Describing something like The Vermont Beekeeper’s Cookbook as “sweet” is so trite it makes my teeth hurt. But honestly, this little booklet is sweet and charming and adorable and interesting. It’s a pocket sized nugget full of recipes that sound delicious and are accompanied by pretty linoleum and and wood block prints.
One of the most interesting sections is the home remedies. Not the “bury it and let it ferment for 2 new moons” kind of remedies, but the uses-things-in-the-kitchen kind of remedies for common ailments like sore throats. My mom would give me spoonfuls of honey and lemon when I had a cold and was unquestionably being over dramatic about it. (FYI Honey is not safe for babies!) And there is actual scientific research that leans towards honey being helpful in finding cold relief.
DISCLAIMER: Vintage Unscripted is not a well-regarded medical journal, nor is it actually a medical journal at all. We are not dispensing medical advice. We are merely presenting information from other sources and not endorsing it. Use your own judgment before you try any of these home remedies.
The sore throat remedy and remedy for sunburn both call for glycerine. Use food grade or vegetable glycerin, not industrial or technical glycerin, which can contain impurities.
It’s hard to say which I hate more, sunburns or sore throats. Both are things I only wish on my mortal enemies. I’ve never read about using honey and glycerine as a sunburn remedy, but if I get one, and it sometimes happens despite me marinating in sunscreen and cocooning in towels at the beach, I would try it. Full disclosure, I would willingly to cover myself in garden slugs if someone told me it would make my sunburn not hurt.
Not being a drinker anymore, I can’t test out the hangover remedy. Never tried it, but warm milk is a traditional soporific. Even money says it’s tastier with honey. And a teaspoon of honey does generate instant energy. It also generates the burning desire for another teaspoon of honey, and another after that.
Let’s finish up with some…
Interesting Facts About Honey Bees:
- Bees have five eyes, three little ones on their foreheads and two compound eyes where eyes traditionally go. They can see ultraviolet light, which is how they locate nectar on flowers.
- Bees have two stomachs, an eating stomach and a storing honey stomach.
- A single bee only produces about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their entire lifetime. Think about how much bee work went into that generous helping of honey you just stirred into your tea.
- Honey bees are reasonably passive and will only sting to defend their hive.
- They can also only sting once with their little barbed stinger that gets left in your skin, and then they die.
- Wasps are the jerks with the straight stingers that allow them to sting you multiple times. They are aggressive and can sting you until their venom supply runs out. And if a wasp goes after you, chances are their jerky friends are going to too. I have raked up enough ground yellow jacket nests in my life to know this is a certainty.
For more on honey as a home remedy:
Sore Throat? Try Some Honey, Cleveland Clinic
Is it true that honey calms coughs better than cough medicine do?, Mayo Clinic
Got a cold? Try some honey, Harvard Health Staying Healthy
