With a honey shortage in many parts of the world sending prices skyrocketing, it has always been good to know that here in Fez you could get some of the world's best honey. Okay - maybe not as good as the Manuka honey from New Zealand, which deserves the accolade "world's best" - but the honey in Fez is pretty damn good. Up until now it hasn't come to the attention of international honey lovers - but that is sadly about to change.
The person responsible for letting the cat out of the bag - or should I say honey out of the hive? - is Alice Feiring, writing in the New York Times. Not content to enjoy the honey at home and in secret - no, she had to write about it. Oh.. Alice...
Heading her article "Fez, Morocco: Wild Honey" Alice goes on give away not only the location but the name of our good friend and secret honey dealer, Nafis. Mind you, we will credit Alice with avoiding all the cliches and guff associated with the usual travel writing - she writes a pretty good column. Here's what she had to say about the golden nectar:
This isn’t just any honey, mind you. This is mythic, rare honey from feral bees, the really wild stuff.
To find this wild honey paradise, enter the medina through Ain Zliten Square. Hang a right onto the Tala Kebira (the main drag leading into the market). Walk about four brisk minutes. Make another right just before Coin Berbère, an antiques store. There, through the arch, will be the sun-bleached courtyard of Fondouk Kaat Smen with three purveyors of honey.
To my taste, the best merchant is baby-faced Nafis Hicham, who sells oil, butter and honey as his family has for three generations. In his blue-and-white Fezian-tiled stall, Mr. Hicham measures out his wares with ancient brass weights. If you don’t speak Arabic, he can accommodate you in French, and will happily escort you to the back of the store, which is packed with blue plastic urns of 17 varieties of honey.
On a recent visit, I tried to persuade him to dole out tastes of his three wild varieties. He showed photos of his wild honey sources in the Atlas Mountains. Forget prissy little domesticated bee boxes. One of the photos depicted a hive that looked like a Cotswold thatched cottage and seemed almost as large.
Mr. Hicham explained that very few people wear protective gear, as many hunters have developed immunity and can withstand 20 or 30 stings while harvesting. He added that wild honey is a miracle cure for just about anything. Carob honey helps digestion. Caper honey is good for colds and flu. He knows about the tamer honeys as well: Lavender? Good for stress. Thyme? Good for low blood pressure. Who knew?
When he finally let me taste, I was crazy about the carob, which was gritty and intensely caramel-like. The cedar was earthy, the caper delicate and floral. Healthful or not, drizzled on plump figs, they were all delicious and at $10 a kilo a real global bargain.
You can find Nafis Hicham at Tala Kebira, Fondouk Kaat Smen 81; (212) 35634-269.
You can find out more about the intrepid Alice Feiring here: Veritas in Vino
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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