Worldwide Beekeeping

Beekeeping => Products Of The Hive => Topic started by: omnimirage on December 27, 2017, 12:06:45 am

Title: Honey Flavours
Post by: omnimirage on December 27, 2017, 12:06:45 am
It's seeming to me that there's a spectrum with honey, with on one end we have light coloured honey, that's more sweet in it's profile, then on the opposite end we have dark coloured honey, which has a stronger, more robust flavour to it.

It's apparent that different people prefer different flavours. Recently, I've had some people try some dark coloured honey that I have, and they've told me that they don't usually like honey, and they didn't like the initial sweet sensation, but the robust honey aftertaste was quite pleasurable for them, and it's the best honey they've tried.
Title: Re: Honey Flavours
Post by: Bakersdozen on December 29, 2017, 11:04:54 pm
Cool.  8)
Sounds like a good reason to keep the different varietals of honey separated and labeled appropriately.  Do you know what the nectar sources are for your honey?
Title: Re: Honey Flavours
Post by: apisbees on December 30, 2017, 12:31:28 am
Could it be Eucalyptus honey it is a bit darker and has a great taste It is marketed as Eucalyptus honey all over the world.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Eucalyptus+honey&client=opera&hs=vGC&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDhfia_rDYAhUF3WMKHex_CpEQsAQIaw&biw=1344&bih=719

It is not that it is any less sweetness than the light honeys, but because of the oils that give the different honeys their taste. When you first place it in your mouth and on your tong, the sweetness is what you get, then as the sugars are dissolved by your saliva and thinned out then the stronger flavors are picked up by the taste buds. With stronger flavored honeys the sugars do not need to be diluted as much for the stronger flavors to be detected, this makes the brain think that the honey is not as sweet. But in reality they all contain close to the same amount of sugars.
Title: Re: Honey Flavours
Post by: efmesch on December 30, 2017, 03:33:04 pm
You have to keep in mind that flavor is also infuenced by fragrance, for better or for worse.  Some honey sources have a delicate fragrance that adds to the taste of the honey, while others are repulsive and as such, make the honey less desireable.
Title: Re: Honey Flavours
Post by: Riverrat on December 30, 2017, 10:14:57 pm
My best seller that people always come looking for more have been dark honeys
Title: Re: Honey Flavours
Post by: omnimirage on January 02, 2018, 07:22:25 pm
When I've been going to markets, I've been colour coordinating my honey so that the lightest is to the left, and my darkest honey is to the right. Looks rather pretty. I'm not sure what my nectar sources are, it's something that I need to learn but my main source I believe is mostly mallee honey, which is a variety of Eucalyptus honey.

I believe all the honey the my bees make is at least to some extent Eucalyptus, if not largely. There's simply lots of Eucalyptus sources around where I am here in Australia, lots of Eucalyptus trees that make lots of lucrative nectar.

Very interesting about the oils and sweeteners apisbees! I need to learn more about this sort of stuff, it helps me actually sell my product to people.