A week ago I went to one of those warehouse gourmet sales. Maybe you’ve seen them mentioned on sites like Chow - a wholesaler opens their doors for just one day so that normal folks can buy hard to find foods at near wholesale prices. I went to Gourmet Imports in Alhambra with the full intention of stocking up on nougat, honey and Valrhona.
This is what I came away with: just this little 8.8 ounce jar of Mas des Abeilles Boules de Miel which are candy drops made from French lavender honey. (It was a madhouse with far too many people and much of the chocolate/candy they had was hopelessly past its expiration.)
I didn’t even know how much it was until after we’d checked out. This little not-even-glass jar was nine dollars.
They’d better be good.
They’re rather large artisan styled spheres about 3/4 of an inch around. They felt a little light for their size.
It turns out that they’re pretty good - good enough that I’ve eaten them all.
They’re a firm honey center with a rough hard candy shell. I could easily crunch through the shell to get to the center - which was thick & chewy but completely smooth like honey. The flavor was a deep honey, buttery and malty. I didn’t catch any lavender essence to it, but it was still a good floral honey.
It has a throat coating & soothing feeling to it. There’s no weird aftertaste ... no real flavor. Just some honey in a less sticky format.
They’re the perfect thing to eat when your throat is aching from the burning of 125,000 acres of brush within 15 miles of your house.
(For the record, the other things I purchased there included French lentils, tomato paste in tubes, a gallon of really good olive oil and my prize was a big frozen tub of pureed Yuzu.)
Related Candies
- Little Flower Candy Co
- Caffarel Figs & Chestnuts (Fico & Castagna)
- Melville Candy Company Honey Spoons
- Toblerone Single Peaks
- The Apothecary’s Garden: Herbs (and some Bees)
Name: |
Boules de Miel (balls of honey) |
RATING:
- SUPERB
- YUMMY
- TASTY
- WORTH IT
- TEMPTING
- PLEASANT
- BENIGN
- UNAPPEALING
- APPALLING
- INEDIBLE
|
Brand: |
Mas des Abeilles (Provence, France) |
Place Purchased: |
Nicole's Gourmet Imports (Alhambra) |
Price: |
$9.00 |
Size: |
8.8 ounces |
Calories per ounce: |
unknown |
Categories: |
Hard Candy, France, All Natural |
I hope you’re alright… I know they’ve been evacuating a bunch of houses because of the fires.
Take care.
Oh my gosh, those sound so ridiculously good, I have never seen anything like that in Vermont.
There is concern about climate change moving the maple sugaring zone north into Canada—perhaps there will be a beekeeping revival in Vermont and it will become known for honey and not just maple syrup!?
Oh! Pureed yuzu??! *rolls over*
Why don’t you try hachimitu (honey) 100%ame made by Senjaku from Japan ?
I think you will like it.
I Like
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