Honey is one of the world’s oldest food products, alluded to in writings that date back as far as the 21st century BC. The Bible refers to what is now Israel and Palestine as “the land of milk and honey.” And the ancient Greeks offered gifts of honey to their gods and spirits of the dead. Centuries later, in colonial America, honey was not only used as a food—mostly to preserve fruits—but also to make ­cement, furniture polish, and medicine. Today, honey remains one of the most widely used and versatile sweeteners.

A great deal of effort goes into producing a small amount of honey. The process begins when a sterile female honeybee (also known as a worker bee) sips nectar from flowers and stores it in a honey sack. Each bee may range as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than 2 million flowers to gather enough nectar for just one pound of honey. (Inadvertently, bees also perform the important task of pollinating flowers.) When the honey sack is full, the worker returns to her beehive, deposits the nectar into a honeycomb, and evaporates the water out of the nectar by rapidly fanning her wings.

After the honey has aged, the bees in the hive use wax to seal it in the comb and protect the precious sweetener. The beekeeper, also known as an apiarist, then collects the honeycomb using a special knife to take off the wax capping without damaging the rest of the comb. The honeycomb is placed in an extractor to retrieve the honey and then returned to the hive where the bees reuse it to hold more honey.

In the U.S., there are more than 300 unique kinds of honey produced from various flowers. Each floral honey variety has a distinct flavor, color, and scent. Some honeys are quite light in color and flavor, others are dark and robust; the majority are somewhere in between.

Clover. This is the most popular honey-producing plant in the U.S. Clover honey can vary in color from white to light amber, depending on the location of the flowers. The mild, delicately flavored honey is very versatile, especially as a topping.

Eucalyptus. Gathered from eucalyptus tree flowers, this honey typically has a bold and distinctive flavor but can vary greatly in color. Eucalyptus honey is especially appropriate for sauces, glazes, and baked desserts.

Orange Blossom. This is a rather sweet honey with a pronounced aroma of orange blossoms. It goes well in fruit salads, dressings, and meat glazes.

Avocado. Dark and rich with a light molasses flavor, this honey is gathered from the nectar of California avocado blooms. Avocado honey is particularly tasty served on breads.

Buckwheat. Dark in color, this is a strongly flavored honey with a lingering molasses note. It’s good in bakery items.

Both liquid and comb honey should be stored properly to maintain quality. If used frequently, store in a dry location in a covered container at 70-75ºF. Moisture and heat can lower the quality. Honey also tends to darken during storage, altering the flavor and composition. To prevent this from happening over the long term, freeze honey at 0-10ºF in moisture- and vapor-proof containers, then gradually warm to room temperature.

Honey is available in a variety of convenient pack sizes and styles for foodservice. These include individual portion packs, squeeze bottles, glass jars, 5-lb. pails, 55-gal. drums, and bulk containers. Contact your honey supplier for more information about custom pack options. To track down a supplier, a honey varietal, or a particular container size, check out the honey locator at www.honeylocator.com.

Whipped or creamed honey is a slightly cloudy and spreadable sweetener that often appears partly crystallized. It makes a delicious bread spread.

Comb honey is honey in its purest form, with the solid, edible comb intact. There is also cut comb honey, in which liquid honey is packaged with chunks of the honeycomb. Both of these make an interesting addition to a cheese plate or dessert assortment.