Humans have harvested honey since the beginning of time, and National Honey Month in September is the time to celebrate this ancient sweetener.

Used for food, medicine and more by cultures all over the world, honey is nature’s gift. The natural sweeter is known to soothe sore throats and boost energy and contains a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.

The creators are among our planet’s most important animals, maintaining the health of our ecosystem by pollinating a third of the foods we eat—many of which give our diets diversity, color and flavor. Pollination by managed honeybee colonies adds at least $18 billion to the value of U.S. agriculture annually, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Virginia honey is as diverse as the state’s flowers—infused with an array of unique flavors like wildflower, thistle and locust. More than 250,000 pounds of honey from roughly 7,000 honeybee colonies are produced annually in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Celebrate honeybees by exploring honey’s myriad culinary uses—like adding new depth of flavor to hot wings and baked brie to dazzle dinner guests.

Find locally sourced honey near you by visiting the Virginia Grown website.

Hot Honey Chicken Wings

½ cup honey
⅓ cup soy sauce
¼ cup chili sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
8 drops red pepper sauce
3 pounds chicken wings or drumettes

Heat oven to 350°.

In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, chili sauce, garlic salt, pepper and red pepper sauce.

Arrange chicken in single layer in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and pour on the sauce, turning the chicken over to coat evenly.

Bake for 1 hour, turning over once.

Cool slightly and serve.

Honey and Nut Glazed Brie

¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon brandy
¼ cup pecans, coarsely chopped
8-ounce wheel of brie cheese (About 5″ diameter)

Heat oven to 500°.

In a small bowl, combine honey, pecans and brandy.

Place cheese on a large ovenproof platter or 9″ pie plate. Bake for 4-5 minutes or until cheese softens.

Drizzle honey mixture over top of the cheese. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until topping is thoroughly heated. Do not melt the cheese.

—Recipes adapted from National Honey Board®