In the musical "Wicked," the main characters Elphaba and Glinda say to each other, "because I knew you, I have been changed for good." That's how I feel about hot honey. This spicy-meets-sweet condiment hasn't been on the market for very long, but in just over 10 years, it's become super popular among spice lovers. The product was first introduced by Mike Kurtz, a former music industry professional turned pizza maker turned hot honey creator. While Kurtz was studying abroad in Brazil in college, he ate at a small pizzeria that served their pies with jars of honey infused with whole chile peppers. "I loved the flavor so much that when I got back to the states, I started experimenting with honey-chile infusions," he told me in an interview. Kurtz says that the ingredient was even somewhat of a novelty in Brazil and that it's not in any way a traditional condiment.
When Kurtz finally perfected his recipe, he started bottling it and giving it to friends and family, as well as serving it with the pies he was making at Paulie Gee's, a Brooklyn pizzeria. Demand continued to grow and in 2010, he launched Mike's Hot Honey.
