Clover honey

Last evening while awaiting Ginette's arrival I made clover honey. I found the recipe in an old recipe book 'A Taste of Acadie'. All you need is sugar (I used cane sugar), water, clover blossoms and wild roses. Honey was often made with cloves and wild roses boiled in sugar many years ago. What I can't figure out is why would'nt they just use the sugar to sweeten their food...