One of my first creations, and still one of my favourites: creamy, fudgy, lightly spiced and with a tiny hint of fresh ginger, I think this goes best on hot toast in the morning, although the possibilities are endless! This set honey is one of three honey variations I’ve been working on recently, all of which were inspired by a 12th century recipe from Aquitaine.
At the moment, I’m experimenting with various types of honey, in search of the perfect rate and size of granulation and colour. So far, English Wildflower has proved too grainy and French Acacia too slow: the winner seems to be English Rapeseed Honey (Brassica Napus), which sets to a beautiful white. Fortunately, the medievals were keen on Rapeseed too, making use of it as a ‘break’ crop between rotations and to keep the weeds down.
This set honey is carefully warmed to 35 °C (any higher, and you run the risk of killing the beneficial enzymes, and burning off the volatile compounds that give honey its unique floral aromas), before adding a blend of six different spices (including those medieval favourites cinnamon, galangal and long pepper), along with a sprinkling of ginger. The mixture is then filtered and left to cool in a temperature controlled environment, where it crystallises to a fine, smooth, creamy texture.
eatmedieval 