Exploring the Magic of Honey Paired with Cheese

“The rule of thumb is, at least in the cheese world, and according to me,” says Ivy Ronquillo, owner of Second Mouse Cheese in Pleasantville, New York, “is that honey is the one universal condiment. It works with everything. And every cheese works with honey.” Ronquillo’s referring to that most magical pairing: cheese and honey. She attributes it to cheese’s natural tanginess and saltiness which balances “very, very well” with honey’s sweetness and unctuousness. “Texturally speaking, and in terms of just sheer senses, honey is always going to work,” she says.

History of Cheese & Honey

The practice of eating cheese and honey together can be traced back to early Roman times and the days of the epicure Marcus Apicus. His cookbooks included recipes for drizzling honey over cottage cheese and coriander sprigs and a cheesecake, called Libum, which was soaked in honey after it was baked.

Honey could be considered one of the first condiments since people ate whatever was produced of the earth,” says honey sommelier C. Marina Marchese and author of The Honey Connoisseur, commenting on the historical and longstanding precedent for coupling these two delectable foodstuffs.

Marchese compares the sensuousness of honey to “hugging a cashmere blanket. Then you have cheese with its creamy, salty mouthfeel and textures. You're pairing it with this kind of sweet and sometimes savory, even salty, honey. There's a lot of different sensory profiles, levels of experiencing them together, that make it just perfect.”

How to Pair Honey & Cheese

When pairing cheese with honey, the women note there are no hard and fast rules. Ronquillo cautions that “just like artisanal cheeses, honey is going to vary from batch to batch to batch to batch.” Much boils down to personal preference and one's palate.

“There are some excellent pairings, but I don't think you could make a mistake,” comments Marchese. “It's subjective, whatever you like.” She often just puts together cheese she likes with kinds of honeys she enjoys.

Complement or Contrast?

To start, Marchese recommends experimenting with a favorite honey or cheese. “You can pair a honey and a cheese that are very similar, or you can do contrasting as far as flavors and colors and textures,” she offers. She suggests a honeycomb with very smooth triple creme or smooth liquid honey with a cheese that's more textured or crumbly like blue cheese or Parmigiano. “I love a piece of fresh honeycomb with ricotta cheese and pignoli nuts,” she enthuses.

“Strong flavors go with strong flavors, mild go with mild,” says Ronquillo and Karen Mosholder, owner of Bumbleberry Farms, a honey producer and sourcer.

For example, Mosholder says she’d want to make sure that an avocado blossom honey, which has a very strong molasses flavor, was paired with a cheese that could stand up to it, so they complement rather than overpower one another.

However, sometimes, chimes in Marchese, if you’re tasting a flight of cheese and honey, starting from lighter to darker flavors, you might discover you like a very light honey with a very strong cheese. “You’ll figure it out the best way you can, it's not always going to be perfect,” she says. Presentation matters, she says, suggesting putting the honey in a white cup to see the light or to display the various colors, as well as including ones that are fruity, floral, or woodsy, so tasters can experience a range of flavors.

Honey, which is simply fermented nectar, Mosholder adds, takes on the characteristics of the flower blossom from which it comes. “Creamy cheeses like Brie or Camembert pair well with lighter honeys like citrusy sweet orange blossom or mild raspberry blossom.”

Regionality of Honey & Cheese

An often-used strategy is pairing cheese and honey produced in the same region. Marchese cites the phrase, “If it grows together, it goes together” and says a traditional food pairing is not necessary. “It works because you have the authentic flavors of what it’s supposed to be, and it is fresh and handmade,” she says.

Ronquillo agrees. “The livestock are grazing on the exact foliage that the bees are. That foliage is coming from the same bedrock. It's got similar air qualities, all of these things that create the nuances in cheeses are also creating nuances in honey.” One of her favorite combinations is a Catskill (upstate New York) honey with a goat cheese that’s been crafted nearby.

“I think people don't realize just how in-depth that connection might be between the products until they sample them and realize oh, wow, that is magical,” comments Ronquillo. She adds that seasonal differences in cheese and honey, which might not be noticeable without a taste test, also can affect pairings.

“When in doubt, go by region,” she says. “Where do you recognize these flavors from? You might find that there's a really good match that way.” With orange blossom honey, “chances are that's going to go really well with sheep's milk cheeses. Orange Blossom tends to be kind of a Middle Eastern, Northern African flavor. And sheep's milk cheeses are prevalent there.”

A Few Recommended Varietal Pairings

“Also, there are varietals of honey that work particularly well with certain cheeses,” says Ronquillo. Chestnut honey has a very distinctive flavor profile and needs a cheese that can hold its own against its bitterness. She matches French chestnut honey with a Roquefort or an Italian one such as gorgonzola.

She also recommends trying washed rind cheeses with honey, which is she says, how renowned cheese expert Max McCalman taught her to appreciate that type of cheese. She calls putting together funky, washed rind cheeses with spicy, heavily nuanced honeys “a mind-blowing experience.”

Clearly, there's plenty of room for experimentation.

“If you like it, then it's delicious,” declares Marchese. “Everyone has their approach. There's no right and wrong. The end is to enjoy the food that you're eating. No regrets. Enjoy!”