I was sitting here fixing my morning tea when I pulled down the plastic bear-shaped honey container from the cabinet. On the label were the words “Grade A Clover Honey”. I know what grade A means, but WTF is “Clover Honey”? Are there really different types of honey? Is one type better than another? Someone fill me in please…
It’s honey made from clover. Different flowers produce different flavored honey.
Clover honey is honey that has been made with bees that gathered nectar from clover flowers. It tends to be popular because clover is easy to grow, flowers for a long time and produces lots of nectar for the bees.
There are TONS of different kinds of honey, with a huge range in flavor-- there are something like 300 varieties in the US. Hit a farmer’s market or even the State Fair in your area, and see how many different kinds are being sold-- usually they let you taste different kinds to see what you like. It’s a lot of fun.
This website lets you shop for specific kinds from a variety of sources.
If you’re real lucky, it’ll be 4 leaf clover.
It’s a plant, sweetie-pie.
My older brother kept bees when we were young as part of a merit badge requirement. My mother grew mint plants nearby. The result was a wonderful mint-flavored honey that I’ve never forgotten.
Barry
Thanks for the info folks. I didn’t think you could restrict bees to an particular type of flower… but if you position the hive well I can see how influence the bees somewhat.
A fellow I used to work with kept bees. I asked him about the ones marketed as clover honey or orange blossom honey. He said that you could put your hives in the middle of a 40 acre clover field, and if the bees felt like it they might fly off somewhere else for their nector.
I think dolphinboy is right. They may be influenced to use the clover as it’s so close, but there are no assurances that it’s all they are using.