home cheF: the many Flavors oF honey

I’m a bit of a honey collector . To me honey is not one ingredient . It’s an array of flavors as diverse as the blossoms the bees were pollinating . At any time in my pantry there’s orange blossom honey to sweeten a cup of tea, dark and molassesy avocado honey for glazing barbecued ribs, subtle sage honey to balance a gastrique (French for a sweet & sour sauce), and wildflower honey from the various locales I visit, a delicious way to remember their flora . I have lavender honey from Provence, Corsican honey that tastes like the maquis in spring, mountain honey from the Alps that carries the resinous scent of evergreens, and golden honey from a summer trip to the Okanagan Valley .

There’s strong anecdotal evidence that eating honey produced from local wildflowers helps relieve pollen-borne allergies, and raw honey contains vitamins and antioxidants . A spoonful of honey is a natural cough suppressant, and honey doesn’t spike your blood sugar, so use it instead of sugar every chance you get . (But there’s a lot of counterfeit honey on store shelves, so seeking out the real thing is important . For the best local honey head to the Farmers Market, where several stands offer an excellent selection, direct from the producer to you .)

Market Berries in Orange Blossom Honey & Blood Orange Reduction

An elegant and easy dessert Makes eight 4-ounce ramekins

Panna cotta 2 cups cold whole milk 1 packet unflavored gelatin 2 cups heavy cream 3 tablespoons orange blossom honey

Vegetable oil as needed for ramekins if you wish to unmold the panna cotta

berry toPPing 1 quart mixed fresh berries of your choice, rinsed and stemmed . 1/3 cup blood orange juice

Zest from 1 blood orange 2/3 cup orange blossom honey

Pour the cold milk in a bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin . Allow to soften for a few minutes .

Combine the milk/gelatin, honey and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer . Whisk gently for 3 minutes, to finish dissolving the gelatin and disolve the honey .

While you wait for the cream to boil, lightly oil your ramekins with a little vegetable oil . This will help release the panna cotta from the molds for serving .

Ladle the panna cotta into the ramekins . Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight until the panna cotta has set .

Topping: Heat up the honey, zest, and orange juice together in a saucepan, stirring . Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a steady bubble, and stir for five minutes to evaporate some of the juice . Remove from heat . Allow to cool for a few minutes, then pour over the berries and macerate for up to an hour .

To serve, unmold the panna cotta on dessert plates, top with berries, and surround with rendered syrup, or simply top the panna cotta in the mold with the berries and syrup .

Recipe and text by Laurence Hauben info@marketforays.com Southampton by Wood-Mode.

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