Lovely when we switch to summer time - even if winter's still here.
And it is still here, totally:
At the market today, I learned from one vendor that in the North Caucasus, for example, spring is already so far advanced that their wild garlic/cheremsha season is now over. The stuff that I bought today is from Moldova:
My two posts on cheremsha, weather and geography from 2009 are here and here.
It snowed on April 19 back then.
some of the most amazing honey I ever had was honey iz cheremshy bought from a table on the side of the road in Adygeya. It had a faint sharpness in the background that was delicious with the sweetness of the honey itself.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it was cheremsha? Not cheryomukha?
ReplyDeleteThis, I guess, is a cheryomukha tree in bloom: http://twitpic.com/1kzpkn
Yes, it was cheremsha. When I was offered the honey, I didn't know the word. The beekeeper explained that it was diky chesnok, and sure enough, there was the slightest garlic hint in the honey. It was unexpected but so good. I never saw any in Moscow, though I did ask around the booths from Adygeya and Krasnodar Krai at the next Luzhkov honey fair I went to. Are the yarmarki still happening now that he's fallen from grace?
ReplyDeleteWow, so interesting... I'll ask the honey women at our market, maybe they know. Thanks for telling me!
ReplyDeleteDo try chestnut honey - it's dark, but not thick, and a little bit bitter, hard to eat much of it, but it is delicious. I'm so fond of it also because I'm such a Kyiv person :) - but they don't have it in Ukraine, as far as I know, only here in Moscow.
I've only been to one honey fair - in 2005, when I was pregnant - in Kolomenskoye, not at Manezh. It was good, so good! Would be such a pity if they stop doing them... I'll ask around and will let you know.
I like chestnut honey, but you're right that you can only eat a little at once. My favorite is gorny myod, usually from a mix of wildflowers. If you get the really good stuff that's truly from the mountains in the Caucasus, it's almost spicy and tastes a bit wild. I sound like I'm orientalizing the honey, but I can't think of a better description!
ReplyDeleteI miss Russian honey. I live in New York now, and you can get pretty decent honey from Bashkiria at the Russian shops in Brooklyn, but it's not the same as the zillions of varieties at the fairs at Kolomenskoe and the Manezh.
What about the Honey Day (August 14th) when Orthodox priests dip their crucifix in bowls of honey? And then you find this blessed honey for sale when visiting religious sites. ;0
ReplyDeleteIn French, rather curiously, wild garlic is called "ail des ours" = bear garlic.
Thanks for the spring herbal update, Neeka!
Genia
I feel bad for changing such a lovely sounding subject, but are they cigarette butts on the floor in the first photo?
ReplyDeleteHaha, no, these are seeds from some tree nearby! (I guess.)
ReplyDelete:)