Thistle honey - made in Italy
Origin: Sardinia and Sicily
Harvest period: may - July
Consistency: Very fine crystals, resulting in a creamy and firm consistency, render Thistle Honey pleasant in the mouth.
Colour: Thistle Honey shows an amber colour with green shades, slightly lighter and orange when crystallized.
Taste: Reminding a florist’s atelier, Thistle Honey releases a floral and slightly sweet sensation. It is an imperceptibly bitter delicacy, slightly astringent, with a persistent plant note.
Flavour: Characterized by an intense and slightly pungent aroma, Thistle Honey releases a soft floral fragrance, with a note of cut stem or recently faded bouquet. The aftertaste recalls a scent defined as “animal” by the expert honey assessors.
produced by: Le Querce snc, reg. Vigna Granda, 2 - 10010 Azeglio (TO) - Italy
Because of its persistent plant note and pungent aroma, Thistle Honey perfectly matches with legume soups, combined with vegetables and spicy meat dishes. It matches with sweet-and-sour dishes enriched with mustard as well.
The several species belonging to the Carduus genus are all related to the well-known artichoke. They are herbaceous plants, presenting a bitter taste and a firm structure. Since ancient times, thistle witnesses the history of humankind: from Egypt to Plinio’s “Natural History”, it is considered as a refined food, suitable for cheese curdling and game dishes. It is one of the recurrent vegetables served with Piedmont “bagna cauda”. Thistle can be used fresh or whitened.