Honey, You're Not Too Sweet

It's a funny thing about honey. Its rich sweetness is almost visible, as it lazily drizzles, glistening, off of the spoon. Sometimes, it can taste almost too sweet. At least, that's how I have always felt about honey. As I have discovered, honey is not honey is not honey.

Even the little, plastic, squeezable honey-bear bottle is taking honey to a whole new level. In days gone by, that little honey bear served up one -- and only one -- kind of honey: sweet clover. Bringing to mind fields of fragrant purple or white clover blossoms, that sweet clover nomenclature for honey has always been idyllic. Can't you just picture a lazy afternoon in late summer, bees buzzing contentedly, far too busy with the fragrant clover to even consider zooming in for a friendly sting of any nearby humans?

Yet, the ultra-sweetness of clover honey has sometimes been a bit too much for me. Although a great fan of the Pooh Bear, I have not yet taken to eating honey straight out of the honey pot! Clover honey's sweetness sometimes seems to go overboard and masks the flavor of other, less-aggressive foods with which it is combined.

Today, that is not a problem. Even the little, squeezable honey-bear bottles now contain choices of honeys. Sage, lavender, eucalyptus and more -- the choice is simply amazing. My current honey of choice is sage. I can taste the pungent, earthy flavor of the sage on which those honey bees feasted. Within the honey itself, there is a lovely counterpoint component. Sweet honey sugar, lively sage directness.

As the holiday celebrations end, and I begin my recovery from the over-sugared territory of dread -- well no, actually I greatly enjoy sweet treats, but must maintain a bit of sanity in the process -- it is very pleasing to finish a meal with a somewhat-sweet, refreshing dessert. Plain yogurt, however rich or nonfat suits me at the time, becomes a lovely, satisfying dessert when topped with a small amount of sage honey. As a breakfast treat, it is equally tempting.

I discovered my sage honey at my local Whole Foods Market. As you can see from the photo above, the honey selection is awe-inspiring. Any day now, I expect to see the Pooh Bear there!