Description
Sweet, thick, and easy to make, this Vegan Honey will be your new favorite sweetener. Make up a batch and use it in everything!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3 cups pure apple juice (see note 1)
- 1 cup chamomile tea or filtered water (see note 2)
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/2 cup agave, optional (see note 3)
- Juice of 1 medium lemon
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon orange extract, optional
Instructions
- Make the chamomile tea: If using chamomile tea, go ahead and brew that up. Just boil a cup of water, turn off the heat, throw in a chamomile tea bag and let it steep for about 4 minutes.
- Mix: Add all the ingredients to a medium pot and heat the burner on medium high--on my stove I turned the dial to 7.5. Stir well with a whisk constantly until the cane sugar dissolves, then stir it occasionally after that.
- Boil and reduce: Let the mixture come to a boil, then cook for about 30 - 35 more minutes, until the mixture has darkened considerably and reduced in volume by about half. Whenever mine was close during the numerous tests I did, it would bubble up almost to the top like it was going to boil over. I’d then whisk it until the bubbles disappeared and look at what’s at the bottom of the pot. There will be around a cup (or a little more) of liquid in there and it will seem slightly thicker, though it won’t be sticky and honey-like yet. It should be quite a bit darker with a very caramel-sweet kind of flavor.
- Chill out: Pour your vegan honey into a glass jar and allow it to sit with the lid off for about 10 minutes, then add a lid and refrigerate for a few hours until cool and thick.
- Enjoy: Use as you would animal honey, and keep in the fridge when not using.
- Store: Refrigerate your vegan honey for up to 3 weeks, but to be safe, please smell the honey before using it after 2 weeks have passed. It will smell quite sour if it has gone bad. It will also taste bad too if the smell doesn't tell you first.
Notes
- Note 1: It’s really important to get additive-free apple juice. I got mine from Trader Joe’s and the only other ingredient is ascorbic acid which just keeps the apple from browning due to oxidation. Definitely stay away from added sugars or ingredients you don’t recognize. You’re also welcome to make your own apple juice (make sure to remove the fiber or your honey won’t clarify.
- Note 2: Did you ever notice that bee honey has a slightly floral flavor? Chamomile really helps add that to this tea and I think it’s delicious. Feel free to just use water instead. To use chamomile, just brew 1 cup of tea before starting the honey process and add it to the pot instead of water.
- Note 3: I used some agave here because I feel it really contributes to the honey flavor, but it’s not a necessity; feel free to leave out if you prefer.
- Note 4: This is optional but orange extract is actually crazy good here. I made this apple honey a few times without it and was missing just a little hint of something. I tried the orange and that was EXACTLY it, and I was so pleased with myself when I figured it out, lol.
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Ingredient
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Substitution
Keywords: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Honey, Honey Substitute