Clover Honey From the High Plains

Now mind you, my biased mental image of clover itself is either the little weedy green things we see in people's front yards around here in the Midwest, or, with all my interest in Ireland, some sense of shamrocks and all that. This clover is a whole 'nother thing.

I've not yet seen it in person (though I'm ready to go), but Amina says it's from "huge stands of tall branching sweet clover that grow in abundance in the area. In fields and along stream beds, these yellow and white blossoms decorate the ends of three foot tall leafy stems!" This a serious "man's clover" (that's a joke--figured since I was addressing biases...) No wimpy little weeds out West.

Anyways, as brawny as the clover is, the honey that comes from the nectar that the bees gather is exceptionally delicate. It's very light in color and texture--clear and free flowing and exceptionally interesting to eat. It was chosen as the BEST Clover Honey available in the United States, by Food & Wine in August 2008. As you already know, Amina's pretty high on it. "Simply put," she said, "there is no other clover honey like this one. It can't even be compared to the honey produced by the familiar clover growing along most roadsides."

I won't yet say it's my favorite but I will say it's pretty great, and it completely blew my bias out the water. I'll never carry on negatively about clover honey again. Like most things in life, there are clearly some not very flavorful clover honeys and also a few--like this--really amazing ones. This stuff, to state the now obvious, is pretty special. It's a clear honey, and it'll pour from the jar with ease.

The flavor is light... summery, slightly butterscotch-y. Very definitely cinnamon-y in a very nice and very noticeable way. If it was a wine, not a honey, I'd tell you it was "honeyed" which is making me think it's almost like a light Sauterne or a Trockenbeerenauslese if you're into dessert wines. The finish is light but long, and... the flavor makes me take a mental step of appreciation back every time I re-taste it.

You can do anything you want with a honey like this. Personally, I've really just been mostly eating it as is, straight out of the jar. For me, a spoonful or two on its own make a really great dessert. The flavor lingers, and because it's so delicate I think it's ideally suited to the newly-arrived warm weather.

It's not at all heavy and won't weigh you down like some of the darker, denser honeys. Erica, merchandising manager at the Deli for many years, says, "It's really good on top of a fresh City Goat [cheese] on a green salad." And, bearing out my earlier point about biases, she added. "For a clover honey, it's pretty impressive. It's something people are used to being sort of blandish and middle of the road. This is way better."

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