The many flavors of honey
24
FOOD + HOME
W W W. F O O D – H O M E . C O M
Trinette Reed
I
’m a bit of a honey collector. To me honey is not one ingredient. It’s an array of flavors as diverse as the blossoms the bees were pollinating. At any time in my pantry there’s orange blossom honey to sweeten a cup of tea, dark and molassesy avocado honey for glazing barbecued ribs, subtle sage honey to balance a gastrique (French for a sweet & sour sauce), and wildflower honey from the various locales I visit, a delicious way to remember their flora. I have lavender honey from Provence, Corsican honey that tastes like the maquis in spring, mountain honey from the Alps that carries the resinous scent of evergreens, and golden honey from a summer trip to the Okanagan Valley. There’s strong anecdotal evidence that eating honey produced from local wildflowers helps relieve pollen-borne allergies, and raw honey contains vitamins and antioxidants. A spoonful of honey is a natural cough suppressant, and honey doesn’t spike your blood sugar, so use it instead of sugar every chance you get. (But there’s a lot of counterfeit honey on store shelves, so seeking out the real thing is important. For the best local honey head to the Farmers Market, where several stands offer an excellent selection, direct from the producer to you.)
