going to be talking about all things honey the benefits for your children, the benefits for you and the benefits for your love life. More on that coming later, but dont worry it is a family show! Well Im joined in the studio by Anita Bean who is a nutritionist and Brian Butcher who is from the Honey Association. Brian, youve commissioned some research recently that came up with some interesting findings about childrens understanding of food?
B: Yes we commissioned the research to try and understand better how children perceive natural food, and to try and get some understanding of their attitude towards it. I have to say that the responses we got were, to us, a great surprise
H: And I understand a great disappointment. Anita, what sort of findings did you come up with?
A: It was amazing that so few children realise where real food and where natural food came from, for example 20% said that they didnt even care where food came from. 40% for example didnt know where honey came from; they thought it came from anything but an insect. Half of the children thought that yogurt came from fruit, but what is actually very worrying is that virtually all of them seemed to know where processed foods came from, I mean chips for example they all recognised came from potatoes, so it is quite worrying that they seem to be very far removed from real food and much more attuned to processed foods
H: So Jamie Oliver hasnt really achieved his goals yet, theres a long way to go isnt there?
A: Not yet, no
H: What worries me most about the statistics youve given me is that 20 or 30% of children didnt care.
A: Exactly
H: Whats going wrong then with our home life or our you know education system that people dont, children dont care?
A: Yes I think its that children arent getting so much information about food from their homes. They do get information about food but it tends to be from their friends, from television, from adverts, possibly from school, but thats quite a small percentage, but relatively little about food is learnt from home, so really what needs to be done is for parents to try to get their kids more involved in food, and by far the best way to do that is to get kids involved with menu planning
H: Yes
A: With food preparation
H: Yes I mean I must say, Ive got a two year old daughter and I do try to include her, not literally include her in the recipes, I try to you know she asks me whats in the pan mummy? and I show it to her and I cut a carrot and all that sort of stuff. And in fact just on that subject Louise has sent a question in, she wants to know how can I encourage my children to put were now getting down to specifically honey to put honey on their cereal rather than sugar? How can you encourage any child to do anything like that?
A: By far the best way to encourage children to do anything that you as a parent want them to do is to set a good example and I really cant stress that enough. I mean as a parent you were always going to be their role model with everything, so the best thing to do is to try and set aside time for family meal times, I know thats easier said than done, Im a parent myself and you know were always very very busy and its just quicker to give kids things on the go, but if you can really make a point of sitting down with your kids, it doesnt have to be every day, but at least once or twice a week, eating with your kids and showing them that family meal times are sociable times, they should be enjoyable times
H: Its in fact a much bigger issue than just food, isnt it?
A: Absolutely
H: Brian just on that specific thing about cereal, does cereal taste as good or better with honey on it rather than sugar?
B: Well everything tastes better with honey on it
H: You would say that!
B: I would say that. On that particular point the great thing about honey is it, most supermarkets, in fact all supermarkets I think sell honey in a squeezable format. Now the squeezable format as I use myself is great fun, because with your porridge or your cereal you can actually draw faces and squeeze as you squeeze out. Doesnt require a spoon, its not messy, one of the complaints that we used to have about honey in jars is that what do you do with the spoon once youve taken the honey out?
H: And thats what that very clever wooden, special wooden spoon is about isnt it?
B: Thats right with the honey stick, the twizzler
H: The twizzler
B: But the squeezy format allows especially younger people, children, to draw pretty pictures on their cereal
A: Thats such a good idea actually
B: I mean I still enjoy it now and Im over 21
H: Youre just a big kid arent you?
B: Thats right
H: How much better for them is honey than sugar?
A: It is better for them for a number of reasons. Firstly because honey naturally tastes sweeter compared to sugar youll need to use less to get the same amount of sweetness, so thats got to be a good thing, but the other reason its good for them is that it gives them more sustained energy, its got a lower GI, I think most people are sort of reasonably familiar with the concept of the glycaemic index which tells you how fast the sugar gets into your bloodstream so what sort of energy boost its going to give you, but basically because its got a lower GI compared to sugar
H: Sorry whats GI?
A: The glycaemic index
H: Ok
A: Which tells you how the food reacts in the body, so how fast your blood sugar level will go up after eating that food
H: Right
A: So if a foods got a high GI it means that the food will translate into blood sugar quite rapidly, youll get quite a rapid rise in blood sugar levels
H: Right, thats interesting because in fact Melanies sent in a question saying isnt honey full of sugar, are you sure its healthy, but what youre saying is there are different types of sugar?
A: Yes
H: One is better for the body than the other
A: Absolutely so you know the types of sugars in honey which is basically glucose and fructose, is absorbed more slowly into the body compared to regular sugar and so it gives you a more gradual rise in your blood sugar level
H: So you dont get a big high and then a drop of energy again?
A: Yes exactly
H: Youre not going to test us on the science later, but we understand, honey is better for us than ordinary sugar!
A: Yes. But honey also does contain small amounts of various vitamins, minerals like zinc and magnesium. There is anti-oxidant nutrients as well, I mean its not massive amounts but its a significant amount so I think all that has got to be a good thing for children
H: Just getting back to how to encourage children, you know Im particularly interested in this because I want my two year old to have a really healthy attitude to the food and food preparation, and I want it to be a joint activity. Youve bought out this leaflet which I havent had a chance to look at properly yet, but this is to encourage children to get involved?
A: To get involved with cooking and making things, and that is by far the best way to get kids interested in food, in particular healthy eating. Weve put together some recipes which obviously include honey, but theyre easy recipes so children can either make them themselves the older children will be able to make them themselves, younger children will be able to assist their mum or dad making them
H: Ok
A: In the kitchen
H: And how can people get hold of this?
A: They can log onto the website either by clicking at the bottom of this page, or its www.honeyassociation.com
H: .com, thats fantastic, Im going to take one of those home for my Lucy. Nicola has sent a question in could you suggest some good honey recipes that I can make with my children? So you know just give us a couple that might be in that leaflet obviously Nicola you should get hold of the leaflet
A: Ok well my two personal favourites are baked apples because theyre so easy to make. If you combine honey with raisins, sultanas or some chopped dried apricots or some chopped dates, add some nuts, provided obviously the child hasnt got a nut allergy, I love using pecans or almonds, and then fill the centre of the apples. Kids love doing it, its really really easy for them to do
B: Im feeling peckish already
H: Yes I know!
A: And obviously bake that in the oven. You can use honey for interesting things, you can add it to stewed fruit, and you can either have the stewed fruit with yogurt or ice cream or even use it to fill little pastry cases
H: Oh lovely
A: Filo pastry cases
H: Yes
A: Just makes it a bit different, it makes the meal more of an occasion
H: Yes
A: Rather than just plonking fruit on dishes
H: Ill tell you what I do, and children love it you know little cocktail sausages, I coat those in a mixture of honey and mustard and bake them in the oven
B: Yes honeys very good
H: And theyve got that lovely sweetness, and little ones really seem to love those
B: Good with meat
A: Great idea
H: Yes delicious. One, another question about the particular properties that honey has got, Andrew James has asked us Ive heard that honey is a superfood its a term were hearing a lot at the moment isnt it? What exactly is a superfood and is honey one of them?
A: Superfood means that the food has got nutritional qualities and nutritional benefits over and above that found in most other foods, so its really a relative term rather than an absolute definition of a food, you know we tend to think of a lot of varieties of fruits and vegetables as being superfoods
H: Like blueberries are meant to be arent they?
A: Blueberries, pomegranates, even good old broccoli, you know theyve all been elevated to the superfood status. I personally would put honey within that category mainly because it is healthier and therefore better for you compared to regular sugar
H: Great, thank you. Id like now Brian, your big moment, to look at some specific types of honey because I know there are very many different ones but I dont really understand the difference between them. We eat a lot of honey in our house and I fear were not eating the best quality
B: Well there are lots of different types of honey and most of the different types of honey, Ive got some samples here, for instance this one, you can see the colour extremely dark, this is an Italian chestnut honey which has a very strong nutty flavour, so its not
H: Can you just hold it up so I can see the colour?
B: Its not necessarily to everyones liking but it certainly is something which is different, so when people say I dont like honey they probably havent tried all the different types of honey
H: Can I just smell that?
B: Yes sure
H: Has it got a very strong smell?
B: It will have a strong smell and Im going to be very careful
H: Oh wow, thats lovely, thats really lovely
B: This is one of the stronger flavoured honeys
H: Is that a set or a runny, in fact Sandras sent us a question in what is the difference between a set and a runny?
B: Ok well this is a runny honey, if I tilt the jar maybe we can just see the honey moving inside there. The difference between set and runny honey is actually very very small. The honeys are almost identical and in some cases they are identical, this is an example of a set honey. It looks completely different because its much paler and it clearly is a solid and opaque one of the sugars that we were talking about earlier, the glucose bit actually likes to crystallize out of honey. Anyone whose kept a jar of clear honey in the
H: Yes
B: Cupboard for years you will end up with a layer of crystals at the bottom. The way this honey is prepared, the crystals are encouraged to form very quickly so you end up with a very smooth paste, but the honey itself is absolutely the same as the clear honey
H: Ok. So Anita theres no different between the nutritional benefits of runny and set?
A: No, the only small difference you could talk about would be the percentage perhaps of glucose and fructose, and generally honey thats sort of naturally got a higher percentage of fructose will tend to be more liquid at room temperature
H: Oh I see, ok
A: But I believe its the case that all honeys eventually will revert into
B: Yes, youre absolutely right, the acacia honey is an example of a honey which is very high in fructose, relative to the glucose, and that rarely, if ever, crystallizes
H: Ok
B: Whereas a lot of, certainly some of the English honeys like the oil seed rape honey is very high in glucose
H: Oh ok
B: And that crystallizes extremely quickly
H: Yes. That was Philip who sent that question in by the way. Ok so carry on showing us some different types if you would?
B: Sure. Well I did have this set honey. This actually is a New Zealand clover honey, now New Zealand clover honey is almost at the opposite end of the spectrum to the one we looked at just now. This is a very light honey, very very mild flavour, almost a buttery flavour. Much more suitable for people who are not really keen on the strong nutty flavours
H: I cant believe you say some people claim not to like honey. I think thats extraordinary
B: In my experience most people who claim not to like honey have never actually tried any. I think thats probably why theyve already decided they dont like it
A: As with most foods really isnt it, people are reluctant to try or they convince themselves theyre not keen on it, then they will say that they dont really like it. actually the interesting thing with children, its been shown with fussy eaters that in order to encourage them to like a particular food youve got to present it to them 10 times
H: Ive heard this
A: For them to start liking it, so its a question of persistence really
H: Yes
A: You know dont be put off, just keep trying and trying again, which obviously I know as a mum it is really hard to do that, you present a food to a child, they spit it out or they refuse to try it
H: So what do you say to a child when they spit out the broccoli, do you say oh never mind or then you present it back on the plate and they say I dont like that what do you say?
A: You dont have to present them 10 times in one go
H: No no
A: The idea is that you set the rules, so you will give them a sensible time limit in order to eat it and if they still wont eat it you take it away, trying to make as little fuss as possible which again I know is easier said than done, remove the food. Leave perhaps a sensible time gap, maybe a week, and then present the food again ideally with very little fuss or without a big build-up, you know without referring to the previous disastrous occasion, and it does, it takes a lot of energy I know, but psychologists have found that that is the way that works with children, whether its broccoli whether its honey or any other food, you do have to keep on presenting it to them all the time, otherwise youll just slip down that slippery slope and youll just go back onto this highly processed food diet which is what most children are eating now
H: Thats a very very good tip
A: The consequences of course that kids are unhealthy, there are more obese children, more children with diabetes
H: Fantastic, well thank you very much for that tip, Im going to try that 10 times. Were nearly halfway through the show now and weve got a lovely question from Janet which I wanted to ask as well were going to come back to the different colours in a second Brian, but can you tell us how many bees does it take to make a pot of honey?
B: I think the answer to that question is actually on the back of the leaflet, the booklet
H: Oh is it? This one
B: I think its, certainly several you have to 2 million flowers
H: Keep talking while I look
B: So if you work out how many flowers a bee goes to and divide it into 2 million, youve probably got the right number of bees
H: Well in fact what we have here is honey bees must gather nectar from 2 million flowers
B: Thats right
H: To make a pound of honey
B: There are various ways you can look at that statistic, Ive heard it said that a bee has to fly the equivalent of 7 times round the world to make a pound of honey
H: Wow
B: But of course a bee doesnt because there are lots of bees
H: Of course, of course
B: And they have a relatively short life
H: Sorry I cut you short earlier you were telling us about the different types and Im interested in why theyre different colours as well
B: It all depends on the floral source. So some flowers will produce a very light honey, some will produce a very dark honey, the darker honeys tend to be stronger flavours, they tend to probably have more antioxidants in which is something that youre obviously aware of. This one Ive got here, this is again a very dark honey. This is an interesting one, it might be worth you having a smell of this one
H: Oh yes
B: This is Greek mountain honey. Now this is mainly from pine forest, its got a liquorice, resiny flavour and of course with Greek yogurt
H: Oh yes please
B: This is the real thing. Its got an interesting, quite a powerful smell
H: Its fantastic
B: If I can smell it here
H: I once had pine honey in Turkey and Ive never forgotten it, and Ive tried to find it again ever since this was 15 years ago
B: Yes thats right its a very distinctive, distinctive honey. Beautiful colour
H: Yes yes
B: Very dark.
H: And then weve got one there which seems to be the heather
B: The heather honey, yes. Now heather honey is a fantastic honey. Obviously Scottish heather honey being the one that is commonest in this country
H: Yes
B: It has an interesting property. Now Ive got two pots of heather honey here, one of which Ive just left to stand
H: Yes
B: And I dont know if you can see this, but when I tip it up it doesnt move
H: Its not moving, no
B: Its like a jelly, you can see its got lots of air bubbles trapped in the body of the honey
H: And thats a good thing is it?
B: Thats very typical of good heather honey
H: Ok
B: This is actually a liquid honey, its not a set honey, this is a runny honey. Now if I were to stir that one, in fact I stirred this one just before we started. This is another honey but this one you can see is actually, if I were to take the lid of I would by now have lost half the contents on the floor
H: How interesting
B: Within an hour or so, this runny honey
H: Just hold that to one side again, let me see how it moves, very gosh thats very different from the other one isnt it, yes
B: Its because of the protein dissolved in the honey, it makes whats called a thixotropic mixture which means that if you leave it for several hours it will solidify. As soon as you stir it becomes liquid like this one
H: Gosh
B: You leave it for several more hours and it will go back to a jelly again
H: Go back, thats interesting. Can I just - probably Anita this is a question for you, Arabella would like to know, shes heard that the sweetness of honey can be used to counteract spicy food. Is that true, Ive never heard of that?
A: I havent heard of it either to be honest, but if it works for you then absolutely fine
H: Thank you very much for that, Im just sorry that I cant taste it. Maybe later. Its Valentines Day coming up quite soon so you might be thinking about love and possibly something romantic to cook for that special evening. Well you might be thinking about oh champagne and oysters if youre that way inclined but actually what you should be thinking about is honey because apparently it has aphrodisiac qualities. What do you know about this Anita? Not from personal experience obviously, in general terms!
A: There are lots of myths about certain foods having aphrodisiac qualities and certainly honey for centuries has always been regarded as an aphrodisiac food, I think it dates back from Persian times. The truth is nobody really knows what it is within foods that makes it aphrodisiac if at all, but what we do know is that honey provides us with sustained energy which is obviously beneficial on Valentines Day!
H: If youre going jogging or something
A: And the other thing you can do, honey does have real romance associated with it, you know there are connotations and I think cooking with honey and using honey makes perfect sense for a romantic occasion of the year, and indeed weve got a number of recipes that would be suitable for the occasion in
H: Yes youve got another booklet
A: Two booklets, yes
H: Fantastic, I think particularly the pudding recipes have got something very romantic about them havent they?
A: Yes yes, I mean puddings have got to be romantic, I dont think main courses would really be that romantic
H: Thats if youre going to make it to the pudding so to speak - its a family show! Yes weve got some questions coming in about actually some of the other myths you say that there are myths associated with whether its an aphrodisiac or not, Karen would like to know can you put honey on your face as a moisturiser? Brian?
B: I think thats very definitely true. Honey is what I think technically is described as hydroscopic in that it is, it will naturally retain moisture so there are certainly lots of cosmetics which use honey
H: Yes
B: Because it actually keeps the whole thing moist
H: Its a barrier, it would be a barrier would it be so the moisture wouldnt be lost?
B: Honey has all sorts of properties which make it good for using as a cosmetic. Its got antiseptic qualities
H: Yes
B: So therefore putting it on your skin is, its been used in the past for treatment of burns and superficial wounds and that kind of thing
H: I was once travelling in Ethiopia, in the mountains, where there isnt much medical assistance, and we came across a physician who was using honey on wounds
B: Yes
H: Amazing. So thats not a myth then. Emma has asked is it true honey can help soothe a sore throat? We all do that, honey and lemon thing dont we when weve got a cold does it work?
B: Very definitely, very definitely
A: It seems as if honey can coat the mucus linings of the throat and the upper respiratory tract, of the oesophagus, so it coats the linings of your throat and has that soothing effect so it just helps to reduce the inflammation and that rawness, that stinging that you get
H: So would you take then a spoonful or would you have it hot water with maybe some lemon, whats the best way?
B: My own personal preference is in hot water with lemon, but certainly a spoonful of honey is an equally good way of eating it
H: So is it good, Marcus wants to know is it good for colds in general or is it particularly good for a sore throat?
B: I find it, and again I speak from personal experience, its very soothing just in general for a sore throat, and certainly if youre that way inclined to put something more alcoholic in as well is certainly a very nice bedtime drink if you have a sore throat
A: I would stress that the benefits of honey in this case is not to get rid of the cold or to kill off the viruses, its actually just, it has a soothing effect so it makes you feel better
H: Yes
A: Allows you to carry on
H: Yes. Jill wants to ask a question actually that Im interested in, which was the first civilisation to use honey and to recognise its valuable properties?
B: I dont think anyone really knows because its been recognised as a food long before records ever began. The oldest example that I can recall, and I dont personally recall it I hasten to add, some honey was found in an Egyptian tomb or a pyramid, that was obviously some 5000 years old. That was found to be perfectly edible, so Im happy to guarantee it for about 5000 years but after that Im afraid youre on your own
H: Wow thats amazing, its still edible?
B: We know its been around for at least that length of time, and probably longer
H: Gosh
A: So honey can last forever?
B: Yes its very very stable stuff, it doesnt go off and its
H: Amazing. James wants to know, it may be Egypt again but which country sells the most honey? is the question that hes asked but Im wondering as well which is the country that consumes the most honey?
B: Well honey, in this country, we actually consume less than most other countries, Im sorry to say, I think probably if you look at overall consumption terms the USA is the biggest consumer but then theyve got lots of people. Theyre also the biggest producer
H: Per capita
B: They eat all the honey they produce and import more. Certainly in Europe for instance in Germany they eat something like three times as much honey per head as we do in this country
H: Wow
B: So its far more common and part of a diet in lots of other European countries, especially than it is here
H: Yes. Sasha has sent us a question which actually comes back to your the honey found in the Egyptian tomb. His wasnt quite that old, it had a sort of sell by date of 2001, he found it in the back of his cupboard, and it was still fine to eat. How can that be, what is it about it?
B: well its for the reasons that I think weve probably already touched on, its full of natural sugars which have a preservative quality. Bacteria will not grow very easily in honey, its just too difficult, it has this anti-bacterial quality again which helps preserve it. honey has a sell by date because cosmetically if you look at a jar of honey thats five years old it probably wont be in the peak of condition when you look at it, but that doesnt mean its not edible. So yes Im not at all surprised that honey, four, five or six years old, its still edible
H: Fantastic
A: And even if the honey crystallizes, its gone sort of crystally looking, if you put it into a bowl of hot water it will then melt back and go back to its sort of more natural runny look, so it will actually look fine as well as obviously tasting fine
H: Thats a very good tip because some people might look at it and think its gone off and throw it away
B: Just warm water, not to hot in case you break the jar, warm water, stir it gently and all the crystals will re-dissolve and youre back where you started
H: Excellent, very good tip. This comes back, this question from Imogen from when we were talking about earlier, Why does honey taste different from different parts of the UK?
B: This all goes back again to the different floral sources that
H: So this is what the bee is feeding on?
B: What the bees forage on. Bees travel typically, they wont go lets say they travel four, five miles from the hive, they will prefer to go somewhere much nearer, so if they are situated near lets say fields of bean being grown as a crop then the honey will be mostly from the bean flowers. If its oil seed rape or heather, then the honey will be predominantly from those flowers and therefore the colour and the flavour will be quite distinct
H: Yes. Weve got a honey shop just near where we live and theyve got a hive actually in the shop, its fantastic again for children to watch the bees doing their thing, and they say that the honey from that hive tastes different depending on where the bees have gone in Wandsworth Common and which gardens theyve visited
B: Thats quite right
H: And they can tell, isnt that interesting
B: And the hive which stays in the same place, the honey will vary through the course of the year because of course the blossoms that come in the spring are not the same as the ones that are there in August, so the honey will be quite different
H: Gosh it really is a sort of living thing, isnt it? Its fantastic
B: Very much so.
H: Tell me which is your favourite honey, each of you? Brian, you first
B: My personal favourite which is not everyones cup of tea is an Australian eucalyptus honey because it has a very toffee-like flavour and Im very fond of sweet things, so for some peoples taste its a bit too sweet but thats my personal favourite
H: Ok
B: English Lime is the
H: You cant have two. You can only have one!
B: I can have a close second!
H: Anita what about you?
A: Im glad you didnt choose my favourite honey which by far is acacia. Its quite a light honey
H: Yes
A: Theres nothing to dislike about it, but I just love the flavour and it just goes, to me it goes with every food toast, porridge, cooking, I use it all the time
H: Fantastic. Ok well Ill throw mine in, mine is definitely that Turkish or Greek pine honey which is wonderful
B: Gorgeous stuff
H: And it was Kay who asked that question, so thank you for that. Im afraid weve run out of time so Id like to thank Anita Bean and Brian Butcher for joining me in the studio. Id like to thank you for sending in your questions. I hope youve enjoyed as much as I have learning all this really interesting stuff about honey and I hope youre going to go and cook with it maybe more than you are doing already, and perhaps get the children involved in a way that you havent up to now. If you want more information or perhaps you want to find out how to get hold of those leaflets that we were looking at then you need to go to the Honey Associations website which is www.honeyassociation.com or you can click on the link below this screen. Thanks for joining us on todays show, well see you next time, bye for now