If you’ve watched Stanley Tucci’s show called Searching for Italy, you might remember that one chapter of his Sardinia episode was entitled Bitter Honey. Why? Because he discovered an artisan honey there, produced from nectar of the strawberry tree, called bitter honey.
It’s called corbozzelo honey, Miele Amaro di Corbezzolo Sardo. So I bought some from Gustiamo.com. Amazon sells it as well, below right.
From Gustiamo.com: “This honey is bitter. Luigi Manias’s raw corbezzolo honey will change everything you thought you knew about honey. While it hits the palate with a deceptive sweetness, corbezzolo soon reveals its pungent secret: this honey is bitter. On the rocky wind-swept hills of Sardinia, corbezzolo honey is made from the Arbutus Unedo, which in English is often called the strawberry tree, because it produces a fruit similar to strawberries. It blooms for only three months of the year, and produces about half as much nectar as other flowers, so corbezzolo honey is considered very rare and precious.”
I’ve had the jar for months, but hadn’t taken the time to research how to eat the honey until now, and I found a perfect source online.
So this isn’t a recipe post, but me trying out bitter honey. I tried it first with fresh mozzarella and sliced figs on bread.
Gustiamo also recommends the honey with ricotta, and also “squash dishes like butternut squash caponata.”
So, this honey is really interesting. It didn’t exactly “wow” me. Why? Because it’s bitter!! They’re not kidding!
I also tried the honey with a slice of Gruyere, and it wasn’t as good of a pairing as the mozzarella. I’m definitely going to try squash next.