Honey consists of pure fruit sugars extracted by bees from flowers. Its
colour, taste and odour thus partake in some degree of the flowers from
which it has been collected. The virgin honey in the comb is the best
to use, although the most expensive. Honey is a useful addition to many
beverages as a pure and natural sweetening agent. For this purpose it
is preferable to either cane or beet sugar. As a rule, it is better to
avoid low priced foreign honey (unless it bears an absolute guarantee
of purity) as few articles of food are more widely adulterated.
Mulse.
This was a famous drink in ancient times. It is made by boiling
together one part of honey and 8 parts of water.
Mead.
This also was a popular drink with the early Norsemen and our own
Anglo-Saxon forebears. It was a mixture of light red wine and honey,
with a little fresh herb added sometimes.