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What is the best honey to pair with Grana Padano cheese?

The honey-cheese pairing is defined as the ‘perfect marriage’. Both have histories stretching back to ancient times, and strong local traditions. As with wine and beer, honey can be paired with various types of cheese and there are general rules to follow when defining the combinations. Generally speaking, for fresh cheeses, the best choice is a soft honey which neither covers nor sweetens it excessively. In the same way, the more mature the cheese the more suitable a stronger honey that balances its strong flavour and brings out the aromas of the result.

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Grana Padano aged
for 9 to 16 months

Recommended pairings: citrus honey, acacia honey, sulla clover honey, clover and asphodel honey.
In particular we recommend pairing the Grana Padano PDO cheeses aged 9 to 16 months with:

Citrus Honey

Citrus honey is made across mainland Italy and the islands
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Acacia honey

Large quantities of Acacia honey are made on mainland Italy, above all in Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, with some also made in other regions, from Tuscany to Calabria. These include two acacia honey PDOs from Varese and Lunigiana.
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Grana Padano aged
Over 16 months

Recommended pairings: eucalyptus honey, rhododendron honey, sunflower honey, alfalfa honey.
In particular we recommend pairing the Grana Padano PDO cheeses aged over 9 to 16 months with:

Eucalyptus Honey

Eucalyptus honey is made across mainland Italy and the islands from Eucalyptus camaldulensis nectar.
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Rhododendron honey

In Italy, rhododendron honey is made exclusively in the Alps, at altitudes of over 1700 metres, from Rhododendron ferrugineum nectar.
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Grana Padano
PDO Riserva aged
Over 20 months

Recommended pairings: dandelion honey, heather honey, honeydew (forest honey), apple honey and cherry honey.
In particular we recommend pairing the Grana Padano PDO cheeses aged 20 to 24 months with:

Dandelion honey

Dandelion honey is made with taraxacum nectar, a green leaved plant which flowers approximately in April and it is very common across Italy, known by a variety of regional names.
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Honeydew

Honeydew or forest honey is made all over Italy and does not come from flower nectar but rather honeydew, a sweet substance made by certain insects such as rhynchotans, psyllids and aphids, which suck and process lymph for food.
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Extra-Mature
Grana Padano

Pairing suggestions: chestnut honey, lime blossom honey, spruce honeydew, heather honey.
In particular we recommend pairing the Grana Padano PDO cheeses aged over 24 months with:

Chestnut honey

Chestnut honey is made all over Italy and in other Southern European countries, from Portugal to Ukraine.
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Lime blossom honey

Lime blossom honey is made exclusively in northern Italy, throughout the Alps and Alpine foothills and also in urban areas with lots of lime trees, such as parks and avenues.
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See also:

The world of honey

Honey is an extremely ancient food: in fact, it was the very first high energy sweet foodstuff to appear in our diet. Used in religious rites and to preserve foods, honey, and other bee products such as wax and propolis, have been part of our everyday life for many centuries.
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How to pair honey and cheese?

First things first: there are many reasons to pair two products, such as trying out new, pleasant tastes and aromas. In some cases, when successful, pairings create a ‘new product’ which is the sum of the two, bringing the best out of both without one prevailing over the other.
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