Pure Sweetness

Oh, honey, the most natural sweetener. Liquid gold. Sweet divinity. Last night my tasting club explored the world of honey. And ... well ... it must be said that not all honeys are alike. In fact, I think most of us were surprised with just how different things that are all called honey could smell and taste!

First props to HW the mighty hostess. She maid this scrumptious peach, cheese honey tart. And while I am normally not a fan of peaches -- this was a truly delicious way to kick off the event.

The first honey was the Archer Farms Orange Blossom honey. This mild buttery honey had a bright citrusy burst at the end. It was very smooth and reminded me the most of the honey you enjoyed growing up as a kid. Of course, it was found at Target.

Our second honey - Mountain Honey Manuka (from New Zealand) looked like a yummy gooey caramel. It was thick and gooey and had a sweet floral aroma. The taste ... well, for black licorice fans, this is yours! However, the strong taste of anise did not do me well at all. And apparently, it is a popular choice of honey for medicinal use. The one plus was that it was organic -- but again, not something I think I would eat again. However, some of the tasters who like black licorice truly enjoyed this treat. If your interested, check out Mountain Honey.

Our third honey was the most extravagant of all the honeys. What was presented to us appeared to be a spoonful of molasses. It was very dark and smelled almost earthy to me. The taste - a mix between malt and molasses. I have to be honest, even though it was from a local farm ... I don't know if I'd ever go out of my way for the flavor of buckwheat honey again. My sis was the one who had to find this treat ... and she did traipse all over before she finally found it at a small local co-op. Fortunately the Ames Farm has more than 14 other honeys that I am sure are fabulous! (and when googling for the image of the buckwheat honey, I found a site that raved about it, so maybe it's too refined for my tastes!)

The fourth honey was truly a treat, from a farm just outside of my hometown by the name of Pelucidor Farms. It was sweet and mellow, and the kind of honey you know you'll make a mess all over because it's so liquidy. It was absolutely yummy. And you know it was made just for us, because our friend got a large quantity and poured some into a mason jar.

The next honey was perhaps the groups favorite ... from Williams-Sonoma, it was a French lavender honey. The light gold sweetness melted in your mouth. While just a subtle sweet aroma lingered, it was something you could just slowly savor and not worry about any cares. It was what honey was meant to taste like. Alas, I couldn't find an image of this honey online, but if you have a WS by you and you love honey, you'll definitely want to check this one out. It's in a lovely glass jar with a lavender label.

Our next two honeys were both Kiawe honeys from Hawaii. They were from Molokai Meli. The one was the Kiawe Gourmet and the other was the Premium silky. Both were delightful, more savory than sweet -- which was a great change from some of the over sweetness of the 5 others. Very much like a buttery tea - and they just popped in your mouth. Either one would be good to eat again and again!

The final honey was again from our friends at WS. And what we had anticipated being everyone's favorite. In fact, it had been heard that once you tried this one, you would never get another kind of honey again. The magic gold ... Tupelo. Now, I agree, it was good, but it actually smelled like urine to me ... and I was the only one who it had this effect on. So, it was hard for me to get past this issue. Many people enjoyed it though, but we had others that were much more delightful.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening, but I definitely left on a sugar high with a slight stomach ache. I do have a greater appreciation for the little honey bee and all their hard work. Honey is a precious gift and we should all do what we can to make sure it is a gift not lost to us.