Chestnut honey

Chestnut Honey from France – robust, spicy, dark

The chestnut honey (Miel de Châtaignier) from Beauharnais Carlant is a dark, robustly spicy varietal honey from the chestnut forests of France, primarily from the Pyrenees. With a slightly bitter note and intense aroma. Creamy to liquid, not pasteurized.

Chestnut Honey (Miel de Châtaignier) from Beauharnais Carlant is a dark varietal honey, obtained from the nectar and honeydew of sweet chestnuts – a majestic tree that grows up to 35 m high and opens its white catkins in June and July, especially in the lush chestnut forests of the French Pyrenees. 250 g in a jar, not pasteurized.

A honey like a walk through an old chestnut forest in midsummer. Anyone who spoons it onto their breakfast bread will immediately taste that this is not a mild blossom honey in the jar, but a characterful honey with depth and edge.

Rich brown, spicy, slightly bitter

The chestnut honey presents itself in a rich dark brown in the jar, with a consistency between creamy and liquid – both are signs of its untreated purity and, depending on storage, in motion.

The scent opens with a tart spice, robust, malty, with a fine sharpness and a hint of tannin. On the palate, it is robust, spicy, floral – with a rather dry sweetness, a pronounced bitter note, and a long, almost woody finish. A honey for adult taste buds, which embellishes nothing and is precisely for that reason so popular.

With blue cheese, in black tea, on warm bread

We are captivated by the chestnut honey because its powerful depth makes it a perfect partner for intense flavors – whether with cheese, in tea, or in warm cuisine.

We love it on a piece of ripe Roquefort or Stilton, with a slice of walnut bread and a glass of port wine – a classic trio that evokes long winter evenings. In tea, it goes particularly well in a strong Assam or Lapsang Souchong, whose smoky notes absorb the honey's spice. Also try it as a spread with some salted butter; the contrast of sweet-bitter-salty is a small taste surprise.

Our tip from the kitchen: 1 teaspoon in a marinade for a venison stew made from deer or wild boar, along with red wine, juniper berries, bay leaf, and peppercorns – the chestnut honey gives the braised dish a warm, dark sweetness that combines wonderfully with the game flavor. Braise in the oven for 4 hours at 150 degrees, then it's so tender that the meat falls off the bone.

From the chestnut forests of France, selected by Carlant in Strasbourg

Sweet chestnuts are majestic trees that can live for hundreds of years – in the French Pyrenees, there are still old forests where the trees stand with sprawling crowns and deeply furrowed bark. When they bloom in June and July, long white catkins appear, producing so much nectar and pollen that bees fly for miles from the surrounding valleys.

Behind Beauharnais is the delicatessen house Carlant from Strasbourg, founded about 25 years ago in the Rue de Wasselonne. Beauharnais is not a beekeeper itself – as Carlant emphasizes, the house carefully selects the honeys from the harvesting regions of its varietal partners and fills them into 250g jars in its own manufactory.

The chestnut honey comes directly from the beekeepers in the Pyrenees and remains untreated – meaning not heated, not filtered, but just as it comes from the hive. All due respect.

Enjoyment tip

At room temperature of 12 to 18 degrees, spoon-soft, stored in a dark and cool place – this way the chestnut honey remains aromatic for a long time. If it crystallizes later, this is a sign of quality: place the closed jar in warm water at around 40 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes, stir briefly, then it will become liquid again. Try it alongside the aromatic Lavender Honey PGI or the herbaceous Provence Flower Honey from the same house – three small spoons side by side, and you have a small French tasting at your kitchen table.