Ecol All-Flower Honey 500g Apiary

This flower honey comes from Le Rucher de l'École, a bee farm set up in a former village school in Saint-Léger-de-Fougeret, in the Nièvre, inside the Morvan Regional Natural Park. Virginie and William Gay have kept bees there for two generations; William moves the hives to follow each nectar flow. The label states it is honey from France, sold here in a 500 g glass jar.

What sets it apart from a supermarket honey is the processing: it is not pasteurised. It is extracted by centrifuge at hive temperature, around 34 °C, and crystallises naturally. In the jar we photographed it has turned a bright yellow, opaque and almost creamy, so it spreads without running. To make it liquid again, stand the open jar in a lukewarm water bath, without going above hive temperature.

Serve it at breakfast on buttered bread or stirred into yoghurt. In the kitchen, it sweetens a vinaigrette or glazes a duck breast or pork ribs at the end of cooking. In baking, it replaces part of the sugar in gingerbread, madeleines or nougat and keeps the crumb soft. Store the jar at room temperature, away from damp. You will also find it on the shelves of our shop, 58 rue Tiquetonne, Paris.