Rays of Sunshine in a Jar
Sunflower Honey

Do you remember those days too? Or perhaps it is your turn now to help your own children to do this. Watch as they excitedly plant that little seed perhaps not really understanding what will happen but just enjoying the experience of learning something new.

Our honey bees must have these feelings as they buzz happily through the open fields full of the happy faces our sunflowers appear to radiate.

Of course, today we as adults are too painfully aware of the implications of not planting those seeds or any others as our bees appear to be dwindling.

This will go a long way to ensure that they can continue their work and we can reap the benefits which is far more than making sunflower honey.

Very much as you would expect, it really lives up to its name. It shines brightly yellow just as our sun does on the days it decides to put in an appearance!

This honey is known to crystallize quite quickly making it look a little like sugar granules. However, please let me reassure you, crystallized honey is nothing to worry about.

To make it "runny" again if this is your preference, simply loosen the lid of the jar and stand it in a pot of hot water, this will melt it gently (never try to heat it any other way) then simply tighten the lid before giving the jar a good shake.

If you were to heat it over direct heat or even in the microwave it will burn, it will not look very nice and will also destroy any of the goodness it contains. What a waste of such a lovely honey!

When you open the jar for a sniff it has a very subtle aroma some say of grass and others have likened it to pollen but on the whole it has a lovely fruity flavor.

As with any honey varieties the flavor would depend on the nectar source in each jar.

In this case this has many factors such as where the sunflowers grow, and how much sunflower nectar was used when making the honey.

To be a truly artisanal honey it would be safe to say that at least 51% of the nectar was collected from sunflowers exclusively.

To enjoy the taste of this honey at its best, leave it in its crystallized state and spread on a slice of freshly baked bread.

You may like to try this one honey whole wheat bread recipe if you’re anything like me and enjoy home baking. To make this even more delicious sprinkle a few honey roasted sunflower seeds on top.

Because of its crystallized state it is not as messy for the children as it tends to stay firmly on that slice of bread rather than drip off the sides, all over your hands and can and will be a messy delight to children!

It is actually quite a firm favourite with cooks and chefs who love to make biscuits, cookies, cakes and even nougat. If you’d like to be a little more adventurous it is suitable for most types of honey recipes.

Interestingly, Native Americans used sunflower seeds to make a form of flour for their own types of bread and soups to eat. I’m sure there are quite a few who still do. Note to self: I really must give this a try.

A study performed by scientists in New York who compared several types of honey discovered this honey had the highest value of amino acids. What are amino acids? Quite simply this means they help our bodies in its production of essential proteins.

It is packed with antioxidants very essential to us. Without these we would not be very healthy at all. Antioxidants are found in most healthy foods and not unique to honey, however there are plenty of them to be found in there.

Honey enzymes also help to make up the health and medical benefits of honey and there are plenty of these also. Some of these are unique so this would be a great honey for you to have in your food store cupboard.

You may like to read a question often asked: How do Enzymes Work?

I put it on my list of "things to do" one day and found the research fascinating, I certainly hope you do to.

Apart from its very special ingredients, look and taste it can be produced in any part of the world with a suitable sunny climate such as Spain, Italy and France.

This is interesting because the sunflower itself actually evolved on the great plains of North America.

Honey should never be taken from a bee honeycomb until it has been totally sealed with bees wax because it would be un-ripe.

The type of honey we are discussing here will quickly harden in the comb. Because of this, the honey producers will need to harvest it as soon as it is ready.

Although sunflowers are grown worldwide more for the oil and seed they contain there is a particular company in France who produce this lovely honey and during the autumn of 1994 made a pretty horrific discovery!

The sunflower seeds which had been used to grow that year’s crop had been saturated with "GAUCHO" causing multiple deaths of honey bees to beekeepers of the central areas.

Faced with problems following the recent sunflower nectar flow they questioned BAYER on the subject of "GAUCHO", which just happened to be introduced the same year on sunflowers. You can read the full report at Apiservices Articles.

In Bulgaria there are many forms of honey varieties produced but most interestingly 30% of their honeys produced are the delightful sunflower honey.

I always advise caution to be taken with any form of honey that you decide to buy. Always make sure it comes from a reliable source, it hasn’t been blended with anything and it has a traceable address.

Take a look at the label and if you see "blended with or a mixture of blends" my advice would be leave it on the shelf where it belongs, who knows what it's been blended with?

If it is pure and you are happy to feed yourself and family with it then yes, the answers to Is Honey Good for You can all be found here.

And if you are sowing sunflower seeds with your children I thought it would be nice for you to teach them a few facts about this fascinating plant at the same time.

This is something close to my own heart, educating children and teaching them something new each day. Take a look at Facts about Sunflowers, Loads of tips in their article for you.