Honey

"If there could ever be such a thing as healing ice cream, this would be it," says blogger Anya Kassof. Manuka honey is made exclusively by bees in New Zealand and Australia from the nectar of the native manuka tree. The honey has a very subtle taste, along with a beautiful color and texture. It's also known to be one of the most nutritious types of honey, especially when combined with bee pollen.

Chef Kristofer Kalas created this sweet and tangy dip to showcase organic fruits and vegetables. Pair it with a platter of sliced radicchio, radishes, baby carrots, cucumbers, pears and apple.

Club soda lightens the egg batter that coats the cheese, and a double-coating of panko crumbs amplifies the crunch. Moore serves the sweet-savory balls as an appetizer or a dessert.

Thyme and lemon zest round out this amazingly simple recipe.

For an unusual but exceptionally easy dessert, soften a pint of vanilla ice cream, mix it with ricotta and honey, and then refreeze it. You'll want to use a premium brand of ice cream, since the quality of each ingredient is very apparent in this simple dessert.

Dahlia Narvaez adored the deliciously rich mascarpone cheese she ate in Umbria. "It's such a great backdrop for all the different honeys made in Italy," she says. She made this dish with delicate Umbrian wildflower honey but says stronger honeys like chestnut would also be terrific.

In this amazing appetizer, two types of honey serve two distinct purposes: Mellow, slightly spicy clover honey intensifies the sweetness of the tangy tomatoes as they slowly roast. After the bruschetta is assembled, a drizzle of robust buckwheat honey balances the creamy ricotta cheese.

Inspired by the semifreddos at restaurants like Cut in Beverly Hills, F&W's Grace Parisi creates her own version of this frozen mousse—an easier-to-make alternative to ice cream.

Top the creamy panna cotta with dried apricots that have been plumped in wine and honey, then add a scattering of crunchy, salty toasted almonds or pistachios.

Lionel Vatinet sweetens his bread with local honey, which may benefit the immune system and help to combat allergies.

"Honey is an incredible anti-everything," says Jovial King. "It's antibacterial, antiviral and great for combating allergies, as long as it's raw." Marcia Kiesel uses King's flower-infused honey in savory dishes, like these yogurt-stuffed peppers.

Slices of smoky bacon slathered in a spicy honey mixture are great at breakfast and addictive enough for a midnight snack.

Like sugar, honey caramelizes as it cooks. Here, warm honey is drizzled over a mixture of goat cheese and Greek yogurt, where it cools to a caramel-like consistency. For a crunchier topping, heat the honey until it reaches 250° on a candy thermometer.

Tim Wood, the chef at Carmel Valley Ranch in California, avoids the deep fryer and opts to broil or grill his chicken wings, which turns them supercrispy. A soy-and-honey glaze makes them sweet, sticky and salty.

Jessica Theroux drizzles apricots with honey before roasting (plums and peaches work well, too) and crumbles store-bought amaretti (Italian cookies made with egg whites and almond flour) for a crispy topping.

David Chang created this dish as a vegetarian play on Korean sweet-and-sour pork—but without the deep-fried meat and cloying sauce. Instead, he tosses turnips and radishes with a mix of honey and soy sauce and serves them with sautéed shiitake mushrooms that have an ingenious, crispy rice-cracker coating.

Melissa Rubel mixes creamy yogurt with honey so it's deliciously sweet and tangy, then she spreads it in a graham-cracker crust spiced with bits of crystallized ginger and tops it with plump blueberries.

This stunning plum-studded sabayon—an airy custard sweetened with clover honey and Moscato—is summer's answer to crème brûlée. If you don't have Moscato on hand, any honey-inflected dessert wine will do, such as Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise or a late-harvest Riesling.

Sue McCown's crunchy tuiles are wonderfully light and delicate. Layer them with the blackberry mousse just before serving, or they can become soggy.

Every year for his birthday, Tim Hollingsworth's mother makes him cheesecake with canned cherries on top. In his clever version, he substitutes goat cheese for the cream cheese and glazed cranberries for the cherries.

Thick and creamy Greek-style yogurt contains bacteria cultures that may aid in digestion and strengthen the immune system. As an homage to her Greek heritage, Marisa Churchill uses it as the base for her tangy, low-fat panna cottas.