Ingredients
The Best Honey for Moroccan Sweets
Honey is everywhere in Moroccan sweets — chebakia and briouat are drenched in it, pastries glazed with it, and it is spooned over pancakes at breakfast. The right honey matters: for soaking sweets you want a runny, pourable, floral honey, and Morocco produces some remarkable varieties worth seeking out.
At a glance
- Use runny, floral honey for soaking sweets like chebakia and glazing pastries
- Warm honey gently before dipping so crisp pastry drinks it up
- Morocco's prized honeys include orange blossom, thyme, carob and jujube
- Euphorbia honey is the famous, pricey, bitter one — for eating or medicine, not sweets
Guide
For honey-dipped sweets like chebakia — the sesame flower-knots fried and plunged into honey at Ramadan — and for glazing briouat and pastries, choose a runny, liquid honey that flows and soaks in easily. Thick, set or crystallised honey has to be gently warmed to pour, but even then a naturally fluid, floral honey coats better and tastes lighter. Warm the honey gently before dipping so it thins and the crisp pastry drinks it up.
Morocco has a rich honey culture and several celebrated single-flower honeys. Orange-blossom honey is fragrant and delicate, lovely with pastries and pancakes. Thyme (za'atar) honey is aromatic and herbal. Carob, jujube and lavender honeys each have their followers. The most famous — and expensive — is euphorbia honey (miel d'euphorbe, or daghmous), which has a distinctive, almost peppery bitterness and a burning aftertaste that Moroccans prize and often take medicinally rather than in sweets.
For cooking and drenching sweets, a good all-purpose floral or orange-blossom honey is ideal and won't overpower. Save the rare, strong, costly honeys like euphorbia for eating on their own, drizzling over bread or amlou, or their traditional medicinal use. Buy from a trusted source, as honey is commonly adulterated with syrup; real honey crystallises over time, has depth of flavour, and is worth paying for.
Practical tips
- 1
Warm honey to a thin, pourable state before dipping fried sweets so they soak fully.
- 2
For everyday sweets, an orange-blossom or mixed-flower honey won't overpower the pastry.
- 3
Reserve strong, costly euphorbia honey for drizzling or its traditional medicinal use.
- 4
Real honey crystallises over time; permanently syrupy 'honey' may be adulterated.
- 5
Buy from cooperatives or trusted stalls — honey is a commonly faked product.
Frequently asked questions
What honey is best for chebakia?
A runny, floral honey warmed until thin and pourable, so the fried sesame knots soak it up. Orange-blossom or a good mixed-flower honey works beautifully without overpowering.
What is Moroccan euphorbia honey?
Miel d'euphorbe (daghmous) is a rare, expensive Moroccan honey with a distinctive peppery bitterness and burning aftertaste. It is prized and often used medicinally rather than in sweets.
Why warm honey before dipping sweets?
Warming thins the honey so it flows and penetrates the crisp, porous pastry while it is fresh from frying, giving the glossy, saturated, sticky finish of dishes like chebakia.
Try the recipes
Put the tip into practice with these free step-by-step recipes: