Wisconsin Sets Rules for ‘Wisconsin Certified Honey’ Labels

There’s a “buzz” around Wisconsin these days. On March 15, 2010, Governor Jim Doyle signed Assembly Bill 575, establishing standards for products sold as honey and authorizing ‘Wisconsin Certified Honey’ labels for pure honey produced in the state.

The pure honey bill is intended, through testing and labeling to not only identify pure honey produced in Wisconsin, but also to point out so-called honey that is adulterated or bulked up with corn or rice syrup or mixed with foreign honey found to have a variety of additives. The adulterated honey costs a fraction to produce and sells cheaper than pure honey.

Wisconsin joins California and Florida in defining pure honey, a definition lacking in federal Food and Drug Administration standards.

Honey is the nectar gathered, modified, stored and concentrated by honey bees. The term honey in cookery refers to honey extracted from the comb. The different flavors of honey are classified according to the plant from which the nectar is derived. Generally the lighter the honey, the milder the flavor. If a stronger flavor is desired, use a darker, stronger flavored honey.

Honey is sweeter than white sugar, so less is needed to sweeten foods. Honey can be substituted for sugar. Due to honey’s ability to retain water, products made with honey tend to remain moister longer than similar products made with sugar or other sweeteners.

Some minor adjustments may need to be made to a recipe when substituting sugar for honey. Use equal amounts of honey for sugar up to one cup. Over one cup, replace each cup of sugar with 2/3 to ¾ cup of honey depending on the sweetness desired. In recipes using more than one cup of honey for sugar, it may be necessary to reduce liquids by ¼ cup per cup of honey. In baked goods, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey if baking soda is not already in the recipe. This will reduce the acidity of the honey, as well as increase the volume of the product. Lower the baking temperature 25 degrees and watch the time carefully since products with honey brown faster.