Honey

Honey was a sweet, viscous food substance produced by honey bees, and by their larger cousin the giant honey bee.

Description
This food product had a very long shelf life.

Availability
Honey was typically sold by alchemists, beekeepers, farms, and food markets.

Places in the Realms where honey bees were known to be cultivated for their honey included:


 * In north Faerûn, honey was cultivated in the Dalelands and the Vast.
 * In northwest Faerûn, honey was cultivated in the gardens of the city-state of Neverwinter and by wild elves in High Forest.
 * In interior Faerûn, honey was cultivated in the town of Eveningstar in Cormyr.
 * In the Western Heartlands, honey was cultivated by the village of Gullykin.

Beyond Faerûn

 * The city of Mezro in Chult.
 * Off the coast of east Zakhara, the island kingdom of Afyal cultivated and exported honey.

Beyond Toril

 * In the divine realm of Arvandor, elves were known to cultivate honey for the purposes of mead.
 * In the plane of Bytopia, especially in the layer of Dothion.

Food

 * Honey was the primary form of sweetener in the Realms. Whenever it was applied to something, the food or beverage was referred to as being "honeyed."
 * It was a main sweetener component of many alcoholic beverages including clarry, evermead, feywine, mead, and tej.
 * It was one of the main ingredients to honeydrops.
 * Some were known to use honey to sweeten molasses.
 * Grilled rothé ribs were often smothered in herbs and honey and slowly cooked to perfection.

Magic

 * Honey tended by druids could act as a metamagic component for the spells suggestion and mass suggestion.
 * Honey was a material component for the following spells &mdash; antipathy/sympathy, shout, detect shapechanger, face, detect lycanthrope, faith-magic zone, and magic mouth.
 * Honey specially fermented for royal bees was a material component of the spell heroes' feast.
 * The honey of giant bees could be used as an ingredient in crafting potions of healing and potions of extra-healing.

Miscellaneous

 * In the Dalelands, elven farmers south of Spiderhaunt Wood were known to offer pots of honey to the Seldarine before planting their crops for the spring, hoping that they would control the land's chaotic weather.
 * Some were known to give camels and a camel of the Pearl a dab of honey to persuade them away from wandering.
 * When mixed with a ground up amber, honey could remove some degree of blindness. When mixed with that and rose oil, honey could remove some degree of deafness.

Businesses

 * The Stag Triumphant, a posh inn in Mosstone, served honey and lemon chicken stew in a thick greenshoots broth for highsunfeast.

Groups

 * The Shad'iar, the nomadic tribes of the Land of the Lions, often applied honey to their simple foods. Whenever a clan, family, or tribe of Shad'iar hosted members of another tribe they would serve sweets made from congealed honey.

Individuals

 * The Azuposi spirit Alosaka typically carried around a netted gourd in his left hand that contained either water or honey.
 * Honey was one of the favored foods of Bahamut, the dragon god of justice.
 * Bepis Honeymaker was a renowned honey merchant in the city of Waterdeep.
 * The demigod Caoimhin adored the taste of honey.
 * Dradeel used honey as an ingredient in his monkey balls recipe.
 * The deity Nathair Sgiathach was preferential to apple pies made with honey.
 * Nell Kirschtorte's little bakery in Liam's Hold circa 1372 DR, sold toffie apples, a delicious honey-dipped treat.

Races & Intelligent Creatures

 * Among fey, honey was especially loved by atomies and grigs, who would trick bees into giving it to them. Some grigs were also known to gift fresh honey from the Feywild to those who got offended by their pranks.
 * Badgers were often attracted to honey.
 * The Batiri of Chult were known to tie their enemies to trees, douse them in honey, and then leave them to be eaten away by jungle insects.
 * Bears, owlbears, and werebears were also known to be fond of honey. The latter were especially enamored with mead containing heavy amounts of the substance.
 * Biclopses were known to forage for honey at twilight hours.
 * Dohwar could be driven to a state of intoxication with just small amounts of honey.
 * Feng huang were fond of honey-flavored water.
 * The small insects known as flies were often attracted to honey, so much so that there existed the proverb, "you catch more flies with honey."
 * Honey was a typical part of the diet of faerie dragons.
 * In the land of Chult, monkey spiders were very fond of honey.

Regions & Settlements

 * In the land of Anauroch, the Bedine tribesmen would use honey to sweeten the milk of camels and baste gazelle meat.
 * In the city of Arrabar, whipped honey served atop sweet wafers, along with tea, was a popular meal among the nobililty.
 * In the land of Calimshan, honeyed bread was a common feature in meals.
 * In the Western Heartlands, honey was considered a "base staple" ingredient. A vial of the substance could often be found carried by travelers in their spice pouches.
 * In the land of Zakhara, honey was a very popular product among tribesmen and in the markets of Tajar.

Rumors & Legends

 * One legend in the Feywild claimed that pixies stole the secret of making honey from a goblet of mead belonging to the Summer Queen and then sold it to honeybees.
 * The fabled Zakharan city of Iram was said to have rivers of milk and honey.