Honey Infusion Tutorial

Infusing honey with flavor from another ingredient is a simple but delicate process. When done correctly, you’ll have a shelf-stable, delicious honey infusion that you can use as a versatile topping.

The tutorial I’ve got for you below is a hot honey recipe, and I’m simply using chili flakes as our main infusion ingredient. You can use hot honey to make a Bee Sting Latte, or you can use it as a topping on pizza, toast, or anything else you can think of!

Hot Honey Recipe Details

• Complexity - Low
• Serves - Many!
• Prep Time - 20 Min
• Cost - ($)

Ingredients

• 8 oz (1 cup) Honey
• 3 tsp Chili flakes

Equipment

• Stove/hot plate
• Medium Saucepan
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Thermometer
• Strainer
• Jar/Bottle

Step-by-Step Instructions

An easy rule of thumb for making hot honey is 3 tsp for every cup of honey. You’ll find honey sold in many different sizes, but my recommendation is to still stick to the 1-cup recipe for home use. A little goes a long way, so you can get about 10-11 lattes out of just one batch. Or 4 lattes and 4 pizzas… Or 2 lattes, a couple charcuterie boards, dipping sauce for fried chicken… you get the idea. You’re the boss.

There’s a few variations of this recipe you’ll see if you search the web. Some recipes call for the addition of vinegar, but since one of my (many) uses for hot honey is to use this in a coffee drink, I’m not using vinegar in this recipe. Some recipes also add water to make the honey pour faster, but to me, that’s better for use in a cafe where you need to crank drinks out as fast as you can. No watering down needed for home use here!

Combine Ingredients In the Saucepan

Pour 8 oz (1 cup) of honey and 3 teaspoons of chili flakes into the saucepan. Use your spatula to get all the honey out of your measuring cup if you need to.

Introduce Heat

Turn your stove or hot plate to medium heat to start. Keep an eye on the honey, and when it starts to thin out a little bit, bring the heat to low. If you’re using a hot plate, you might even want to turn the heat off altogether, knowing that the plate will stay hot for a while.

Check Temperature

Be sure to check the temperature with your thermometer and try to keep the honey below 140 F (60 C). If you aim for 120 F (54 C), you’ll be pretty safe. Take your saucepan off the heat for a minute if your temperature starts rising too fast. Remember: it is possible to “scorch” your honey.

When honey gets too hot, the flavor can change, it can promote fast crystallization, and the honey can darken. It will also lose some of its nutrients if it gets too hot.

Simmer

Simmer for about 15 minutes. Continue to stir occasionally with your whisk.

Cool Down

After 15 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool. Stir occasionally, just so those chili flakes keep getting infused throughout. As the honey cools, it will run more slowly.

Strain and Store

The honey doesn’t need to get down to room temperature. When it’s cooled off a bit, grab your strainer. Using your spatula, strain the infused honey into the bottle or jar of your choice. You don’t need all those chili flakes as the chili flavor (and spicy heat) has now been infused into the honey. Plus, you don’t need that unnecessary texture in your latte.

I used a pretty small, fine mesh strainer. It worked just fine, but your countertop might end up a little cleaner if you use a bigger strainer!

The shelf-stable nature of honey means you can hold onto this batch for months, if not longer. Just keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dry, and dark place. Honey may crystallize which is normal, but you can bring it back to life by warming it up again. Just soak the jar in warm water for a little while until the crystals dissolve, then give it a stir.

Enjoy

Infusing Other Ingredients

So there you have it! Not only do you know how to make hot honey, but you can make other honey infusions too, like a vanilla honey infusion, for example. Each kind of ingredient will have a different optimal ratio, but for sweet things like vanilla or fruit, 1 cup to 1 ½ teaspoon will work. For other herbs and spices like rosemary or mint, try the same ratio I used for this recipe: 1 cup to 3 teaspoons. Feel free to experiment and have some fun.

Photography by Grace Walker

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