Is There a Food Product You’d Go to Extraordinary Lengths For?

My husband and I just got back from our honeymoon in Greece.  One of the places we visited was a tiny town called Dimitsana in the mountainous southern province of Arcadia. On our first night in Dimitsana, we were lucky enough to meet an American woman named Maria who was visiting relatives in the town. Maria became a bit like a guardian angel to us, helping us find our inn (which was marked only by a sign in the Greek alphabet), suggesting the best taverna for dinner, and even inviting us over to her grandmother's house.

We're incredibly grateful to Maria for so many things—she gave us a taste of real Greek life beyond the usual tourist experience. But by far the best thing she introduced us to was the local honey. When we arrived at her grandmother's house, she was giving her four-year-old son a snack of thick Greek yogurt drizzled with local honey, and she insisted that we each try a spoonful. Honestly, it was the most amazing honey I've ever tasted. It had an intensely floral, almost citrusy flavor and a silky texture somewhere between thick, spreadable honey and the usual pourable style. When drizzled, it fell in thick, flat ribbons off the spoon.

We of course couldn't read the label, but Maria explained that it was called "evergreen" honey—not hard to believe given all the evergreens on the mountain slopes surrounding Dimitsana. She directed us to the store in town where we could buy a jar, and even explained where we could see the beehives on the road out of town.

We of course bought several jars, and I brought one in to work, where my coworkers were as enamored of it as I was. But, sadly, both jars are quickly dwindling, and I'm having to face the sad reality that one day soon I'll have to use a different honey on my yogurt and in my tea.

We exchanged email addresses with Maria, and I'm seriously considering offering to pay to have her ship us another batch, though I'm sure it would cost a fortune to send it overseas. I feel like a junkie who's used up the last of her stash.

Is this insane? I'm sure that, once the Greek honey is gone, I'll eventually get along without it.

Have you ever found a product that you loved so much you were willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get it?

by Sarah Kagan

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