Use honey to sweeten the holidays

Inspired by an exhibition titled Sweet as Honey, the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem published a collection of recipes with the same title, in celebration of the High Holidays.

Inspired by an exhibition titled Sweet as Honey, the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem published a collection of recipes with the same title, in celebration of the High Holidays.

Located in Jerusalem’s Museum Row, the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem was founded by former Torontonians Batya and the late Dr. Elie Borowski.

A centre for cultural and educational programming, it is the only museum in the world displaying the history of the biblical period in the various lands of the Bible.

The holiday cookbook is illustrated with photographs of selected artifacts, objects from the biblical period, along with traditional and innovative recipes to make with honey.

The introduction notes that in ancient times, honey was made mainly from fruit. The first evidence of the collection of bee honey appeared in cave paintings from northern Spain, dating back to approximately 7000 BCE.

Along with the recipes, which include salads, chicken, meat, fish and challah, there is a section on how to  make fig, date and grape honey. Most recipes in the cookbook, however, use bee honey.

Here are samples from the dessert section of the cookbook.

HONEY COOKIES

Prepare one day in advance.

Sift together:
4 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 tsp. ginger

Combine:
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. water

Boil the honey, sugar and water for five minutes, then add dry ingredients to the boiled mixture.

Mix in:
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 1/2 cups candied fruits
1 cup chopped almonds

Press dough into a ball, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for one or two days.
Roll out dough on lightly floured board and cut into small strips. Bake on greased baking sheet in moderate oven for 15 minutes.

When cool, glaze with:
2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp. boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat well. Spread on cookies while glaze is warm.

DATE HONEY FINGERS

3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
2/3 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
5 tbsp. honey
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour an 8-in.-sq. baking pan. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in dates and nuts.

Cream butter, stir in eggs and honey. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes. When cool, cut into fingers and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

For information on the Bible Lands Museum, visit www.blmj.org.

Author

Support Our Mission: Make a Difference!

The Canadian Jewish News is now a Registered Journalism Organization (RJO) as defined by the Canada Revenue Agency. To help support the valuable work we’re doing, we’re asking for individual monthly donations of at least $10. In exchange, you’ll receive tax receipts, a thank-you gift of our quarterly magazine delivered to your door, and our gratitude for helping continue our mission. If you have any questions about the donating process, please write to [email protected].

Support the Media that Speaks to You

Jewish Canadians deserve more than social media rumours, adversarial action alerts, and reporting with biases that are often undisclosed. The Canadian Jewish News proudly offers independent national coverage on issues that matter, sparking conversations that bridge generations. 

It’s an outlet you can count on—but we’re also counting on you.

Please support Jewish journalism that’s creative, innovative, and dedicated to breaking new ground to serve your community, while building on media traditions of the past 65 years. As a Registered Journalism Organization, contributions of any size are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.Â