A very Special Honey Variety
Acacia Honey

It is mostly a very pale golden color and one very good reason that chunks of bee honeycomb are often added to a jar of this honey. The paleness allows the honeycomb to be seen quite easily. At times this honey can almost be quite colorless which does not affect its flavor.

Acacia honey tastes a bit like vanilla although it is quite mild and sweet with a hint of flowery nectar. The Acacia flower is a very pretty yellow and is often mistaken for mimosa.

This honey very rarely crystallizes and remains liquid for a very long time. The reason for this, it has a lower acid content than some other honeys.

Acacia itself is often added to sports drinks which also usually contain sugar and sugar substitutes; you may as well save your money if you buy these products because acacia honey mixed with fresh water is far more natural and effective if you need to boost and prolong your energy levels.

It is a honey variety which is very useful as a medicinal honey too. It has healing qualities because of the plant the nectar comes from along with the special enzymes added by the bees.

Most people tend to refer to it as a plant though some prefer to call it an herb even if it does happen to come from a spiny tree.

We could quite reasonably name it as a "Tree Honey" although that particular name really belongs to nectar collected from tree saps whereas acacia nectar is collected from a very pretty blossom.

The Ancient Egyptians were a pretty advanced collection of people who used the beauty benefits of honey having recognized this as excellent for the complexion.

They ate Acacia seeds and even used the plant to mix with paint to decorate themselves. It is thought that most of their honey was Acacia honey!

For those of you who like to grow your own honeybee gardens, this plant only really thrives in very warm conditions which means there would be little point in me trying to grow it in England. However it could be grown as a pretty house plant if kept at temperatures of above 64 degrees Farenheight.

In parts of the USA, mainly the eastern regions of North America beekeepers will place their hives as closely as possible to these trees in the hope the honey bees will be driven into a frenzy of heady delight once the blossoms appear.

The fruits of their labors will produce a monofloral honey also known as Artisanal Honey due to the nectar being mainly from one source. They sell their honey by the name of American Acacia.

Acacia honey can also be confused with Locust Honey which in all fairness is easily done due to the similarity of the two. This is known in honey circles as False Acacia.

This delicious honey can be eaten alone by the spoonful, often the best way in my opinion. It is a very popular honey for combining with the tastes of delicious cheeses particularly ricotta

As I stated at the beginning of this article cooks and chefs have discovered it amazing for use when cooking cakes and is quite lovely when added to tea, tea and honey are a very refreshing change from the usual added milk.

As with all good honey’s this honey has an extensive shelf life when stored correctly, it does not have to be refrigerated and as long as you keep the jar tightly sealed when not in use makes a very useful addition to your kitchen and bathroom cabinets.