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We’ve got your Holiday gifts covered! Wow your friends and family with flavor infused honey, made in the electric pressure cooker. With 7 different flavors from sweet to spicy, you’ll never long for “plain ol’ honey” again!
This post is going to be bursting with electric pressure cooking goodies.
We are not only sharing an idea we’ve been dying to tell you about, but we’ve rounded up 10 extremely talented bloggers to join us in sharing some family favorite pressure cooker recipes for the Holidays. Be sure to make it to the end of the post to see what our friends have cooked up today.
We owe a big thanks to Fagor America, Inc. for sponsoring this event by providing us each with a Fagor Lux Electric Multi-Cooker. We have a big time girl crush on this product, and especially love their new color “Champagne”, which looks lovely in our kitchens.
*This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!
Now on to the food!
Infused honey! I’m so excited about this idea! Maybe even more than the vanilla extract idea, which, I thought couldn’t be topped. But this honey is amazing in so many different ways! Let’s break them all down, shall we.
This honey is delicious, easy, fun (so many flavor possibilities!) and most importantly, is going to win you the gift giver of the year award because it’s also personalizable, affordable, PRETTY, and soooooo original. No offense to popcorn cans and candy canes with reindeer faces, but this honey is gonna make you famous because your recipients will sing your praises every time it graces their dining table. No need to tell anyone how simple it was or that you didn’t start the project 6 months ago. Just let them believe you are the super human you most certainly are.
When this idea crossed my mind, I immediately jotted down several flavor ideas, circled my top 3 favorites, and then headed to the store to grab my supplies. I surely looked like a crazy person staring at spices and dried fruit in amazement of all the flavor possibilities I could create! So my list of 3 turned to 7 and only stopped there because I ran out of jars and my mom refused to let me borrow anymore, claiming I don’t return them. Which I will forever deny, although it is very true.
In mere minutes, your very large bottle of plain ol’ bargain buy honey from Sam’s Club or Costco’s (or the like), will be a high dollar, fancy, NATURALLY flavored honey. Here’s how:
Place desired mix ins into half pint mason jars and add mild flavored honey (like Sue Bee), leaving at least 1 inch of head space.
Stack 2 round coffee filters together and trim the edges a bit. Place on top of the jar and screw a ring onto the jar to hold the coffee filters in place (the coffee filters keep moisture out of the jar while it’s processing and when the pressure cooker lid is removed). Pour 1 cup of water into the pot. Put jar(s) on top of a trivet inside the pot.
Cook at high pressure for 15-30 minutes and let pressure release naturally. Remover the jars from the pot, and take off the lids and stir the honey vigorously. Then while it’s still warm, pour through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into another jar.
To gift, pour into a pretty jar and that is it folks! Golden deliciousness, made by you!
I’m providing recipes for my creations here along with the rest of my “to try soon” list, but feel free to let your imaginations go wild as you create a unique flavor for each person on your gift list.
I hope I’ve helped to make things a little easier and affordable for you this year. And if flavored honey isn’t your thing (or your giftees thing) try these equally as affordable recipes for pressure cooker vanilla extract and elderberry syrup. Or for those loved ones that have a pressure cooker or will be getting one for Christmas, our Master the Electric Pressure Cooker ecookbook will be an amazing gift full of delicious recipes that can be enjoyed well beyond this season. (just enter their email at checkout)
Happy Holidays everybody and Happy Gifting!
– Marci
To see all the delicious pressure cooker Holiday recipes my friends are sharing today, click to each recipe below.
Homemade Applesauce by Place of my Taste | Cranberry Sauce from Cherished Bliss
Homemade Beef & Mushroom Stew by A Burst of Beautiful | Candied Sweet Potatoes by Make it and Love it
Candied Orange Peel by Craftberry Bush | Flavor Infused Honey by TIDBITS
Oreo Cheesecake by French Country Cottage | Mashed Potatoes by Our Best Bites
Cape Cod Cranberry Sauce by Nina Hendrick Design Co. | Creamed Corn by Live Laugh Rowe
Pressure Cooker Infused Honey
Ingredients
- ¾ -1 cup honey use a mild tasting honey, not raw
- Add ins-see options below
Instructions
- Place desired add ins inside a half pint size mason jar. Cover with honey leaving 1 inch of headspace. Stack 2 round coffee filters together and trim so it hangs over the jar about an inch. Place filters on top of the opening of the jar and screw a ring on tightly (just the ring, no flat needed).
- Add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker pot and place trivet inside. Place jar on the trivet. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes (15 minutes for a more mild flavor).
- When cooking is complete, use a natural release.
- Carefully remove the mason jar (the honey will be HOT!). Using hot pads or a rag, remove the lid and vigorously stir the honey to infuse maximum flavor. Pour honey through a small, fine mesh sieve placed over another half pint size mason jar. Discard add ins. (Honey can also be poured through cheesecloth). Store at room temperature in a mason jar with a pourable lid.
Notes
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel
4 cubes crystallized ginger
Great for a cough Blueberry Honey
⅛ cup dried blueberries (preferably unsweetened)
Delicious on blueberry pancakes, muffins, and waffles Spice Honey
5 cloves
2 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
To die for on whole wheat rolls right from the oven Lavender Honey
2 tablespoons dried lavender
Amazing drizzled over vanilla ice cream or yogurt Chili Pepper Honey
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Drizzle over popcorn chicken or chicken wings Vanilla Honey
2-4 vanilla beans split or chopped
Dreamy stirred into hot drinks Cacao Honey
2 tablespoons cacao nibs
Makes the best peanut butter, honey, banana sandwich ever! Other ideas: dried mint, unsweetened coconut flakes, dried cranberries, freeze dried peaches, roasted garlic, dried orange peel, rosemary, etc, etc Notes
-Only use dried ingredients (not fresh) to flavor the honey to prevent possible contamination
-A 6 quart pot can fit up to 5 half pint size mason jars at a time
-If making multiple flavors in a single batch, consider strong smells that may cross over into the other bottles (for example, don’t infuse a garlic honey next to a vanilla honey)
-Pour the honey through a strainer when it’s still warm for easier straining
-Serve several choices of honey on a fancy platter with a mix of meat, cheese, and bread
-Don’t use expensive raw honey for this, you don’t want to be exposing that precious gold to such high temperatures.
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Favorite Mason Jar lids:
*Our exact jars were purchased at Hobby Lobby, but we’ve added a link to our favorite ones on Amazon. I used them for homemade candles one year.
I am sure this infused honey tastes great but keep in mind that any beneficial qualities would be destroyed at that heat.
If going to the trouble of making these marvelous gifts, why not use high-quality LOCAL honey instead of the stuff from the grocery store?
Also, if you don’t want to use the pressure cooker idea, or don’t want that “burnt” taste several have mentioned you can use essential oils. (That’s what I use.) Just make sure you have food grade. 😉
I do like your flavor combinations and I am going to do the lemon ginger right now!
Can the infused honey be made any other way rather than a pressure cooker
SO … 5 of the 1/2 pint jars of honey filled one quart size jar (after the flavor items were taken out) … could I just fill one quart jar and multiply the infusion flavoring by 5) Or do the smaller jars help with the flavor infusing.
I’m almost wondering if my honey (spiced) has a bit of a burnt taste to it as well. But I wanted the strong flavor. Are most people finding that 30 minutes is a bit too long?
I’m planning on trying vanilla next. Again, I want a strong vanilla flavor … so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
You said you have a long list of flavors to try. What other flavors have you tried? What are some of your favorites? (I’m working on Christmas gifts!!!)
I am wondering this too, is it ok to use pint jars instead of half pint?
I just tried to make your lemon & ginger honey and mine tastes a bit burnt. I did leave it in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Perhaps too long? Very disappointed.
I liked your idea very much. But about what about the taste of honey? Does it remain the same?
Lydia, The honey will take on a new flavor depending on what you infuse it with.
I love this idea! Can the add ins be reused for second batches?
Halee, I don’t think I would. I’m assuming it wouldn’t be as strong. But if you give it a go and it works, let me know!
Will do! What do you think shelf life is for the infused honey?
Halee, it’s hard to say. I tried to find an exact answer to that question, but most of my research indicated that as long as you are using dried, clean ingredients to infuse, the shelf life is several months (or more). That’s why I chose to make half pints. It’s super easy to brew so my plan is to make small batches at a time just to be on the safe side. However, honey is antimicrobial and since we’re not introducing moisture to the honey, the chances of it going bad ever is unlikely. But again, I like to be on the safe side 🙂
Have jars ready! Quick question….loved the rosemary on your jar. Did you make a “rosemary” honey, or just used to decorate jar and not “identify” contents. If you actually made rosemary, what quantity and any other add in?
LeAnn, I haven’t made a Rosemary flavor, but it’s on the mile long list 😉 I would do 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary, then if it was too strong, I’d just mix in some more honey. I used 2 T of dried lavender and it was quite strong and I’m guessing the rosemary would be similar. If I did rosemary, I wouldn’t add anything else to it. Let me know how it goes!
Love this idea!! May i ask where you found those glass jars?? They are perfect!
Amanda, Cami bought the ones pictured at Hobby Lobby. I’ve found a lot of cute ones there too. There’s also a link in the post for ones that look similar. Are you making them for gifts?
Love the HONEY post and all the pressure cooker ideas! Just a quick grammar tip, use MY instead of I’s i.e. “Cami and I’s”. My is the possessive form of I. Sent with love and admiration for all your great blog posts!!
Elaine, Thank you! I’ll fix that right now 🙂