Comparing Store Bought Honey

Sometimes I go to the grocery store without my kids. That's a real treat for me because it gives a chance to actually read food labels and compare prices.

This week, I wanted to share with you my take on these three honey brands.

Now, I normally just put honey in my hot tea at night. Occasionally, I drizzle it over my bagels. I don't consume it enough to know one from the other and why their cost varies. What difference does it really make, honey is honey, right?

HERE'S WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Cost Comparison

• Food Club $2.69
• Burleson's $2.90
• Goya $3.45

Color Comparison

Burleson's has the lightest golden color. Food Club has the typical golden honey shade. Goya has a orangey-golden color. It's harder to tell from my photo, but there is a noticeable color difference.

Honey Thickness

Burleson's runs faster and thinner out of the bottle. Food Club is thicker. Goya is the Slowest AND Thickest that I've ever watched pour out onto a spoon.

TASTE (The Most Important Factor)

I'm not going to say one was better than another, because they each had their own distinct flavor.

Food Club was the sweetest. I would use it in baking or sweetening up a banana, pouring over sopapillas or French Toast.

Burleson's was mild, not too sweet at all, more of a earthy honey flavor. I would definitely use it in my hot tea or somewhere where I needed sweet but not a overpowering "honey" flavor.

Goya was completely different! It's still honey, but from orange blossoms. It's not sugar sweet at all. It has a deep earthy flavor. I can definitely see why barbecue enthusiasts use it in their sauces. I would think to use it as a cooking honey, before I would add it to my hot tea.

Why are they so different? I don't know. I'm not a honey expert.

I am a consumer; a budget minded Mom looking to understand which products deliver the best flavor and quality for the money. If there's no difference in quality and flavor between the store brand and big name brand, just the price. I'll pick the money saver every time.

Heck, and sometimes it's just good to know the difference.

Fancy Biscuits and Honey Butter

This is the simplest treat for kids, family and new friends. In my efforts to explore and compare honey, I needed a foundation to carry the honey from plate to mouth. I decided on using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry.

Of course one sheet made MORE than enough for my taste test. So, I plated up the rest for our friends. The neighborhood kids REALLY enjoyed eating the extras. Our little friend, Eli, called them 'fancy biscuits'.

HERE'S ALL I DID

• one sheet of puff pastry thawed
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• dash of cinnamon

Bake the puff pastry according to the directions on the package. I cut the sheet with a small biscuit cutter before baking, to get bite size pieces. Set aside baked bites.

In a Pyrex measuring cup, add honey, butter and cinnamon. Microwave on low power or 70% for up to one minute. Just long enough for the butter to melt and the honey is warm enough and easy to stir.

Pour a little honey butter over individual fancy biscuits or pile up a plate and pour all the honey butter over all the fancy biscuits. Serve immediately.