Let Me Tempt You
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it's not really an easy question to answer but I'm sure going to try!
There are other honey varieties produced from forest zones where sugary excretions are collected from the surfaces of the saps and leaves.
These honey varieties are called "Honeydew" and "Tree Honeys". But let's take a look at some honey varieties who have their own special names.
An interesting type of the many varieties of honey in as much as the nectar is collected by very young bees across the vast regions of the USA and many parts of Canada.
It has a mild taste with a distinct taste of beeswax, is high in dextrose, quite light in color and crystallizes very quickly.
The leaves from the alfalfa plant have long been used in herbal medicine to heal arthritis, many problems in the digestive and kidney regions and even for relief of pre-menstrual symptoms.
It is considered to be a true medicinal quality honey and also one I would definitely recommend eating.
This is indeed quite difficult to get hold of, you may see jars of apple blossom honey for sale but unless this honey is collected from one source which is rare, it is likely there will be other types of nectar collected nearby and not just from apple blossoms.
You have to admit it has a great sounding name and there are a few apple orchards set up around North America and some central parts that ship honey bees in purely to collect this nectar during springtime.
A true variety of apple blossom honey will reward you with a delightful fruity and golden sticky treat. Open the jar and sniff in a subtle aroma of apples.
We love blackberries, in fact as soon as they start to turn black on the many bushes we have nearby off we go with containers of all types and pick them ready to cook and eat.
With such a "sweet" sounding name blackberries have to make a great honey variety and they do just that.
Surprisingly there are many who have not sampled this dark, thick but also clear set variety of honey. It is as you would expect quite fruity with a waft of flowery perfume.
Blackberry honey deserves its reputation as a Gourmet Honey which Americans mainly from the Pacific Northwest enjoy on a daily basis, how nice is that! Definitely eat this one.
Blueberry honey is a beautiful runny honey with quite a bite to it. It will surprise your tingling taste buds with its sharpness of un-ripened fruit, almost lemon in flavor.
Michigan and New England are to be envied as the blueberry honey variety is made from the nectar collected from their native blueberry bush bursting with the prettiest of very tiny white flowers.
Delightful to eat with hot waffles or pancakes and a wonderful addition to fruity desserts or healthy smoothies.
Cherry Blossom honey is usually associated with the United Kingdom where cherry blossoms are in abundance throughout spring time.
Take a walk down a UK street during this beautiful season and it takes on a whole new look with these pretty trees as they burst into bloom with their pretty pink flowers.
If you look up as you walk by you will see teams of honey bees busily collecting this nectar.
Japan also has a fondness for cherry blossoms in particular recent times, they are as alarmed as most of us are at the demise of honey bees disappearing and have actually planted cherry trees for the bees in Tokyo near the Imperial Palace which burst into bloom in April.
If you are able to purchase a jar of this honey variety don’t expect it to taste much like cherries, it actually has an almost delicious almond flavor with a medium amber color.
A very popular honey variety in most parts of Europe. One of those varieties of honey that will surprise you, it isn’t sweet tasting; it is actually quite pungent with quite an intense flavor.
A great honey which is extremely rich in essential minerals this is great honey to eat if you like strong and very dark amber varieties of honey.
In savory Honey Recipes it would be a perfect addition and because it rarely crystallizes is very easy to pour or drizzle.
You will need a trip to South Africa to find real Fynbos honey which is harvested from the Erica shrub species unique to the coastal areas. Originally this plant was from Australia.
An interesting honey variety with strong healing powers much like Manuka. It does taste very much the same as Manuka with quite an antiseptic taste almost eucalyptus in flavor which is an acquired taste.
However, as with any type of honey variety weather conditions and the time of year nectar is collected play a huge part in determining the flavors and colors.
It is possible however to be able to purchase a jar of this amber colored runny honey that does actually have a light floral taste.
A good medicinal variety which has undergone extensive testing, this has revealed it to be very high in antibacterial activity.
Let’s take a springtime trip to Southern Florida to take in the sight of Gallberry bushes bursting not only with their distinctive white flowers but with dancing honey bees bursting into frenzy.
Once their honey is harvested enjoy a beautiful floral tasting, dark toffee colored and liquid delight. Open the jar and take in the flowery aroma, this is one you will be hooked on eating and cooking with.
It doesn’t crystallize easily and is a wonderful addition to a spoon, dive in and eat a spoonful twice a day at the very least because this honey variety is one from which you will truly derive all the Health Benefits of Honey from. A firm favorite in the USA for honey lovers and deservedly so.
You are not very likely to want to eat this honey variety!! It isn’t often I will warn you of such a thing but if you open a jar of this it smells absolutely disgusting.
The smell is quite putrid and trying to be kind to it; its flavor is "distinctive"! But it does appear to be a popular variety of honey for bakers and for Making Honey Wine.
Hawthorne Honey is very well known in the field of honey connoisseurs who enjoy this honey variety so much they will stock their cupboards up with it due to its rarity.
The Hawthorne itself only yields nectar for a short period of time so the bees have to be quick when it comes to collecting this delicious nectar.
Beautifully dark brown, and thick in texture with a wonderful aroma of almonds it has a great nutty flavor which makes it a perfect spreading honey.
Very rich in Nutrition it has been used as an excellent alternative for treating many ailments.
It has had huge success helping disorders such as hypertension, regulating the heart and is wonderful when drunk with a glass of warm milk before bed for inducing sleep.
A variety of honey most definitely best eaten or drunk in its Raw Organic Honey state due to the high concentration of pollen it contains. Perfect as a use for those who are in the know when it is eaten as Honey for Allergies.
I have to say that many a honey variety that is considered good if not great is honey from New Zealand and Kamahi honey is just one superb variety.
Another springtime honey whose nectar is collected from the fresh air of New Zealand’s wide open spaces where the Kamachi tree grows.
Bursting with pretty white flowers the nectar forms a rich texture of golden runny honey with a pleasant taste which slides down your throat with ease.
Try this variety of honey as an addition to a Honey Drink because it is a superb energy booster if you’re feeling tired or a bit run down.
We need a visit to Hawaii (oh yes please) to experience the uniqueness of Kiawe honey, an absolutely rare pure white honey with a very delicate sweet flavor, much like most of us expect honey to taste.
This honey variety is a Crystallized Honey which makes it less messy than some; this makes it perfect for "spooning" purposes.
By that I mean just dipping a spoon in the jar and eating it just as it is. Isn’t this just the best way to enjoy our honey!
Just who on earth thought up all these names! Leatherwood is a strange name if you were to give it much thought however, this one takes its name from the leatherwood tree and blossoms of Tasmania.
Honey is big business in this part of the world where this honey variety makes up for most of its honey production, about 70% in fact.
The nectar is collected from pretty white flowers from which honey bees perform their own business of making honey.
Don’t allow the name to put you off because the taste of the finished article is wonderfully fresh, buttery, really creamy and slightly citrusy in both taste and texture.
A wonderful variety which works very well when making delicious Honey Butter.
Raspberry honey certainly sounds more palatable and its delicate taste of fruity undertones is not one to be missed.
It’s a shame that many people are put off by the sugary texture and look of this honey, it just crystallizes quicker than most honey varieties.
It is really easy to liquefy if a runny texture is what you want as most people do, just loosen the lid of the jar and stand it in a pan of hot water for a short time and it melts into a runny state.
This is a late summer variety, one you should seek out if like me you are trying to experience every named honey variety there is.
It is considered to be a gourmet honey and is totally delicious drizzled over something chocolaty like ice-cream or a hot chocolate brownie.
Rata honey crystallizes rapidly and has a very light slightly amber color although at times can look almost white.
The rata flower from which this nectar is obtained is amongst one of the prettiest blossoms I have ever seen but it is extremely erratic in blossom times.
During the right weather conditions it will blossom each year, although at times it may not flower for 2 – 3 years which makes it an Artisanal Honey Lovers dream.
The flavor though is entirely different, I’m sure most of you who are reading this think much the same as I did years ago believing honey to all be the same, golden, amber and runny.
This honey variety is far from being that with an almost salty flavor which rapidly crystallizes.
I would think this variety of honey would be perfect as an addition to a barbecue glaze although any honey connoisseur would think that total sacrilege!
Yet another of those superb honey varieties which come only from New Zealand. If you were to blindfold someone and ask them to taste it they will most often mistake it for Manuka honey.
It has a deep red to amber appearance which produces quite a strong almost malty and medicinal flavor.
An extremely healing honey and one that Dr Peter Molam has also tested. His findings were of the extraordinary amounts of hydrogen peroxide activity this honey is able to produce.
Maybe this one would make a perfect addition to your all natural medicine cabinets.
When I think rosemary I think firstly of a friend with the same name and then I think "lamb". Rosemary is the lovely herb that garnishes a joint of lamb so perfectly.
Although rosemary honey is quite sweet, light amber in color it will become almost white when it crystallizes.
I have used this variety of honey myself on the Sunday joint by melting a spoonful slowly in a cup and adding freshly chopped rosemary.
Using a pastry brush I glaze over the joint of lamb to make a perfect honey glaze.
Mainly from the wide open plains of Salisbury in the UK which I have personally visited many times there grows a red colored clover.
The nectar obtained from this rare flower makes a delicious honey variety called Sainfoin honey. UK buyers will tell you this honey is to be savored, too good to cook with even.
It is a rare honey often sold in chunk form as slices of pure honey comb.
Creamy and pale yellow in color with a soft delicate flavor and aromatic smell this is a variety that is difficult to get hold of because as soon as it hits the shop shelves it is snapped up.
I have always wondered if it were possible to have a Tulip honey but this is seems is the nearest we’ll get to a Tulip honey.
A late spring honey variety mostly from New England and right through to Michigan and the Gulf States of the Mississippi.
The nectar comes from large green to yellow blossoms which produce a dark amber color honey.
An interesting honey variety, because unlike most this one isn’t as strong in flavor as most dark colored honeys are. Favored for savory baking purposes.
in the World!
This is the honey variety which most people will tell you is the
Yemen honey has a very high price, think $100 and that is what you can expect to pay for a jar unless of course you happen to live in the Yemon region where it is easily obtained.
It has an amazing history surrounding it. Nectar is collected from the Sidr tree, also known as Lote tree, Christ's Thorn and Jujube.
The fruit from the tree is as legends tell us the first thing Adam ate on earth. It is mentioned four times in the Qur'an and every single part of the tree has high medicinal qualities.
Golden yellow, thick and sweet, a marvelous honey to eat and use for medicinal purposes too, if you can afford it!
This honey variety deserves a much fuller explanation as to why it is so special which is why I am very happy to direct you to a link which explains everything you ever wished to know about this hugely expensive honey known as Sidr/Yemen Honey.
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