Infused Honey 101: Cinnamon, Lavender, Chili & More

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Infused honey is one of our favorite kitchen projects because it takes about five minutes of work and tastes like you spent all afternoon on it. A spoonful of cinnamon honey on toast or a drizzle of chili honey on pizza turns an ordinary meal into something special. Here's how to make your own.

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The golden rule: use dried ingredients

Honey keeps so well because it's very low in water. When you add fresh, wet ingredients like fresh herbs, fruit, garlic, or ginger, you add water, and that can let yeast ferment the honey or, in rare cases, create conditions for harmful bacteria. For a shelf-stable infusion, stick to fully dried herbs, spices, and flowers. It's the simplest way to keep your infusion safe and delicious.

What you'll need

• A clean, completely dry glass jar with a lid
• Raw honey (we use our Beeholden Farms raw honey)
• Your dried flavorings
• A fine strainer or cheesecloth (optional)

The basic method

1. Put your dried flavoring in the jar. A good starting point is 1 to 2 tablespoons of dried herbs or flowers, or 2 to 3 whole spice pieces, per cup of honey.
2. Pour honey over the top until the jar is full. If your honey has crystallized, gently warm the jar in a bowl of warm (not hot) water first so it pours.
3. Stir to coat everything and push out air bubbles.
4. Cap the jar and let it sit somewhere at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks. Turn or stir it every few days.
5. Taste. When you like it, strain out the flavorings, or leave whole spices in for a pretty jar.

Avoid heating the honey on the stove to speed things up. High heat dulls raw honey's delicate flavor and aroma.

Our favorite flavor combinations

• Cinnamon: Two cinnamon sticks per cup. Perfect for fall on oatmeal, toast, or in tea.
• Lavender: One tablespoon of culinary dried lavender. Floral and calming; lovely in lemonade or over yogurt. A little goes a long way.
• Chili: One to two teaspoons of dried red pepper flakes, or a couple of whole dried chilies. This is the famous "hot honey" for pizza, fried foods, and roasted vegetables. Taste after a few days; it gets spicier the longer it sits.
• Vanilla: One split vanilla bean. Wonderful in baking and coffee.
• Chai spice: A cinnamon stick, a few cardamom pods, a couple of cloves, and a star anise. Fall in a jar. (Love chai? Try our Fall Honey Chai Concentrate.)
• Chamomile: Two tablespoons of dried chamomile flowers. Soft and soothing in bedtime tea.
• Rosemary: A few sprigs of dried rosemary. Great with cheese and crackers.

What about garlic or fresh ginger?

Fermented garlic honey and fresh ginger honey are popular online, but fresh ingredients bring water into the jar and change how the honey behaves. If you want to try them, follow a tested recipe closely, keep them refrigerated, and use them up quickly. For beginners, dried is the way to go. (If you just want fresh ginger and honey together, our ginger honey syrup keeps in the fridge.)

A few safety notes

• Never give honey, infused or plain, to babies under 12 months old.
• If you see mold, bubbling, or smell anything sour or "off," throw it out.
• Label your jars with the flavor and date.

Ready to make your first batch? Start with our small-batch raw honey from our hives. Its gentle, seasonal flavor is the perfect base for infusions.