I have been lucky enough to score two excellent regional specialty honeys over the last couple of weeks, more or less by accident. A friend of mine went to north Georgia recently (no, not Sampiro but I would have asked him had the opportunity presented itself) and asked if I wanted anything from there while he was gone. I mentioned sourwood honey, thinking that there was no way, since it’s way out of season, and such limited quantities are produced. But sure enough, he showed up the next week and presented me with a pint jar of the stuff. (I remained a bit skeptical, but the honey has that wonderful buttery, caramel smoothness I remember as a kid.) It’s really no wonder that sourwood honey is considered one of the finest in the world.
This past weekend, I was in Tallahassee, FL for a wedding, and grabbed the opportunity to seek out some white tupelo honey. This honey has an excellent floral flavor, with a tingly, spicy undertone. Wonderful stuff.
These two are the primary “connoisseurs’ honeys” from the Southeast US. There are others, of course, but I’m not aware that any of these are as highly prized as sourwood or tupelo honeys. The state of Florida actually tests tupelo honey to regulate its purity (and increase its value.)
Oh, and I’m about to get some Hawaiian kiawe honey. Never had it, so I can’t evaluate its flavor yet.
So what about your region? What should I try, and how do I get 'em? Educate me!
I’m a honey nut myself,and seek out honey in my own travels as well as those of family,who live overseas and have a somewhat gypsy bent.
Truth is,if you can find a small time beekeeper who sorts his/her honey flow,you’ll discover amazing variety from region to region.
Many beekeepers here (northeast)simply extract all their honey into one blend and bottle that as,for example,“Fall Wildflower”. Wildflowers in one area aren’t the same as another.
I doubt I could type all the individual sources I have had,but:
Goldenrod - Northern Pa. & N.Y. state
Locust- Southern Pa., but only when weather and other flows are just right (maybe every seven years)
Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron Tulipfera)-Pa.
Buckwheat -Pa. & N.Y.-this is to honey as “stout” is to ales.Similar flavours from Japanese Knotweed (polygonum cuspidatum) and Heather in the British Isles.
Alfalfa-typically from the midwest
Have to curtail this,sorry.But you didn't mention Orange Blossom which is prevalent in Florida.
There’s a guy outside of Milledgeville very famous with honey afficianados. He experiments with flavors such as collard greens and honeysuckle and whiskey enriched, etc… Also into all sorts of crafts. Worth checking out if you’re ever there, and I’ll be going there in June if you want me to check on anything in particular. (I see he’s currently offering kudzu.)
Tasmanian Leatherwood honey is often said to be the best in the world, and I believe it. You can find out more about it here and order it in the US here
In my experience, yes, if you’re using a higher honey-to-water ratio and don’t go very heavily on other flavorings. Too much other flavoring seems to wipe out the differences. Just as an example, I used buckwheat honey once, and the end result tasted… a little grainy. It felt vaguely like I would expect it to if I’d spiked it with a generous quantity of Guinness or something. On the other hand, one I made from a blackberry honey tasted much lighter (even at the same honey-to-water load) and faintly fruit-ish.
Fireweed is fairly popular in the PNW, I haven’t seen it anywhere else. It has a unique flavour, frequently described as light, buttery, and slightly spicy. A quick Google turns up several online purchasing options, but I wouldn’t know who to recommend; I just go to the local market.
Tasmanian Leatherwood is pretty good…a rapid crystaliser.
BrainGlutton, I concur with Mr Jackboots on the retention of flavour.One needs a high starting gravity and minimum additions. I often use pollen for yeast nutrient but a floral source pollen of course doesn’t equate to the flavour of same source honey.(may obscure same)
I strongly recommend trying alfalfa.Very distinctive yet mild,and usually very light.
I get my leatherwood honey from a Lebanese grocery. They have about 80 varieties of honey from various places. Any middle-eastern supply shop would be a good place to look.
I’ve heard that the honey from rhodedenron flowers is toxic-is this true> Also, pine blossom honey-I’ve seen it (it is very dark)-what does it taste like?
Yes, in my experience. I’ve used sourwood, orange blossom and leatherwood honey for mead and they are all a bit different, but the difference is subtle.
Manuka honey from New Zealand is also worth a shot - in addition to being tasty (it’s from the flowers of the tea tree) it’s also purported to have greater antibacterial properties to it than other kinds of honey.
I’ve gone tasting there, and I like to buy their stuff for Christmas gifts (I like to stay local for that stuff.) I liked their mead a lot, and I think it’s California Sage that I have in my cupboard now. Very nice people, and a neat little tasting room if you’re local.
My sister sent some honeys from Tuscany,I believe produced by Angela Pieroni,near the town of Sillicagnana. (Never ask me to interpret Italian for you).
There is a phone number, (0583)62944
This was ~ 8 years ago,I still have some Acacia,one of the premier tastes in my life,not a sign of crystals.(which I don’t consider a bad thing,just a descriptor).
There was some Chestnut too,(Castanea) Very strong flavour,which you’d never get in this country,though blight resistant Chestnuts are being bred;maybe someday.
The absolute best honey IMO is Birdsfoot Trefoil but it is a very unusual forage crop in this region and furthermore rare to flower,since the best protein is had before bloom;for bees to work it means there can’t be other viable nectar sources in the area. I have 4oz. left from a 60 obtained 20 years ago.
Oops! Forgot about this thread. Thanks for the input, all. I have indeed heard that New Zealand, Tasmanian, and Australian honeys can be ridiculously good. I’m particularly interested in the leatherwood honey.
Orange blossom honey occurred to me, but I didn’t include it because it’s not very difficult to obtain. South Florida is eaten alive with orange monocultures (orchards,) and the beekeepers down there produce orange blossom honey by the ton. It is quite good, with citrus and floral notes, but it’s not really as much in demand as the tupelo or the sourwood honey. One of the attractions of tupelo honey, incidentally, is that it never crystallizes.
Which brings me to a botanical point. The swamps of the South certainly have no shortage of tupelo (Nyssa,) but it’s the Ogeechee tupelo (white tupelo) that makes the most desirable honey. This plant occurs in vast numbers in the Apalachicola basin in the Florida panhandle, and blooms at a separate time than most other plants, making it possible to produce a particularly pure monofloral honey.
And mad honey? Fascinating. I had absolutely no idea, nor had I any idea that it has actually played a rather significant historical role. Thanks for that info!
I’ll definitely be checking out that Georgia beekeeper, Sampiro. Thanks.
What is bumblebee honey like? I assume that the bumblebee 9which flies low) stops at every flower it sees-so what you would get would be a blend of floral essences. Anybody ever have it? And “killer” (african) bee honey-can it be obtained?
Another interesting thing about tupelo honey is the type of sugar it contains,I have heard safe for diabetics.The type is escaping me presently.An -ose,levulose?
My bees may have sporadically worked mountain laurel-I live in the woods and have plenty of it-but it is never a predominant bloom to warrant a honey flow.That’s just my case mind you.
People have been trying to use Bombus for a pollinator-they will work far more blossoms than apis mellifera,but I don’t think they store and ripen nectar into honey.African or Africanised bees are just more agressive than European bees and make honey the same way.
For people who get in a dither about African bees,watch a native beekeeper some time-a loincloth only,no veil,longsleeves etc.