Re: Honey
[Re: Ranger109]
#6996073
09/21/20 10:53 AM
09/21/20 10:53 AM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 9,226 Alaska and Washington State
waggler
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 9,226
Alaska and Washington State
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The best tasting honey I ever had was Mountain Huckleberry ( Vaccinium membranaceum) honey. Pretty rare and expensive. What other outstanding flavours are out there in different parts of the Country? I'm admittedly somewhat of a honey snob.
"My life is better than your vacation"
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Re: Honey
[Re: Ranger109]
#6996101
09/21/20 11:28 AM
09/21/20 11:28 AM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 9,226 Alaska and Washington State
waggler
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 9,226
Alaska and Washington State
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BTW, I mentioned Huckleberry honey above, if you try to buy any on line be aware that almost ALL of it is just clover honey with huckleberry flavouring or juice added. It is hard to find true huckleberry pollenating bee honey, but if you find some grab it.
"My life is better than your vacation"
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Re: Honey
[Re: waggler]
#6996121
09/21/20 11:57 AM
09/21/20 11:57 AM
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 715 Michigan
BigBlackBirds
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 715
Michigan
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The best tasting honey I ever had was Mountain Huckleberry ( Vaccinium membranaceum) honey. Pretty rare and expensive. What other outstanding flavours are out there in different parts of the Country? I'm admittedly somewhat of a honey snob. Around here there's a variety but not sure they are necessarily "outstanding": Blueberry, not a fan of flavor. similar to most of the early fruit tree honey, blue berry always seems harsh and strong to me. color is all over the board from water white to light amber depending on how fast it comes in. Locust, to me super sweet but very little flavor and almost always light colored between white and water white. fairly popular honey and makes for nice cut comb. but blooms at a weird time that leads it to often be overpowered by both blueberries and autumn olive. Tulip poplar, one of my favorites. fairly rich taste without some of the overbearing strong flavors that i associate with early orchard honey or something like buckwheat. most normally color is low end light amber color with hints of red which tends to make it less popular with consumers than higher grading white honey. Basswood, historically the primary crop in the state. distinctive flavor with fairly strong mint type tones. color is all over the board but on average comes in as extra light amber Star Thistle (knapweed). The invasive that displaces basswood from the top producer spot depending on the year. Almost always white in color. Pleasant distinctive flavor but to me has a sharp acidic after bite. Super popular. The honey ingredient for a number of "bigger" micro breweries when a citrus flavor is not wanted. Milkweed, another favorite of mine. Tends to be come in as extra light amber but has the nicest cinnamon tones. There are all kinds of others and you can taste the variety as it comes in from those but they often times tend to be more a minor part of our crop and can get overpowered but the predominant floral sources. funny year here, we lost both the locust and basswood crop. there were basically no locust flowers this year and very little basswood either. one of those years when the traditional minor floral sources became the majority so a blended flavor is slightly different this year. tasted a fair amount of raspberry and alfalfa at times.
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Re: Honey
[Re: Ranger109]
#6996128
09/21/20 12:10 PM
09/21/20 12:10 PM
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Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 3,182 Pa.
Bigbrownie
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 3,182
Pa.
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I have taken honey off twice this year ( western and north central Pa. ) in early July and mid August. I was away for a week at the beach at OBX, just got home Saturday night. My plan was to take off all my supers today and tomorrow, but the goldenrod flow is still on. Most years it’s wrapped up by now, but I’m guessing the summer drought and late August rains must have thrown off the normal timing. Bees are working frantically, and the smell of drying goldenrod is overwhelming.
Kept bees for 48 years, this is by far the best season I’ve ever had....12 producing hives ( plus 5 swarms I caught and hived ) , 1300 pounds so far, with probably another 400 pounds to yet to remove. I’ve never seen hives this strong. April and early May were wet and cold, but after that, nothing but dry sunny days.
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Re: Honey
[Re: Ranger109]
#6996133
09/21/20 12:18 PM
09/21/20 12:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,154 Tug Hill, NY
Redknot
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,154
Tug Hill, NY
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Most of mine comes from Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis...
~Illegitimi Non Carborundum~
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Re: Honey
[Re: waggler]
#6996135
09/21/20 12:20 PM
09/21/20 12:20 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 6,527 Wi.
Diggerman
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 6,527
Wi.
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The best tasting honey I ever had was Mountain Huckleberry ( Vaccinium membranaceum) honey. Pretty rare and expensive. What other outstanding flavours are out there in different parts of the Country? I'm admittedly somewhat of a honey snob. Never had that but I was very impressed with Saw Palmetto honey.
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Re: Honey
[Re: Redknot]
#6996158
09/21/20 12:44 PM
09/21/20 12:44 PM
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 715 Michigan
BigBlackBirds
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 715
Michigan
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Most of mine comes from Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis... makes a dark, fairly nice honey here but its generally a minor source in comparison.
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Re: Honey
[Re: BigBlackBirds]
#6996183
09/21/20 01:11 PM
09/21/20 01:11 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,646 Georgia
warrior
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,646
Georgia
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Waggler--there's likely someone on here from the southeast that will have some sourwood. that's a classic
Sourwood is always a crapshoot, you haul your bees to the mountains and hope. Sourwood is funny. One side of the mountain may be a bust while the other side is a boom. We also have sumac blooming at the same time so it's bee's choice what you might get. If you're early to the mountains there's also basswood to contend with. Here in Georgia we also got tupelo aka ogeechee buttery flavor, palmetto, gallberry, cotton, tallow but the state is trying to eradicate that.
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Re: Honey
[Re: Redknot]
#6996212
09/21/20 01:39 PM
09/21/20 01:39 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,686 Champaign County, Ohio.
KeithC
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,686
Champaign County, Ohio.
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Most of mine comes from Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis... I have a few buttonbushes in my low area on my farm. They smell fantastic. I cut some branches for Diane earlier this year. They made the kitchen smell really good. Buttonbushes are a very pretty plant too. I am going to try to clone some this late Fall. I suspect they make very flavorful honey. The plants here get covered by bees and wasps. Keith
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Re: Honey
[Re: Ranger109]
#6996221
09/21/20 01:48 PM
09/21/20 01:48 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,154 Tug Hill, NY
Redknot
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,154
Tug Hill, NY
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Keith, when my bees are on it the whole bee yard smells of buttonbush; great aroma...My area is very unique to have this amount, but it does make for some wonderful honey...
~Illegitimi Non Carborundum~
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