Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Honey Honey, How You Thrill Me



I have a confession: I hate honey. Correction: I hated honey. I just never understood it, why people carried on and on about it as a "golden elixir" the way most people obsess about bacon. (omagah bacon...) I've realized though, in the past few years as my palette for tastes has matured, that I've started to discover a lot of new things. As a notoriously picky eater, this evolution has come as a bit of a revelation.

I'm also not talking about strange, exotic foods or flavors that most people don't experience, maybe, ever (like my mom's affection for cow tongue)... No no, I mean normal things that most people consider no-brainers in terms of top-notch yumminess. It started with jalapenos three years ago. Since then, I'm surprised how things I once despised (bell peppers, fish, cream cheese, cucumbers!)—and yes, I did try things, I wasn't that stubborn—that have grown on me more recently in unexpected ways.

Most recently, it's honey. Once considered by me to be overly sweet with a yucky 'blah' texture, everyone in my family experienced my aversion to the stuff. My sister even apologized to me for giving delicate jars of homegrown, local honey as favors for her wedding last summer. Of course, John and I walked away with a jar each, and immediately, I dropped them in the pantry, figuring I'd see them the next time we moved.

But I threw a little shin-dig a few weeks back where I prepared a slap-dash cheese and meat platter for the guests to enjoy. People drizzle things with honey, I remembered, because I see it on Pinterest all the time. Out came the honey (just for show, really), settling in nicely between the Gruyere, sliced pears, and French bread. Then it happened. I tried it, plopping some on my bread and Manchego and pear creation, because why not, right? I'm adventurous. You guys... FIREWORKS!

Most of you are probably thinking "Duh, honey is the most delicious thing in the world!" But for me, this felt hugely significant. I could feel my brain rejiggering to make sense of how something I'd considered so vile and unnecessary was now prompting an obsessive, desperate desire to have ALL THE HONEY EVER.

This life-changing honey is not overly sweet, which may have been what clinched it. Only lightly filtered so it still has texture, and it's got actual taste. Perfect, mind-blowing taste. Now... what else can I put honey on? I feel like a whole new world of foods has opened up to me!

(image via nastasiason)

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