Honey

[Sam Salmon]

I did a search but came up with very little mention of honey so here's my impressions of a few 'Honeys I Have Known'.

I'm lucky to have lived in/travelled to a number of different places-plus a dear friend of mine brings me honey from her travels across the planet.

International

Mexico-Many, many different honeys from small producers.

Generally a light amber product from countless flowers with a bewildering array of flavours.Very good value although I wonder about those hives so close to highways that throng with diesel trucks.

Costa Rica-basic Rain Forest product, dark molasses like honey of no special distinction.

Colombia-I've just returned from Colombia with 2 special honeys.

1-a Dark Amber with smooth caramel flavour backed with a tiny bite of smoke and tar-amazing.

2-a unique even ambrosial Light Amber honey with one of the most exotic well balanced flower flavours ever-I should have bought a case.

Turkey-something altogether different.The bees must have been kept on certain herbs exclusively-more of a medicine that just a sweet.A small taste reveals a background that must be good for a person-thyme, oregano and maybe tarragon along with unidentifiable other herbs.A small 250ml jar lasted me almost 1.5 years and I was sad to see it go-just a small taste did me some sort of good I know.

Ecuador-Light yellow with vegetable overtones-sweet and a tad weird.

Azerbaijan- a pale yellow honey with a hint of Yarrow-or something like Yarrow.

Spain-Buttery almost beyond belief this honey when tasted bloomed in the mouth-a true masterpiece of Apiary.

Fiji-another dark Rain Forest flower honey tolerable only in small doses-very rich and complex almost too much so.

Trinidad- again dark and complex but with overtones of sharp unknown herbs-ever heard of 'Shadow Benny'?

Domestic

Prince Edward Island-a Clover for the ages.Sharp almost hot and yet sweet & beguiling-hard to believe it came from such a bucolic locale.

British Columbia

Mayne Island-Rose honey from bees kept exclusively on rose bushes.Cheap almost given away this small market product is medium amber and unlike the popular image of rose products as sweet as cloying caresses the tongue and challenges the senses.

Sayward-from northern Vancouver Island comes honey from both field & forest.Clover, Alfalfa and Pine combine in a quality dark gold liquid with some very well balanced highlights.

Fraser Valley-Goldenrod honey-another dark gold 'almost too strong' honey that's fabulous on scones.

Tugwell Creek-Vancouver Island a Wildflower honey that has so many intricate flavours I call the taste 'baroque'.

Edited March 19, 2004 by Sam Salmon (log)

[ExtraMSG]

This is my current favorite:

http://www.ptventures.ca/honey/

[Mabelline]

Sam Salmon, do you reckon the Spanish honey was gathered from crocus field bees? That would seem to be the ultimate of gathering.

There's a good prairie grass honey up here in Montana. Arizona has very nice dryland plant honeys, as well.

[ludja]

I've not tasted it yet, but I've heard rave reviews from a close friend re: "white honey" from Hawaii. Has anyone else had this?

Here's a link I found: hawaii white honey

I've also had incredible wild honey's in Styria, Austria (home of Ah-nold) but I couldn't find ways to purchase this on-line. There is a special store in Graz that sells natural honey and bee products. I love eating a good honey like this on a good roll or bread with sweet butter.

Also, I like the strong taste of Italian chestnut honeys... a classic drizzled over some gorgonzola.

Thank you sam salmon for your personal summary of such a wide variety of honeys; many of them sound very interesting.

[jackal10]

I like Pine forest honey

Rowse is a major supplier and have many interesting varieties

[Vikram]

There are some organic food companies in India who supply honey from the forests collected by tribals, the type I'm thinking of comes from the Western Ghat forests off India's West coast, but there are other varieties from other parts of the country. Its minimally processed and wonderful - its got a raw, distinctive taste that makes commercial honeys taste like plain sugar syrup.

On a slightly different note I was in the main flower market in Dadar in Central Bombay yesterday. This sounds fancy, but its not - its a fairly cramped and not too clean place tucked into one of the busiest spots in the city, partly under a flyover and next to one of the highest traffic stations. I'd gone to buy carnations from the few shops that sell Western flowers - otherwise the market is mostly Indian flowers, piles of jasmine buds, lotuses (in demand now because of the elections!), waxy yellow chamelis.

Yesterday there was another type, I don't know its name, maybe mogras, small tightly curled yellow flowers full of pollen which had been threaded into small garlands for the wrist. And what was amazing was that in the midst of all the crowds and chaos these flowers were absolutely swarming with bees. To pack some for me the boy selling them had to swat a bunch away, and a couple were probably packed into the leaves he wrapped them in. Wonder what sort of urbanised honey these bees produce in the middle of the city!

Vikram

[Abra]

I love honey and always try to bring some home whenever I travel. I love French pine honey, Italian chestnut honey, and a new-to-me treat, Corbezzolo honey from either Sicily or Sardinia, I forget. You can get it from Zingerman's, and it has a totally unique flavor, sort of bitter and medicinal, but very alluring.

Edited March 20, 2004 by Abra (log)

[foodie52]

I try to eat local honey the most. Here in Texas, we have wonderful mesquite honey, which is light in color and delicate in flavor. Also guajillo which is smoky-flavored.

I've discovered New Zealand honey:there is a line of flavors, but one is my favortie: Manuka, from the company, Airborne. The Manuka has some folklore surrounding it, and is used by the Maoris in a variety of remedies. Some of it has a potent antibacterial effect. It's woodsy and earthy , with just a hint of mineral bitterness.

We sell Hawaiian where I work: it's very white and very expensive. I haven't tried it yet.

[Akiko]

Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey, the flavor and the perfume are both remarkable. You really must try some, although it can be difficult to source, you can order it online.

[franktex]

And the mead that those honeys would make....yummmm!!!

[helenjp]

Manuka, from the company, Airborne.

Groan...just eat ANYTHING from the company, Airborne. Their motto is "No compromise. Ever.". After reading their labels, I considered writing to suggest they change it to "No editing. Ever." but really, I forgive them everything, just as long as they keep making honey... Manuka attract premium prices these days, but Kamahi, Tawari, Blue Borage, Rata...any of those names would wake my kids at 4am if I whispered in their ears.

I hear that Japanese horse chestnut honey is great stuff, but after living here a total of 17 years or so, I have yet to see a speck of it.

[JennotJenn]

Locust honey, local from the NC Blue Ridge mountains. I like my honey mild, and this is mild but not boring or bland. It's been a while since I've had it (it can be hard to find, and only seems to show up in any quanity every few years), but it's just lovely. Some people prefer Sourwood, and while a good Sourwood can be very good, it will never beat locust.

And every time I see this thread, I'm reminded of a story that my friend told me recently. He and his financee were in the UAE visiting his parents over Christmas. They were at a market, and Andrew kept hearing someone whisper "Honnneee...honeeee...sweeet sweeet honey" behind him. He thought it was his dad and turned around to tell him to cut it out, whne he realized that it was a wizened old guy following him around with a pepsi bottle full of honeee, honeeee, sweet sweet honey. Ok, maybe you had to be there...

Edited March 22, 2004 by JennotJenn (log)

[Bicycle Lee]

someone told me that hawaiian white honey isn't really "honey"...what is this about?

Anyone ever had eucalyptus honey? Very interesting...strong flavor and aftertaste...great by itself, but too flavorful to add to many things...unless the flavor of eucalyptus is acceptable in the medium...

[Gifted Gourmet]

Guardian UK article on new honey

The cosy-sounding world of honey - redolent of toasted crumpets and jars with flowery labels in country shops - has been going through turbulent times..... another phenomenon has been adding to the turbulence in the global honey market - ultrafiltered or "UF" honey. First noticed in the US, it is honey with almost everything taken out, including the impurities. .... In a test by the board earlier this year, nine out of 69 samples taken from American supermarket shelves proved to be UF honey. Instead it is "a sweetener derived from honey" - honey that has been diluted with gallons of water, heated up to a high temperature, passed through an ultra-fine ceramic or carbon filter, and then evaporated down to a syrup again. America's believes that UF, rather than contaminated honey, is now the real threat to the purity of honey internationally.

So, the world has more problems that we have yet to fret over and now it is about the honeys .. but, never you mind, this is about a simple, very sweet, sticky issue: what is your favorite type of honey? and what do you use it for? or use it as an ingredient for making?

Personally enjoy clover and orange blossom honeys ... and you??

[gingerly]

Brodie represented small-time honey laundering

clover and orange blossom too!also a wonderful lotus honey from kashmir-not had any in a while.i cooked and ate my way through 'the pooh cook book'-i luv hunny!

[beans]

I used to treat myself whenever I was in Seattle and walked through Pike Place (aside from a Nordies bauble or two). There is at least one vendor that sells honey. I always bought the one that was gathered from raspberry blossoms. I could, and have, eaten straight from the jar with one of my small espresso spoons. (Why did I only purchase small jars??!?)

I often purchase lavender honey, which I often use in creating some lovely desserts and am on the hunt for acacia honey for a spectacular cocktail that is made at Lab bar in London.

Honey for my tea? Usually clover.

I love bees.

God bless them!

[FL Heat]

Orange blossom, generally. . .and once, while driving through Georgia, we picked up some peach blossom honey. On a biscuit, that stuff was heavenly. I love the orange blossom honey in a vinaigrette over any salad with fruit in it. I'm not quite up to pastry making or baking fancy things yet, though, so I don't use it in actual recipes much.

While on a business trip in Philadelphia several months ago I made a trip to the Reading Terminal Market and had to be dragged away from the stand with all the honeys & preserves. If only they weren't so heavy & my bag hadn't already been close to the airline's weight limit. . . .

Diana

[petite tête de chou]

Fireweed and orange blossom honey are preferred for drizzling on warm, fluffy biscuits. Alfalfa, clover and Columbia Gorge wildflower honeys for my tea. As a child I loved honeycomb. mmmm, chewy honey-wax!

[emannths]

Tupelo honey from Florida, on a piece of homemade cornbread.

[browniebaker]

Desert mesquite honey, dark and flavorful.

[hjshorter]

Tupelo, buckwheat, and local wildflower honey. Best drizzled over hot cornbread or fluffy biscuits. My kids eat buckwheat honey on their oatmeal.

[Okbrewer]

I buy gallons and gallons of honey, usually clover or wildflower honey because that's what is common around OK. But I use honey to make one of the oldest of fermented beverages: MEAD! Depending on the type of mead I'm making, clover honey works just fine. It is light in color and flavor and allows any spices or fruits that I might add to the mead to shine through. If I make a traditional mead or show mead (no spice or fruit) then I look for varietal honeys like Tupelo, orange blossom, mesquite, etc. because I want the honey component to be readily apparent. So, my favorite? It just depends! I guess I'd have to say clover or wildflower since it is readily available and I use those the most.

[Susan G]

Buckwheat honey for toast. Haven't been able to find any in my southwest state.........I order it online from NY.

[beans]

I buy gallons and gallons of honey, usually clover or wildflower honey because that's what is common around OK. But I use honey to make one of the oldest of fermented beverages: MEAD! Depending on the type of mead I'm making, clover honey works just fine. It is light in color and flavor and allows any spices or fruits that I might add to the mead to shine through. If I make a traditional mead or show mead (no spice or fruit) then I look for varietal honeys like Tupelo, orange blossom, mesquite, etc. because I want the honey component to be readily apparent. So, my favorite? It just depends! I guess I'd have to say clover or wildflower since it is readily available and I use those the most.

That's sooo cool! I'd love to make mead one day!

[Okbrewer]

Mead is very easy to make. In it's basic form it is just water, honey and yeast. The hardest part of making mead is the patience needed to wait until it is finished! Mead can take a long time to not only ferment, but to finish or age. Usually takes about a year and being anywhere from 9-15% alcohol, it ages nicely in the bottle for many more years. Young meads can taste alright, but give them time to age and they are remarkable.

As a general rule of thumb, I use 3-4lbs of honey per gallon of water, so for a 3 gallon batch of mead I might use 12 lbs of honey (which is one gallon of honey) or more. Using the right type of yeast is also important. Depending on the amount of honey and type of yeast used, you can make a sweet or dry mead, sparkling or still mead, or various combinations. When you start adding herbs, spices and fruits or vegetables, then you can really create some unique flavors!

If you are at all interested in making mead, check out a book called The Compleat Meadmaker, written by my friend Ken Schramm. It is available on Amazon.com.

Sorry to usurp the thread here, but if anyone is interested in mead making, drop me a line!