One of the great things about visiting New Zealand is discovering the many small artisan cheese, olive oil, and wine producers - and then, of course the honey. I spent the last three weeks driving around the North Island, along the way sampling the delicious and diverse range of native honeys available there. If you've never tasted New Zealand honey, it is time to track some down. On this trip I mainly tasted North Island varietals, but look forward to a future trip to the South to get up close and personal with those honeys as well. Some favorites:

Pohutukawa honey comes from a big showy, red-flowered coastal icon known as the New Zealand Christmas tree. A honey light in color, clean and bright in flavor with a kick of saltiness in some cases.

On the other end of the spectrum there is the big, bold, amber-colored Manuka honey. Some are deliciously thick and sandy textured with crystals playing against smoother pools of earthy honey. Manuka honeys are coveted for their exceptional anti-bacterial properties and you can find Manuka labeled with varying degrees of "active" anti-bacterial strength in many shops throughout New Zealand.

Then there are the red, smoky, malty, ginger-kissed Rewarewas, and the delicate, pretty Tawari honey with its buttery essence and aromatic notes of butterscotch and caramel - my favorite.

New Zealand-based honey expert Bill Floyd advocates enjoying honey chilled (the way we drink sweet wines) to avoid swamping our palette receptors. Even better, he recommends chilled honey served on ciabatta bread, with a smidgeon of melted butter calling it "an incredible ménage a trois of crunch and warm butter and chilling sweet intense floral wonderment."

Comments (3) | January 5 - 7:59 AM

category: Interviews/Profiles, Sweeteners