{"id":152,"date":"2012-06-12T07:39:17","date_gmt":"2012-06-12T13:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/therealfoodchronicles.com\/?page_id=152"},"modified":"2021-08-16T15:18:44","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T21:18:44","slug":"so-sweet-it-is-tasting-honey-from-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stormysweitzer.com\/recipes\/so-sweet-it-is-tasting-honey-from-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"So Sweet It Is \u2013 Tasting Honey from Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been on a honey kick this year.\u00a0 Not the kind of kick that causes me to eat honey all of the time (I don\u2019t and can\u2019t without heart palpitations and a serious sugar high), but the kind of kick that gets me thinking about honey, seeking out different varieties, and doing a little research.<\/p>\n

\"honey<\/p>\n

It started with a sample last fall of some thick and dark honey from the wild bees of Ghana\u2019s Mole forest.\u00a0 Just two weeks later, my brother sent me jars of honey (not all of them survived the journey) from the cultivated sunflower fields of Germany \u2013 it was the creamiest, lightest honey I\u2019d ever eaten.\u00a0 Both types of honey were rich, unfiltered goodness.\u00a0 And, yet, they couldn\u2019t \u201cbee\u201d more different.<\/p>\n

\"honey<\/p>\n

Since those samples, I\u2019ve begun collecting other examples of this delicious, natural sweetener locally and when I travel \u2013 from organic honey from Mexico\u2019s Yucatan peninsula to lavender flower honey grown in central Utah.\u00a0 This is no grocery store bear-bottle honey; it is delicious liquid gold.<\/p>\n

To learn more about honey, I also picked up a couple of books: Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey<\/a> and The Beekeeper\u2019s Lament.<\/a> Both are great resources on the long history, lives, and keeping of bees, as well as the modern-day honey trade.<\/p>\n

One thing I have not done, is actually eat the honey. I’ve been waiting for a special occasion with a special person: my brother.<\/p>\n

Honey Tasting Notes<\/h3>\n

Ever since I received the box full of honey from him, my brother \u2013 a honey connoisseur since childhood who never has less than 4 kinds of honey in his kitchen \u2013 and I have talked about the varieties he has seen in his time living in Germany. When I told him about the kinds I had run across, we decided we needed to try them out together.<\/p>\n

So, when he came to town this week, we did! First, we talked about flavor, color, texture, process (raw vs. pasteurized, filtered or not, organic or not), and origin (the flowers, bees, and lands). Honey, like wine, can vary when it\u2019s grown in different places, comes from different flowers, and is processed (or not) and can age differently \u2013 crystallizing, for example \u2013 depending on the variety and process.<\/p>\n

Then we cracked open the jars I\u2019d been waiting to taste with him. \u00a0With 6 spoons, 3 open bottles, and 2 glasses of water, we were set.<\/p>\n

We started with the most liquid \u2013 dzidzilche \u2013 and worked our way to the darkest and most solid of the three.<\/p>\n

Here are our notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Honey6\"Dzidzilche Honey (Organic; process unspecified)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Origin: Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula, Mexico<\/p>\n

Primary flower: Dzidzilche, a delicate, white flower unique to the Yucat\u00e1n<\/p>\n

Color: Clear amber<\/p>\n

Consistency: Runny; drizzles easily<\/p>\n

Nose: Very flowery, heady perfume<\/p>\n

Taste: Not overly sweet; hints of tropical fruit<\/p>\n

\"Honey5\"<\/p>\n

Sunflower Honey (raw, unfiltered)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Origin: \u00a0South-Western Germany<\/p>\n

Primary flower: Cultivated sunflowers<\/p>\n

Color: Light, golden; opaque<\/p>\n

Consistency: Creamy and thick; runs slowly; reminiscent of pulled taffy<\/p>\n

Nose: \u00a0Very, very light and sweet smelling<\/p>\n

Taste: Very sweet \u2013 like a jolt to the system; almost candy-like<\/p>\n

\"Honey4\"Wild Mol\u00e9 Honey (Aseda<\/a>\u2019s honey is raw, unfiltered, wild flowers)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Origin: \u00a0Ghana, Africa<\/p>\n

Primary flower: Wildflowers from Mole forest<\/p>\n

Color: Dark brown, almost black<\/p>\n

Consistency: Thick like a paste; clings to spoon and holds shape<\/p>\n

Nose: Rich, leathery<\/p>\n

Taste: Not very sweet; heavy, rich, earthy flavor, unlike any other honey we\u2019ve tried<\/p>\n

Want to Set up Your Own Tasting?<\/h3>\n

Last week, I talked about setting up kitchen experiments<\/a> as a way to refine your palate and get a sense of the variety of flavors that a single food can assume.\u00a0 Honey is definitely one of those foods.<\/p>\n