Author Topic: whats the best honey? (Read 6996 times)

Shanevrr · « **on:** March 20, 2011, 10:26:15 pm »

what trees or flowers make the best honey? i know thats a hard one but mostly curious if I have the right mojo around here. or maybe i should plant something 8-)

iddee · « **Reply #1 on:** March 20, 2011, 10:55:05 pm »

Unless you are ready to plant 80,000 acres of something, you might better depend on the natural landscape. :shock: :-D

The bees will cover a 2 plus mile radius from their hive.

hardwood · « **Reply #2 on:** March 20, 2011, 10:59:11 pm »

The best honey is what your own bees make!!

Scott

The Bix · « **Reply #3 on:** March 20, 2011, 11:02:08 pm »

Quote from: hardwood on March 20, 2011, 10:59:11 pm

The best honey is what your own bees make!!

Scott

Exactly!

Ted n Ms · « **Reply #4 on:** March 20, 2011, 11:12:18 pm »

The very best honey is on a buttered biscut. ;)

Shanevrr · « **Reply #5 on:** March 20, 2011, 11:20:19 pm »

:lau:

schawee · « **Reply #6 on:** March 20, 2011, 11:43:28 pm »

X:X X:X X:X X:X

MTWIBadger · « **Reply #7 on:** March 21, 2011, 12:09:17 am »

Sage honey from CA is one of my favorites. Here in Montana, the noxious knapweed is the source of some very good honey.

Course Bee · « **Reply #8 on:** March 21, 2011, 12:20:07 am »

I like enough on a buttered bisquit that it starts to soak through. That is one of my favorites.

Shanevrr · « **Reply #9 on:** March 21, 2011, 08:42:06 am »

Quote from: MTWIBadger on March 21, 2011, 12:09:17 am

Sage honey from CA is one of my favorites. Here in Montana, the noxious knapweed is the source of some very good honey.

wow someone thats understands my question.

hardwood · « **Reply #10 on:** March 21, 2011, 09:24:36 am »

You can pick any varietal of honey and it will be somebody's favorite. Here orange blossom, tupelo, gallberry, and saw palmetto are considered "premium" honey. I like darker, more robust honey myself like "wild flower" or "multi floral" and the best as far as my taste goes is mangrove.

Like I said...whatever your bees make.

Scott

G3farms · « **Reply #11 on:** March 21, 2011, 09:27:06 am »

sourwood and clover is my favorite.

luvin honey · « **Reply #12 on:** March 21, 2011, 02:54:56 pm »

Sourwood is the most unique I have had--and I loved it! Really, though, it's like asking what's the "best music." That is so personal and individual.

Eshu · « **Reply #13 on:** March 21, 2011, 03:44:52 pm »

I like the mixed wildflower honey my bees produce (clear yellow lots of floral flavors) alternated with some nice black buckwheat honey.

Shanevrr · « **Reply #14 on:** March 21, 2011, 10:39:55 pm »

I found it lol.........fireweed :cheer:

TomP · « **Reply #15 on:** March 21, 2011, 10:49:27 pm »

Linden honey is very nice. Pale, almost clear and a slight minty flavor. The city planted a lot of lindens trees and I have been able to harvest honey that is primarily Linden. I like the sweet clover honey also. Only one year did I have enough buckwheat flowers in the area to get some buckwheat honey. Much darker and fuller flavor than typical suburban flower honey.

G3farms · « **Reply #16 on:** March 22, 2011, 12:30:03 am »

I do not much care for the dark stronger tasting honey, the sweeter the better.

Vance G · « **Reply #17 on:** March 22, 2011, 01:06:25 am »

Water white alfalfa bee mighty fine!

annette · « **Reply #18 on:** March 22, 2011, 01:26:47 am »

Eucalyptus honey is wonderful. They get that down in the central valley. There is a grove of eucalyptus trees just down the road from my hives, but I am not sure they are making even a dent in the honey with those trees.

I heard manzanita honey is wonderful and I have 20 acres of it surrounding the beehives, but I have never even seen the bees on the flowers.

JP · « **Reply #19 on:** March 22, 2011, 01:44:21 am »

Sweet Yellow clover makes some of the best I've ever had & I have to say Schawee's honey he brought to Buds last year was also some of the finest I've ever had as was the consensus of who was there as well.

I am also fond of anything with citrus & of course what my bees are making! ;)

We believe it was thistle honey and I am in line for some this season, hopefully way up in the line, as a "true friend". :-D

...JP

skflyfish · « **Reply #20 on:** March 22, 2011, 11:27:48 am »

Of all the honeys I have sampled, my favorite is basswood honey. I am a bit prejudiced because I have basswood trees around my apiary. In Eastern Europe the same tree is called the Linden tree and beekeepers there move their hives to the mountains to collect the 3 week flow. It is prized there.

You may have some basswood in your neck of the woods too.

Jay

greenbtree · « **Reply #21 on:** March 22, 2011, 05:26:31 pm »

As you are finding, there no one best honey. As mentioned, buckwheat is very dark and strong. I like it straight, not everyone does. However, it is KILLER in barbecue sauce and everyone I have ever made it for loves it.

JC

hardwood · « **Reply #22 on:** March 22, 2011, 06:48:21 pm »

JC, please post your recipe in the recipe forum!

Scott

Shanevrr · « **Reply #23 on:** March 22, 2011, 11:21:08 pm »

yes taste preferance has some to do with it. but the same common taste is more common than you think. I was mostly refering to trees, weeds, flowers, ect. as i read im finding more info on it. I most people prefer light honey or at least thats what sells the best. I would personaly love to taste differant honeys. Someone needs to come up with a business, honey samples lol

fish_stix · « **Reply #24 on:** March 23, 2011, 12:20:54 am »

Why not just offer to swap honey? :-D

T Beek · « **Reply #25 on:** March 23, 2011, 08:29:43 am »

On a purely subjective level, We love basswood for its exceptional flavor (late Spring frosts can mean "years" between harvesting any around here sometimes), tupelo for a strange spicyness (we always bring some back when travling south). There are some 'specialty' honey's from Italy and France that fetch some pretty high dollars, but I've never knowingly tried them. Tried some Kenyan and S African honey's awhile back, must've been some kind of local 'wildflower' honey, diferent, but still honey. Wildflower and trees is/are 'our' most common honey's I suppose (and likely, our most consummed).

thomas

organicfarmer · « **Reply #26 on:** March 23, 2011, 09:27:16 am »

chestnut honey is my fav', strong and tasty.
Not found it around here though.

beewitch · « **Reply #27 on:** March 23, 2011, 04:22:36 pm »

Sourwood, Star Thistle and my favorite - Cotton! Cotton is an excellent honey for buttered biscuits... :-D In North GA you can get it at the Jumping Goat in Nacoochee...

greenbtree · « **Reply #28 on:** March 24, 2011, 12:05:58 am »

Barbecue sauce recipe is posted. See Barbecued Baby Back Pork Ribs.

JC

sterling · « **Reply #29 on:** March 24, 2011, 02:07:14 pm »

I love honey a homemade buttered bisquit. But try putting some real olive oil in a skillet and toasting a piece of white bread in the oil and cover that with some wildflower honey. Or sourwood honey from the TN mountians. HMMMM good!

dronedave22 · « **Reply #30 on:** April 18, 2011, 10:52:41 pm »

I have only tried a couple varieties of honey and my favorite was Palmetto! Question how is honey from Milkweed? I love milkweed for it's smell and how it attracts a variety of insects, the majority of my insect photography takes place at the schoolyard across from my house. There is a large area of milkweed, Queen Anne's Lace, clover, and assorted wild flowers, weeds and tall grass...it's bug heaven over there!!! :)

T Beek · « **Reply #31 on:** April 19, 2011, 07:20:41 am »

Milkweed, that's a good question. I know the bees seem to love it and it does smell nice, reminds me of lilacs, but as for honey? I don't know.

thomas