Honey, honey everywhere

It is rather unfortunate that we Indians grow up with an abundance of honey in our lives — from youth till our dying breath — and yet we know so little about it. It is an even more unfortunate irony that in spite of all the sweet honey mixed into our daily lives, we continue to be so bitter.

I can’t explain the second one; it is in fact that one reason that keeps me away from my motherland; travelling incessantly as if to avoid the looming unpleasantness. The first one however is a lot simpler to decipher. The sole reason why we never taste or have tasted honey in India because we have never ventured far enough to procure the good stuff.

First of all, let me clarify, just because the biggest “B” in Bollywood swears testimony to its goodness doesn’t make it a good honey. In fact, I wonder if it is honey at all! The only people that honey benefits are the maker and the endorsement hungry celebrity who sold his soul long ago. Other brands in the market are the same evil under a different garb.
That has been the case for most of us all through our lives.

Only recently did someone wake up with his conscience and decided to do something about it. Soon enough, this company called Millé Fiorii (the extra ‘i’ is perhaps only explicable as the Indian numerology oddity) was extracting and collecting honey (as opposed to “making” honey, which the bigger brands do) from sources as diverse as flowers and trees, from areas as remote as (the Himalayan) mountain ranges, thousands of feet above the sea level. Needless to add, such a product can’t be mass produced and even the thought of blending it with jaggery or unrefined sugar would be in bad taste, never mind how such malpractices don’t bother the bigger brands.

So now you have honey from Babul Acacia to Wild Thyme, from Wild Cherry to Horsechestnuts to Eucalyptus and Himalayan Blackberry. Not just the colour and consistency but even the flavour and texture are different. They all have their indigenous curative properties and therapeutic value as immune system strengtheners. I wouldn’t get into extensive tasting notes but I will share my favourite one: The Indian Borage — with its rich aroma set and flavour profile, it was a great honey to have with rich desserts and also nuts.

In fact, I could plan a whole degustation menu with the different honeys — with the lighter Acacia style honeys to go with starters and ending with the richer Honeydew and Indian Jujube variants to go with main course sauces or strong cheese. The wines too then would follow suit: lots of Muscat grape, some aromatic  Grüner Veltliner and definitely some sherry to bring in a contrasted pairing.

The best way to taste honey is to dip some simple bread in it and try it. Always go from the lighter to the darker; you will find that flavour tends to concentrate along a similar line. Like wine, source honeys always have other aromas and sensations: it is normal to find nuts and fruits in a honey; such are the joys of cross pollination.

I realise I haven’t spoken about wine at all this time around. But I have spoken about a product that is as worthy of tasting as wine. Abroad, it is normal to get source honeys but in India we seem to buy brands over provenance. This is wrong and we should stop having honey from commercial brands. Artisan honey is the only true honey. To have a mass-produced honey for health benefits is like fighting for peace — self-cancelling.

Email: s_magandeep@dnaindia.net