Whether drizzled over pizza, stirred into a cocktail, or brushed onto chicken—hot honey is currently stealing the spotlight in kitchens and bars alike.
Hot honey lives up to its name: It's a delicious blend of sweet honey notes and hot chili. The preparation process can vary—depending on whether you use whole chilies, chili powder or chili flakes and whether you pickle or heat up the ingredients together. Despite these different methods, hot honey can basically be made by using just two ingredients. It is surprisingly well-balanced: It spices up dishes and enriches them without being too dominant. It's this balance that's sparked the new "swicy" trend, a flavor profile that's both sweet and spicy.
Even though hot honey is currently the new kid on the block, the combination of sweet honey and hot chili is by no means new. Hot honey has been steadily gaining popularity for a number of years now, particularly through its use in dishes such as chicken sandwiches or on pizza. Variations of honey refined with chili have been around for a long time and used a lot in Asian cuisine for example.
In general, the idea of combining sweet and spicy flavors can be found in a wide variety of culinary traditions around the world. In recent years, hot honey has gained visibility thanks to social media and TikTok in particular. By sharing recipes, inspiration and food ideas, this trend has spread even more.
What to eat with hot honey? Actually, the question should rather be: Is there anything, you should not mix with hot honey? Hot Honey can be used for almost anything. It is particularly delicious on pizza with salty toppings such as burrata or gorgonzola. It's also really nice on cheese platters—whether with mature hard cheese or goat's cheese.
Hot honey evokes a surprising explosion of flavor in combination with fruit, such as baked peaches or grilled pineapple. As a topping, it spices up fresh dishes such as falafel wraps, vegetable bowls or avocado toast. A spoonful of hot honey also gives drinks such as Whiskey Sour or a Spicy Margarita a spicy twist.
