Last week when I was at Whole Foods buying groceries as fast as I could (literally right on the cusp of our swine flu bout), I spied little jars of Corsican Honey by the cheese counter. Gorgeous little jars with flowers on the top, a little map of Corsica with a bee on the front of the bottle, and a sticker with the expiration date on the side (at least I think it is the expiration date ... my French is a little rusty...). Anyway, the stuff cost an arm and a leg (12 bucks to be precise), and in my moment of weakness (quite literally, as it turns out, being I was coming down with the flu and all), I bought it. And the thought of my little jar of honey had been making me feel better every time I thought about it.So when tea time rolled around this afternoon (that would be Emilia's nap time, to be precise), I realized that, still not having much of an appetite, I hadn't actually eaten anything yet today. I made two pieces of toast, buttered them up nicely with my salty Irish butter, and slathered a bit of Corsican honey on top. I then went and sat on the couch, with tea, toast, and Lynne Truss's book. And what can I say? After one bite — that's all it takes — your mouth is filled with the pungent aromas of cow manure. It's true. My lovely Corsican honey tastes exactly like cow manure smells. Who's ever even heard of such a thing?
I was so scandalized I called my sister. And she thinks something must be wrong with the bottle, because she can't imagine the French eating honey that tastes like that. As for me, I'm just trying to purge the taste from my mouth and telling myself it tastes pastoral — not cow manure-y at all. I'm also trying to figure out what to do with a whole blasted jar of the fancy stuff.
I am no expert and have just returned from holiday having stopped at a Corsican honey farm. I was amazed by the different tastes of honey- I had always thought 'honey is honey'. We were told honey will not go off. As all honeys have a different taste and the one pictured here is probably made with the nectar of chestnut blossom is a very strong flavour and the one we were given to try had a very strong smoky taste. Love it or hate it. The other advise given by our fantastic host who was so enthusiastic about his subject he managed to enthuse his audience, advised never throw away honey. Leave small amounts on a plate in the garden and the bees will clean the plate as it is after all their own food. (I have not tried this but it made sense) Try again in smaller amounts when your taste buds have recovered from the virus you have. Get better soon.
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