Magazine subscriptions are a guilty pleasure of mine. Right now I have five different subscriptions, but if I had my way, it would be more like fifteen, maybe twenty. Ten years ago, I had piles of InStyle and Lucky Magazine stored throughout my bedroom, as if one day these magazines might be worth their weight in gold. Now I get my Instyle for free from my mother-in-law and I leaf through it casually, but I crave, and actually pay for, magazines where food is the center of attention.
Don’t judge me, but aside from my foodie magazines, I only subscribe to New Jersey Monthly and Writer’s Digest.
In the July/August issues of Rachel Ray magazine, there was an article titled, “America’s 51 Best Mail-Order Foods”. The article featured an iconic food from each state (plus DC!) that can be shipped anywhere in the country. This was certainly an article up my ally. I may have mentioned it before, but I’m always a sucker for anything new, or anything that someone or someplace specializes in. When Hubby and I went to Buffalo, NY, I had to find sponge candy after learning it was something for which the city is known.
The kinds of items that can be mail-ordered from all over our beautiful country are unbelievable. Foods ranging from Coney Island hot dogs to Louisiana crawfish, from key lime pie on a stick to ice cream sandwiches, sparked the desire for me to try as many mail-order foods possible. This won’t be quite as intense as my Coffeehouse Adventures, but hopefully it will be just as entertaining.
My first mail-order item, creamed honey, comes from Utah and was chosen with reason. Back in February, Hubby and I enjoyed eight-courses of splendor at Degustation in NYC, with churned seashore honey being part of our eighth course. When I read of Utah’s creamed honey and began to investigate, I discovered they are the same thing, except churned seashore honey’s going rate is $30 per jar (ranging from 10 to 12 oz), while an 8 oz jar from Cox Honey of Utah is only $4.25. Naturally, shipping and handling adds about ten dollars, but even then you pay less than base asking price of churned seashore honey.
Our churned seashore honey was served with candied walnuts and cheese. I have yet to try my creamed honey with these items (mostly because I’m afraid I will eat the entire jar upon purchase of said items) but I did first enjoy it as the article suggested: “…on a toasted English muffin to create a gooey, heavenly bite,”.
Yes, gooey, and heavenly it was.
I ordered natural creamed honey, but was so intrigued by the variety of flavors available that I added on a teeny jar of orange creamed honey. The orange is powerful, meaning, you really have to like the flavor of oranges to enjoy it. However, if you are a fan of honey in general, you will love the flavor of natural creamed honey. I can’t endure regular honey on it’s own, but there is a more inviting sweetness to creamed honey than pure honey, making it positively divine.
So far I’ve tried it as a breakfast spread, on graham crackers, and with apples, but I have an inkling that my next grocery store visit might include some walnuts and cheese.
Visit www.coxhoney.com to check out their creamed honey, and as always, I’m only writing about them because I enjoyed their product. They have no idea of my humble existence.
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