I've never thought twice about grabbing "regular" honey off the shelf until I got a flu bug this week. Having left my Tesco-bought honey at work, I had no choice but to dig into the gorgeous bottle of John Mellis Scottish Blossom Honey that Adeline brought over the last time she came to stay. It felt like a waste to use it, but I was desperate and didn't want to leave the house in my pajamas (which I've been living in for the past few days).
Stirring a generous dollop into my Twinings Chamomile, Honey & Vanilla tea, I was surprised at how refined and smooth the honey tasted, compared to the kind I usually buy. It was sweet, without being saccharine and irritating my throat, which Rowse can sometimes do. There's also an indescribable, "natural" taste to expensive honey, that lesser quality honeys don't seem to have.
Fortnum & Mason recently auctioned off a few of their famous "rooftop bee"-produced jars of honey, complete with honeycomb.
Even though I don't use honey that often, I think it might be one of those things I splurge on a little bit more in the future (maybe not enough to place a bid at a future F&M honey auction, though). The difference in taste is worth it!
I never used to like honey and then Peter introduced me to Manuka honey. so pricey but so worth it!
ReplyDeleteI just finished a tiny tub of ironwood honey this morning--it was from a specialty store in Savannah, where I visited briefly in March. The sample-sized jars were the only ones I could legally carry on the plane. I don't use that much honey, so a small container is okay...while the enormous bottle of Trader Joe's brand is languishing in my cupboard, because there's something kind of sharp about its taste that I don't much care for.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you both have a penchant for "finer" honey as well!
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