Honey Powder ???

lbaker · Sep 16, 2004

While jumping around the internet, I came across this site:

http://www.blossomland.com/hnp5.html

Has anyone ever tried Honey Powder instead of Honey in a mead? It sounds like it could be a lot easier to work with... just dry measure, pour it in the must, and stir. I'm sure it had to loose some of the original honey flavor, but when your mixing honeys, this might work for the lighter of the 2... IE: use a pound of buckwheat and x lbs of honey powder...

Any thoughts or direct experience?

Lyle Baker
http://www.moremead.com

dogglebe · Sep 16, 2004

This is just so wrong.....

The whole idea of making mead (for me, anyway), is that I'm making an age old beverage in a (for the most part) very traditional way. Using a honey extract is...just...so...wrong.

Financially, it's not worth it as you're paying $45 for 5 pounds worth. IIRC, honey is 20% water. If you were to rehydrate this stuff, you're paying roughly $7.50-$8.00 a pound for honey.

Finally, it's wrong! It's just so wrong.

Phil

lbaker · Sep 16, 2004

I'll grant the 'just wrong' part... but I'm not sure if your dollar figures are right... The amount is right for the powder, but does one pound of powder have the same sweetness as one pound of honey? I would think 1 pound of power would have started like out as at least 2 pounds of honey, and maybe more. If it's a 1 to 3 ratio, then it's down to about the same price I pay for honey in this area.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's any good! and it really does seem wrong... but then again... it might actually work...

Lyle

WikdWaze · Sep 16, 2004

Grade A honey is no more than 18% water, that's all the difference there'd be between honey and the powder. Remove that 18% water and you get powder. It wouldn't take anything close to 2 pounds of honey to get a pound of powder.

It might still be worth something. You could use it in place of corn sugar to prime a sparkling mead. I don't see where it'd be any better than using regular honey, except maybe easier to handle and measure.

Oskaar · Sep 16, 2004

Hmmmm,

Never even considered powdered honey, not because I have any aversion to it, just because I never thought of it.

I suppose it could be like a dried spice which concentrates the essence during the drying and then when reconstituted has a very pronounced flavor.

I wonder if anyone here has experience with it.

Oskaar

dogglebe · Sep 17, 2004

WikdWaze said:
Grade A honey is no more than 18% water, that's all the difference there'd be between honey and the powder. Remove that 18% water and you get powder.

Which goes back to what I said about it costing $7-8 dollars a pounds.

Phil

Oskaar · Sep 17, 2004

Sometimes $$$ does not constitute the decision point for trying something new.

Powdered honey has some kind of market or there wouldn't be so many vendors offering it, and it wouldn't fetch the price it does.

I'm just wondering if there is someone who has experience with it, what it's applications are, and what the value of it is.

Besides, meadmaking is pretty much a wide open hobby, so if someone wants to experiment, I'm not going to throw stones.

Oskaar

dogglebe · Sep 18, 2004

I'm not going to throw stones either (atleast not big stones), but I just don't see thte point of buying dehydrated honey just to rehydrate it. Cost is an issue only because it's wildflower honey. I've spent good money on some of the fancier and rarer honeys

I'm under the impression that this powdered honey is to be used to give something a little honey flavoring, not as much as needed for a mead.

Phil

Oskaar · Sep 18, 2004

I think we've all spent some coin on extravagantly priced honey and various other dalliances with mead associated paraphernalia. If someone wants to give honey powder a whirl, that's fine because it's really up to them.

There are a lot of brewers here in So Cal that give me some sideways glances because I don't hop my meads. I figure that they brew what they like and that's their prerogative. I personally don't care for hops in my mead, but I concede that there are those who do. Just because I don't see the point in adding hops to meads I make does not in any way, shape or form invalidate using them.

Bottom line is there are no rules governing what ingredients one can use to make their poison, and if that happens to include powdered honey, more power to them. It's not top on my list for an ingredient, but hey, I don't pretend to know anything other than what I like and what I like better. If powdered honey makes it's way onto that list, great! If not, something else will.

Cheers,

Oskaar

JoeM · Sep 18, 2004

what if i made some mead with powdered honey AND hops? you think you would like that?

Oskaar · Sep 18, 2004

Put it out there dude!

I'll try anything once . . . twice if I like it!

Oskaar

dogglebe · Sep 19, 2004

JoeM said:
what if i made some mead with powdered honey AND hops? you think you would like that?

Again, you're still paying about eight dollars a pounds for wildflower (or some other cheap honey). If you want to make a hopped honey, that's fine. BUt the powdered honey just isn't the way to go, IMHO.

Phil

Oskaar · Sep 19, 2004

Well... like I said before.

Not tops on my list to try, but I'm not going to knock something I've never tried. If someone has had success with the powdered honey bravo for them. After this discussion I'm even more curious to know if anyone has ever used it and how they used it.

Cheers,

Oskaar

yabb_unknown_usr · Nov 9, 2004

Don't do it! Honey powder is a blend of honey and lethicin which is wonderful for bread baking but will do some horrible stuff in a carboy -- think glue.

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