Gourmet Honey

The flavor of a honey is dependent on the type of blossoms the bees used to collect their nectar. Supermarket honey is most often made from clover, buckwheat or orange blossoms, all of which make a fine ordinary honey. Gourmet honeys, however, are more likely to come from sunflowers, acacia, linden or black sage. These are only a few examples of the more than 300 unique flavors available in the US alone. Each honey has its own characteristics in terms of color, flavor, fragrance, texture and granulation.

Honey is a pure organic food with no preservatives, but it can be stored indefinitely. Keep it tightly covered, preferably in a glass jar. Store it away from direct sunlight and excessive heat. If honey crystallizes, you can melt it back to its liquid form by heating it gently in a microwave.

Using a flavorful honey instead of sugar will add a subtle enhancement to your favorite recipes. Honey carries more sweetness, so use half or even a third of the amount of sugar called for. Honey also contains moisture, so reduce the liquid in your recipe slightly, by about one-fifth. If you’re using honey in baked goods, lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees to prevent scorching. It’s a good idea to use honey for baked goods that you want to mail to someone or make ahead for an occasion, since honey keeps baked products fresher for a longer period of time than sugar.

At Gourmet Pantry, we have some excellent imported honeys. Try them all, and discover the delicious differences among them. You may never go back to supermarket honey!

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