Move Over Pineapples, Pizza Has A New Hot Debate
Move over pineapples, pizza has a new hot debate on what goes on it, and it’s actually hot.
I am talking about hot honey. Yes, you read that correctly. Hot honey on pizza. If your nose scrunched up, your mouth frowned, and you pulled your head back, you are not alone. I did the same thing when my brother suggested it to me. Let me tell you the whole story.
I am originally from Massachusetts and went back to see my family this summer. My brother, knowing how Cold Creek Nurseries Market has quite a few delicious specialty items, asked me if we carried hot honey and if so, to bring it up with me. My brother is one of the fussiest eaters I have ever met. He was the kid eating a frozen pizza at Thanksgiving while my entire extended family enjoyed antipasto (Sicilian charcuterie), prime rib, eggplant parm, ham, and turkey amongst a myriad of side dishes that would make Gordon Ramsay proud. I had no idea what he wanted this hot honey for, but I purchased the Augusta Honey Company Hot Pepper Honey, wrapped it carefully in my luggage, and brought it on vacation.
Our second night at my parents' house was pizza night. My dad has a pizza oven he built and is his pride and joy. He built a house for it to protect it from the elements and throws pizza parties year-round for friends and family. I have to admit, the pizza is absolutely delicious—he does a fantastic job. The first pizza he cooked was a classic—pepperoni. We all excitedly made our plates and waited anxiously for it to cool just enough that we would not burn the tops of our mouths, and my brother turned to me and asked where I put the hot honey. I asked how he could be thinking about honey when we were about to dive into some pizza Ninja Turtle style.
This is where it gets weird.
He puts hot honey on pizza.
Sweet, delicious honey made by South Carolina midland bees infused with hot cayenne peppers and achiote seeds for a kick of heat was about to adorn the top of a stone-fired pepperoni pizza in my parent’s backyard. To top off the insanity, it was going to be eaten by my “only eats corn for a vegetable” pickiest of picky eaters brother.
I thought he was joking.
He was, in fact, not joking.
As I watched him liberally drizzle hot honey on his pepperoni pizza, my nose scrunched, my mouth frowned, and I pulled my head back. Being the little brother that he is, he teased me in front of my kids about being too much of a wimp to try it. Never to be outdone by my brother, I put the thinnest drizzle of hot honey on my pizza I could, cursed my brother internally as I brought it to my mouth, and ate pepperoni pizza with hot honey.
And I was completely blown away.
Magic. That is the only way to describe how the burst of flavors that in all rational thought would never work together somehow created the most delicious flavor palette I have had in a very long time. The bold, savory, salty taste of the pizza mixed with the sweet, rich taste of honey with the added heat of the cayenne peppers coming through at the end created a magical symphony of flavors that worked together to create something beautiful.
The only part that I did not enjoy was having to tell my little brother that he was right.
The next time you have a pizza night and want to take it to the next level, add some hot honey. You will not be disappointed.
