Some people can eat honey by the spoonful while others are put off by its unique sweet taste, but regardless of how you feel about honey, there's no denying the fact that it has been an important ingredient throughout history. Since ancient times, honey has been a cherished ingredient; during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, it's used to symbolize a sweet new year. It's also been praised throughout history for its antibacterial and antifungal properties, along with other health benefits.

Honey is actually a natural sweetener made by bees for their own consumption: bees collect nectar from various flowers, then deposit them into the cells of the beehive. The viscous consistency of honey is achieved by the ventilation from the fluttering of their wings. How cool is that? Keep reading for some honey tips.

What do backyard chickens and 12 Olympic medals have in common? Natalie Coughlin, that's what. The gold medalist and world champion, who nabbed her latest medal during a relay on Saturday, may currently be occupied swimming for the USA in London, but back at home, she's cultivating a healthy interest in all things food-related. From growing vegetables in her own backyard in Lafayette, CA, to her highly effective method of kitchen organization, Natalie gives us the scoop on her experiences with food.

YumSugar: You raise chickens in your backyard and you consider yourself an urban farmer. What do you grow or produce yourself that you're most proud of?

Natalie Coughlin: The eggs are pretty easy. It's amazing how much food is produced by these little creatures. I just have to give them kitchen scraps, fruits and vegetables, and chicken feed, and they give us a ton of fresh eggs every day, which is pretty incredible. And then the fresh herbs and kale are kind of my mainstays. They grow very, very easily and I get tons of them from the yard.

YS: If you weren't in swimming, do you think you'd have a career in the food world?

Find out her answer and much more when you keep reading.

A chiffonade is an elegant cut of leafy vegetables into long, thin strips. The technique is incredibly simple, and the result is a really beautiful cut or garnish.

Stack three to four leaves of whatever vegetable you're using (I used basil here).

Roll the leaves up tightly, and hold them together at one end.

To see more steps (and photos for each), keep reading.

One of the many things we are excited to celebrate in May is National Burger Month. To honor the art of the burger, we're kicking off another exciting and mouthwatering Instagram challenge! We want to see all your most delicious burger photos: cheeseburgers, bacon burgers, veggie burgers . . . the possibilities are endless.

Upload your photos to Instagram and include the hashtag #savorysight in your caption. We'll combine our favorite shots and share them with you. If you don't use Instagram, then don't worry! You can also upload your burger photos to our Savory Sights community group. And make sure to follow YumSugar on Instagram (username: heyyumsugar) for delicious inspiration.

I grew up eating cardoons, or cardoni, every Spring; my grandmother would braise them, and I was always so fond of their artichokelike flavor. Because of this, I'm always surprised when people aren't familiar with the classically Italian vegetable. If you've ever come across them at the market and walked on by because you weren't sure what to do with them, think again: when cooked properly, cardoons are tender, earthy, and satisfying.

A cardoon, which is essentially a giant thistle, looks like a bunch of oversized, beat-up celery stalks. The stalks happen to be a naturally occurring form from the same species as the globe artichoke. Cardoons are typically more of a Winter vegetable, but they also grow well through May, June, and July. The Mediterranean vegetable is hard to find in grocery stores, but can be located at farmers markets.

If you're new to cooking cardoons, know that they require a bit of special care to prepare for cooking. Long fibers run down the stalks that must be removed, which can be done with a vegetable peeler. Like artichokes, cardoons turn brown when exposed to air, so you must dunk them in lemon water while you wait to cook them.

Growing up, I typically enjoyed them braised as a side dish, and they can also be cooked and pureed into a spread, breaded and fried, or even baked with béchamel sauce. Have you ever tried cardoons?

It's truth time. We all have at least one unusual eating habit that even though we may find totally delicious, completely horrifies other people. For example, I've been eating potato chips with mustard since I was a little girl — that combination is just so good! Even stranger? I like to pour vinegar on my mashed potatoes, which completely horrifies my family every Thanksgiving. I've also been known to drink red wine vinegar and pickle juice from a cup before. Clearly, I have a thing for vinegar.

Now it's your turn to share. What weird yet wonderful eating habits do you have?

Historically, walnuts haven't been an ingredient that comes to mind often when I'm cooking — I typically eat them out of my hand and in banana bread, but that's about it. But recently, I attended a seminar with cooking host Joanne Weir and the California Walnut Board and Commission, where we enjoyed a walnut-centered lunch. From that broadening meal, I learned so many new ways to incorporate the healthy and delicious nut into more recipes. A few of my favorite takeaways:

• Add chopped toasted walnuts to homemade aioli: I enjoyed a dish of roasted asparagus, boiled eggs, and homemade toasted walnut allioli (Spanish aioli) that was transformative. The chopped walnuts added great texture and crunch to the dish, and complemented the garlicky sauce perfectly.
• Top pizzas with walnuts: The Spanish pizza we enjoyed was topped with walnuts, bringing a delicious crunch and nuttiness to each bite.
• Make walnut butter: Walnut butter is straightforward and simple, and would be great atop crostini as an appetizer.
• Add them to salsa verde: Toasted walnuts bring an earthy flavor to a bright, zesty sauce such as Italian salsa verde. We enjoyed it topped on crispy roasted salmon.

Find more ideas for walnuts when you keep reading.

Simple syrup is one hot ingredient right now, and what's so great about it is that it takes minimal effort to create something special and useful. We've been noticing unique and exciting flavor combinations and recipes, like rhubarb and rosewater syrup, popping up all over the place.

To make your own flavored simple syrup, all you need to do is add whatever flavoring component (citrus zest, lavender buds, rose water) you desire into the boiling sugar water and let it infuse (the longer you let it cook together, the stronger the flavoring will be), then strain the syrup and store it. Now we can't stop daydreaming about all of the possible flavor combinations out there that we can't wait to use in Summer cocktails, iced tea, and homemade sodas. For some flavor combinations we can't wait to try, read on.

I have always wondered why my scrambled eggs aren't as light and fluffy as the ones in restaurants, but recently a friend of mine suggested using an immersion blender to beat eggs together before cooking, and now I'm hooked. The immersion blender beats air into the eggs, making them fluffy, frothy, and delicious. All that's left is to cook the eggs in a hot pan with a pat of butter or a drizzle of olive oil.

What is your method for making fluffy scrambled eggs?

Water is essential and expected at every get-together, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring. Next time you host a party (or even a wedding), bring some color and flavor into your pitcher of water with lots of ice and fresh fruit! See our favorite fruity combinations below.

The next time you host a party, consider some of these flavor combinations for your water:

• Fresh mint and sliced lemons.
• Sliced green apples and oranges.
• Quartered strawberries and fresh mint.
• Raspberries and sliced grapefruit.
• Tangerines and blueberries.
• Sliced oranges and fresh rosemary.

What combinations of fruit do you put in your water?

Source: Flickr User DeeJayTee23

While I find a simple bowl of leafy greens doused in a zesty vinaigrette to be gratifying, lately I've been opening up to the deliciousness of salad add-ins that can transform a fresh side dish into a full-blown meal. Below are some of my favorite additions.

Toasted Nuts
It's amazing what toasted nuts can add to a salad. A handful of almonds quickly toasted in a pan adds a layer of warmth and crunch to an otherwise one-note dish. I recommend almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, and peanuts.

Flavorful Plant-Based Ingredients
For a kick, incorporate flavorful ingredients like capers or sun-dried tomatoes. Go easy on these though, because a little goes a long way and too much can completely overpower your salad. Olives and pepperoncini also add a lot of flavor and complement salads beautifully.

Quinoa
Cook a batch of quinoa early in the week and use it in your salads for days to come. Quinoa adds heft and texture to salads, not to mention the fact that it makes them more nutritionally substantial.

Find more ideas when you keep reading.

Drinks that use hibiscus have been around for quite a while, but more and more I'm noticing the brightly colored, beautiful flower being used in cooking (hibiscus loaf cake, anyone?). But what's the scoop on this trendy floral ingredient? Find out when you keep reading.