Goldenrod honey taste like???

[Moots]

Pulled some fall honey today.  Being a first year Beek, this is something I've never done before.  I've heard all the descriptions about the unpleasant smell of Goldenrod emitting from the hives, so I'm pretty confident that that's what my bees foraged on to make this honey...Not to mention, the ditches around here are full of it.

I know some folks don't care for Goldenrod honey, and others love it...that being said, I had NO IDEA what to expect as far as taste. 

Personally, I don't think I care for it as much as my summer harvest.  But my nephew absolutely loved it.  He described it as tasting like condensed milk.  I thought it both smelled like and taste JUST LIKE Steen's Cane Syrup.

Curious how others would describe it and what's their opinion of it...

[Grandpa Jim]

I thought...Butterscotch.  Sure does not taste like it smells!

[RHBee]

I don't know yet Jeff but, I'm gonna find out. I did taste a little while I was cleaning up some burr comb, not bad at all. I guess that was goldenrod.

[Michael Bush]

Like most things, it tastes like itself, but if I were to go with what comes to mind, butterscotch would be one.  I've never been sure that it's not a good part aster as well as goldenrod since they bloom at the same time...

[Robo]

The good news is that it tastes way better than it smells when they are making it  :-P

[JP]

Moots, I'd be willing to bet that what you tried was some sort of fall honey (aged spring honey) and not goldenrod at all. Goldenrod honey is a golden yellow honey and quite good, nothing at all, not even close to what you described as Steen's syrup.

I just harvested 3.5 gallons of goldenrod last week & its very, very good quality.


...JP

[capt44]

I didn't harvest any honey this fall, we had golden rod but had a lot of bitter weed also.
I didn't want to take a chance and put some foul tasting honey out there and get a bad name.
Sooooooo I left it for the bees this year.

[Moots]

Just a little update on my fall honey crop.  I've asked around and had several people taste it.  While I had Goldenrod in the area, and my hives definitely had the trademark goldenrod smell, I think what my bees primarily foraged on was cut Sugar Cane.  From what I'm being told, when the cane is cut, the stubs left behind in the field will ooze sap, I'm being told this is what my bees found...And as I described the taste, I believe it has to be what happened.

To me, it's a very different taste for Honey, so I've instituted a taste it before you buy it policy.  :laugh:  While I think the majority of folks are probably like me and don't care for it quite as much as my summer harvest, I have a number of folks react quite positive and several who have purchased it...Proof of the old adage, "Concerning taste, there is no dispute"!

[bud1]

moot , sold 8 mediums coupla weeks ago and like you  made them taste befor you buy  they loved it even after I told them funky smell was the honey taste like has caromel to me

[greenbtree]

Some like the Goldenrod, some don't  I will say that Goldenrod makes a mighty fine mead.

[Moots]

An update to the update on my Fall Honey...Talked to Schawee at our bee meeting the other night. He tells me he's gotten this same honey from some of his bees before...and while he doesn't know what they forage on to make it, he knows it's not Sugar Cane.

So....I'm back to being stumped on this one.  :?

[Highlander]

This is my first year also, we have a ton of Golden Rod blooming in the late summer/early fall. All my honey in the one super I got was produced during that time. The flavors are Carmel and Butterscotch.  Did not notice a bad smell to the hive.  I have about an acre that is nothing but Golden Rod during this time directly in front of the hive.

Cruachan!

[asprince]

Interesting. My fall harvest three weeks ago has a cane syrup flavor. No sugar cane near me that I know of.

Steve

[Moots]

Interesting. My fall harvest three weeks ago has a cane syrup flavor. No sugar cane near me that I know of.

Steve

Steve,
Interesting, that fits with what Schawee told me...One of his beeyards is literally surrounded by Sugar Cane, and has never made this honey.  His other yard doesn't have cane anywhere around it, and the bees there have produced this honey with a very distinct Sugar Cane flaver.

Hmm...This really has me curious!  :?

[MsCarol]

[/quote]

Steve,
.  His other yard doesn't have cane anywhere around it, and the bees there have produced this honey with a very distinct Sugar Cane flaver.

Hmm...This really has me curious!  :?
[/quote]

Ummmm??? Could the honey be from a related plant? Or maybe something like a relative of sudan/sorghum? Both the latter are also used as forage/hay crops for cattle as well as grain and sorghum molasses.

[asprince]

There was a lot of sorghum planted this year. I will ride around and see if some is growing close by.


Steve

[Moots]

Ummmm??? Could the honey be from a related plant? Or maybe something like a relative of sudan/sorghum? Both the latter are also used as forage/hay crops for cattle as well as grain and sorghum molasses.

MsCarol,
Appreciate the input...as I said, this really has me curious.  I wasn't even familiar with Sorghum, but have done a little research since you've mentioned it.  Unless I'm missing something, I think it's like Sugar Cane in that it's a member of the grass family and doesn't produce nectar...So, I'm thinking it's not the answer I'm searching for... :(

Here's a LINK to a BeeSource Threadon the topic.

[Moots]

Ok, a follow up on my mystery honey..... :-D

On the advice of a Beek friend who's heavily involved in the local and state honey contest, I approached Jeff Harris who was a guest speaker at the Louisiana State Beekeepers Associations annual convention this weekend.  Jeff use to be at the USDA lab in Baton Rouge and is now Assistant Extension/Research Professor at Mississippi State.  Anyway.... a real nice guy that obviously is very knowledgeable, I enjoyed talking to him as well as hearing him speak.

On my honey, he seemed to think it's from something he calls Prairie Groundsel, he said he thought it may be called something else in Louisiana, maybe Marsh something???

He also explained that the male Prairie Groundsel has a stronger odor than the female and will create a noticeable smell in the hives.  This could explain why I thought I was smelling just GoldenRod being produced but ended up with something that isn't a majority of GoldenRod.

He seemed to think it was probably a mix of Prairie Groundsel and GoldenRod.