Honeys come by many names--orange blossom, wildflower, buckwheat, rosemary, clover, sourwood--and all are generated from bees that have hives in the middle of a specific kind of grove. The bees that leave their hive are only collecting the nectar from the grove that they live in. Therefore, the honey collected from the bees in the hive should be very pure. Wildflower honey is honey that is collected by bees from various flowers and plants, whereas orange blossom honey would be collected exclusively from orange groves, and clover honey from great, big fields of clover.
Honey lends itself to many types of recipes. It melds easily with other liquid ingredients, sweetens otherwise savory dishes, helps tame spicy flavors and boosts otherwise bland-tasting dishes. Honey also adds richness and a light golden touch to marinades, dressings and glazes for meat or fish. Honey is also great for adding sweetness to desserts, including cookies, cakes, pies and other baked goods. It can also be used as an alternative to spreads or butter on top of toasted bread.
Here are several common types of honey:
- Buckwheat honey can be used for flavoring whipped cream that you can spoon atop desserts, such as strawberry shortcake. This honey is a dark, almost molasses-colored honey, and you'll be surprised at the wonderful flavor that this gives to the whipped cream.
- Rosemary honey has a light, golden color, and it's thick and rich with an almost creamy consistency.
- Clover honey has a terrific amber color and a great flavor.
- Orange blossom honey has a golden color--almost orange to remind you of the oranges that grow on the trees in the orange groves.
- Wildflower honey can be almost any shade of gold at all.
- Lavender honey is a creamy, rich honey. The best lavender honey is one that is created from nectar by bees who frequent the great lavender fields in Provence.
You can find out much more information about the keeping of bees from books (see the bibliography below). You can also access information on the Internet as well.
RECOMMENDED READING
Eva Crane
"The Archaeology of Beekeeping"
(Cornell University, 1984; $52.50)
Dadant & Sons (editors)
"The Hive and the Honey Bee"
(Dadant & Sons, 1992; $36)
James L. Gould and Carol Grant Gould
"The Honey Bee"
(W.H. Freeman, 1995; $19.95)
Roger A. Morse
"ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture"
(A.I. Root Company, 1990; $30)
Edward A. Weiss
"The Queen and I"
(E.A. Weiss and Company, 1985; $19.95)
E.A. Weiss and Company
3 Whipstick Road
Wilton, CT 06897
203-762-3538
MORE INFORMATION
American Beekeeping Federation
P.O. Box 1038
Jessup, GA 31598
912-427-4233
Email: info@abfnet.org
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