Moroccan thistle honey, the chouk honey. 250 g jar, amber in colour, fruity aroma with a hint of aniseed.
A single-flower honey gathered from thistle blossom, produced in small quantities. On toast, in a warm drink or with cheese. Miel Impérial Selection
Moroccan Thistle Honey - 250g
€12.90
Tax included
Moroccan thistle honey, the chouk honey. 250 g jar, amber in colour, fruity aroma with a hint of aniseed.
A single-flower honey gathered from thistle blossom, produced in small quantities. On toast, in a warm drink or with cheese. Miel Impérial Selection
Miel Impérial Selection
Moroccan Thistle Honey, 250 g jar
Thistle honey, known as chouk honey in Morocco, is a single-flower honey gathered from thistle blossom. Amber in colour, with a clear scent and a fruity aroma carrying a hint of aniseed. We offer it in a 250 g jar, for the table and for cooking.
Miel Impérial Moroccan thistle honey: chouk honey in a 250 g jar
• The thistle is not one plant: the word covers several genera of the daisy family with spiny leaves, all rich in nectar.
• Chouk comes from Arabic and means thorn: that is what this honey is called in Morocco.
• Moroccan thistle honey is a single-flower honey, produced in limited quantities, which explains its relative rarity.
• Its colour is amber, its scent clear, its aroma fruity with a hint of aniseed or liquorice depending on the batch.
• Like any single-flower honey it crystallises over time: that is normal behaviour, not a fault.
250 g jar
single size
Moroccan origin
single-flower honey
Amber colour
aniseed aroma
Crystallisation
natural
What is thistle honey?
The word thistle does not name a single plant. It is a common name covering several genera of the daisy family, recognisable by their spiny leaves and bracts and their coloured flower heads. Those flowers are genuinely rich in nectar: bees find plenty there, and that is where this honey comes from.
Thistles do well on dry, sunny ground around the Mediterranean. In Morocco this honey is called chouk honey, from the Arabic for thorn. It is gathered from short, scattered flowerings, which makes it a small-scale production rather than a high-volume honey.
Colour, aroma, texture: what to expect
Thistle honey comes with an amber colour, deeper or lighter depending on the harvest. On opening, the scent is clear and distinct, without heaviness. In the mouth the aroma is fruity, with a hint of aniseed or liquorice that enthusiasts pick up at once.
The texture is that of a dense honey, which coats the spoon and gradually sets in the jar. A single-flower honey is never identical from one harvest to the next: colour, aromatic intensity and how fast it crystallises all vary with the season and the flowering.
How to enjoy it
On toast
On toasted bread, butter or a fresh cheese. That is where the aniseed aroma comes through best, with nothing to cover it.
In a warm drink
In tea or a herbal infusion, once the drink has fallen below 40 °C so the honey's aromas are not altered.
With cheese
A drizzle over goat's or sheep's cheese, fresh or matured: the sweet and savoury contrast works very well.
In cooking
To glaze roast vegetables, lift a vinaigrette or sweeten a yoghurt. Add it at the end of cooking rather than at the start.
A Moroccan honey of place
Morocco produces very different single-flower honeys depending on the flowering and the region: euphorbia on the slopes of the Atlas, argan in the Souss, thyme, jujube, carob. The thistle belongs to that family of single-flower honeys, gathered in small quantities where the plant grows. It is often associated with the Essaouira area, on the Atlantic coast, within the administrative region of Marrakesh-Safi. We offer it for what it is: a table honey with a pronounced aromatic profile.
In the same range
If you like rare single-flower honeys, the white honey from Kyrgyzstan plays the opposite register, creamy and very pale.
And to stay in Morocco, our argan honey from the Souss is the shop's other Moroccan honey.
Worth knowing
• Honey is a sugary food. It belongs within a varied and balanced diet.
• Do not give honey to children under one year old: that is an official recommendation from health authorities, linked to the risk of infant botulism.
• Do not heat honey above 40 °C: beyond that, the aromas suffer.
• Crystallisation is normal and does not indicate a fault: it depends on the honey's balance of sugars.
• Take it with a clean, dry spoon and close the jar firmly after use.
• This product is a food, not a medicine, and we credit it with no health property.
Storage
Keep the jar tightly closed, in a dry, airy place, away from light and from sources of heat. Honey keeps for a long time, but it dislikes damp and strong smells: avoid the cupboard above the oven and the company of spices. If your jar sets, that is normal, and our article why honey crystallises explains what is happening. To make it runny again, stand the jar in a warm water bath without going above 40 °C. Refer to the date printed on the packaging.
Thistle honey: your questions
What is chouk honey?
It is the Moroccan name for thistle honey. Chouk comes from Arabic and means thorn, after the leaves of the plant.
Which plant is the thistle exactly?
Not one plant. The word groups several genera of the daisy family with spiny leaves, all heavily worked by bees.
What does this honey taste like?
A fruity aroma with a hint of aniseed or liquorice, on an amber base. The scent is clear on opening the jar.
Why has my jar crystallised?
Because it is an untreated single-flower honey. Crystallisation depends on the balance of glucose and fructose: a natural process, with no effect on quality.
How do I make it runny again?
In a warm water bath, without going above 40 °C. Beyond that you lose the aromas that make this honey worth having.
How much is in the jar?
250 g, a single size.
Can a baby have it?
No, not before the age of one. Health authorities advise against honey for infants under twelve months.
Moroccan thistle honey, 250 g jar
Thistle honey · chouk honey · Moroccan origin · 250 g jar · amber colour, aniseed aroma · a Miel Impérial selection.