By Megan Howe
Published: | Updated:
Salted Caramel, Gingerbread and Pumpkin Spice are just some of the staple tastes of Autumn, featured in coffee, cakes and a range of other sweet treats.
But there is a new flavour taking the UK food industry by storm— hot 'swicy' honey— and its certainly got a kick to it.
What started as a New York pizza topping, this chili-infused honey has amassed a TikTok following of over 912million with the #hothoney hashtag.
Not only that, but in the last month Hilltop Honey has seen a boom in sales of hot honey, increasing by 1,049 per cent compared to the same period last year.
This is partly because the product has started to be sold in Tesco, but Waitrose has reported that sales of its hot honey chicken bites has increased by 148per cent in the last week compared to the previous one.
Meanwhile, supermarkets will start putting their Christmas-themed food out onto the shelves in the coming weeks.
Hot honey was originally used as a pizza topping (pictured)
The flavour, a honey infused with chili peppers, has become extremely popular in the UK in the last weeks
In the last month Hilltop Honey has seen a boom in sales of hot honey, increasing by 1,049 per cent compared to the same period last year
On the way at ASDA, will be a pigs in blankets wreath with camembert and hot honey drizzle.
At Tesco, there is a 'nduja and pork wellington with hot honey drizzle, as well as feta and celeriac snapakopita with hot honey.
Marks and Spencer has a hot honey briebrûlée, as well as hot honey popcorn, hot honey pigs in blanket crisps and hot honey halloumi in blankets.
Celebrity Chef Tom Kerridge said he was not surprised by the booming popularity of the flavour.
He told The Times: 'It goes really well with cheese. If you think of it as a spicy chutney, it makes sense'.
For him, he said, adding chili to honey works in the same was as adding salt to caramel.
'It enhances, it elevates the flavour', he added.
Celebrity chefTom Kerridge said he was not surprised by the booming popularity of the flavour
@dontgobaconmyheart_ Day 16 | 30 days of 30 minute dinners 😋 This dinner is such an amazing combo of flavours! If you’re frying in batches you might go a little over 30 mins, so forgive my sins in advance. If you’d rather bake I’ve added instructions on the blog post! Enjoy 😄 Chris x CRISPY HOT HONEY FETA CHICKEN | Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 1/3 cup / 110gHoney 1 1/2tspHot Sauce(I like Frank's or Cholula) 3/4tspChilli Flakes 2x250g/9ozChicken Breasts 2tspPaprika 1tspSalt 1/2tsp EACH:Onion Powder,Garlic Powder,Dried Oregano,Black Pepper 1/4tspCayenne Pepper 35g / 1/4 cupPlain Flour 2Eggs,beaten 65g / 1 cupPanko Breadcrumbs Veg Oil,as needed (6-8 tbsp) 200g / 7ozFeta,crumbled METHOD 1️⃣Combine the honey, hot sauce and chilli flakes in a bowl and warm in the microwave (20 seconds or so). Stir then leave to cool. You can also do this on the stove in a small pot (just bring to a simmer then remove and cool). You can easily adjust the heat with chilli flakes/hot sauce if desired. 2️⃣Horizontally slice the chicken breasts right through the centre to create 4 even-sized breasts. In a small pot or bowl combine the paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano and black pepper. 3️⃣Line up 3 large shallow dishes and place a large tray at the end. The first bowl is flour + half of the seasoning mix, the second is beaten egg and the 3rd is the Panko with the rest of the seasoning. One by one take the chicken and dredge through the flour, into the egg, then the breadcrumbs and finish by placing on the tray. Make sure you thoroughly coat the chicken at each stage (namely the breadcrumbs). 4️⃣Add enough oil to coat the base of a large pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough that a breadcrumb rapidly sizzles, carefully place in the chicken (if you can't fit 4 pieces then work in 2 batches, top up the oil in between if needed). Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until deep golden and crispy on the outside and white/piping hot through the centre. Place on a wire rack above the tray. 5️⃣Add the crumbled feta, covering as much of the chicken as possible, then place under the grill on high until it starts turning golden (it should be buttery soft and a little crisp on top). 6️⃣Serve with your preferred amount of hot honey drizzled over and enjoy (tightly store leftover honey in the fridge).
♬ original sound - Chris Collins
@curlyscooking Replying to @SBM ★ not the easiest to find but when you do find some hot honey you’ll be addicted #hothoney #honey #condiments #foodtiktok #foodtok
♬ original sound - CurlysCooking
Kathryn Turner, the director of product development at M&S, told The Times that the hot honey flavour is here to stay and that sweet and spicy was 'so on trend'.
'In my view its gaining as much traction as salted caramel did.
'Next week we're set to launch a hot honey BBQ whole chicken that customers can roast at home, and by Christmas we will have ten unique hot-honey-themed products across the M&S Foodhall'.
TikTok users have been sharing their best recipes using the essential ingredient, ranging from hot honey cheese on toast to hot honey fried chicken, ice cream drizzled in hot honey and hot honey fruit pastries.
It is clear that unlike salted caramel, hot honey can be used for both main meals and desserts.
JD's Hot Honey was one of the first companies in the UK to sell a range of products featuring the flavour.
The company started in lockdown in 2021 when Jade Dawson and her husband James, started experimenting with homemade Neapolitan pizza toppings.
Tom KerridgeWaitroseTikTokNew York Times
