Another pantry thing I picked up at Garagiste the other day is a jar of Maquis Honey, something I had never heard of. It's got the consistency of a paste, rather than a viscous liquid. It has crystallized regions of the jar.
It is usually made in Corsica, but this one's from Haute Languedoc (let your browser translate from French for you if you follow that link), near the southern central coast of France. I am reading here and there that its savory flavor and lack of the usual sweetness is the result of herb-ridden and scrub-brushy terrain where the bees forage. It's said to taste like lavender, myrtle and whatnot.
A taste test was proposed, pitting this lovely honey against my beloved maple cream — spreadable maple sugar!
What happened was surprise: On a nice Macrina ficelle toast, this pasty honey made the maple cream seem too sweet and simple in comparison.
I can see having the Maquis honey with cheeses. In fact, one of my favorite recent-ish dining-out dishes was a really amazing cheese and honey pairing at Hitchcock.
The maple cream is still up there in my pantheon of foods, though.
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