MONOFLORAL HONEY

'Monofloral honey' is a type of honey which has a high value in the marketplace because it has a distinctive flavor or other attribute due to its being predominantly from the nectar of one plant species.
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While all honeys have some medicinal value, manuka honey from New Zealand has been shown to have higher antibacterial activity than other tested honeys. Tupelo honey from the southeastern United States is prized because it is extremely slow to crystallize. In northern Florida, an independent testing laboratory certifies the purity of local tupelo honey, which greatly increases its value.
While there may never be an absolute monofloral type, some honeys are relatively pure due to the prodigious nectar production of a particular species, such as citrus (Orange blossom honey), or there may be little else in bloom at the time.
Beekeepers learn the predominant nectar sources of their region, and often plan harvests to keep especially fine ones separate. For example, in the southern Appalachians sourwood honey, from a small tree that blooms late is highly regarded. Beekeepers try to remove the previously produced dark and strong flavored tulip poplar honey, just before the sourwood bloom, so the lighter sourwood is not contaminated. During sourwood bloom, there is little else for the bees to forage.
Monofloral honeys are also kept in separate tanks and labeled separately so as to command a premium price.

Contents

Some types of monofloral honey

Sources

See also

Some types of monofloral honey

★ Acacia In Eastern North America and Europe acacia honey is actually from a false acacia, ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known as black locust, a tree native to eastern North America and widely planted in Europe. The honey in the US is sometimes labeled "American Acacia." Its colour ranges from light yellow to almost colourless, and it has a lower acid content than other honeys. Its high fructose content means that it can stay liquid for a long time. The main producers are Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania but it is also found in Canada, China, France and Italy.

★ Alfalfa does not commonly come on the market as a monofloral. It is white.

★ Apple blossom honey is produced mainly in the United Kingdom.

★ Avocado Avocado honey is dark.

★ BasswoodLime (linden) blossom (''Tilia americana'') makes a water-white or pale honey, although its colouring depends on the time of collection. It is produced in China, Hungary, Poland and the United Kingdom.

★ Buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum'') honey is very dark. Buckwheat was an important crop in the US from about 1930 to the 1960s, which has since faded from use, and buckwheat honey has become scarce in the US. It is still a common honey in China and Russia. A wild buckwheat ''Polygonum cuspidatum'' from a close kin that has become established in the US is naturally more mild than the familiar buckwheat, and sometimes is used to blend with buckwheat, or sold separately as a monofloral called "bamboo."

★ Cherry blossom. Produced in the United Kingdom.

★ Chestnut. Yellowish-brown in colour, it has the highest mineral content of all honeys.

★ Clover Genuine monofloral clover is rare, as most light, mild-flavored honeys are mixed and called clover for the retail trade. Pure monofloral clover is water white in colour. The main producers are Canada and New Zealand.

★ Eucalyptus Common in Australia, monofloral Eucalypt honeys include Yellow Box, Blue Gum, River Red Gum, Ironbark and Stringybark. Tasmanian Leatherwood honey is considered a delicacy.

★ Fireweed Fireweed honey is produced in great quantities in some areas of western Canada and northwestern US and is considered a premium monofloral.

★ Goldenrod Plants of the genus ''Solidago'' sometimes produce large quantities of nectar. With acid soil, adequate moisture and good foraging weather during the autumn bloom, bees can make large quantities of honey from it. Much of it is sold for bakery use, but in some areas it has become a favored monofloral honey.

★ Hawthorn Produced in the United Kingdom.

★ Heather Produced mainly in the United Kingdom.

★ Kamahi is a common tree found in many of New Zealand's rugged native forests. The creamy coloured flowers are very attractive to bees and bloom in abundance throughout the Spring producing a light amber honey.

★ Kiawe

★ Lavender Produced mainly in France and Spain.

★ The Tasmanian Leatherwood (''Eucryphia lucida'').

★ Lehua Probably the rarest Hawaiian Honey, Lehua Honey is made from the Lehua blossoms of the Ohia tree. It is liquid when harvested from the hives but it turns into a creamed sturdy Honey after a couple of weeks.

★ Macadamia Dark honey

★ Mesquite In the Southwestern U.S., the mesquite tree is prized for its sweet-smoky smelling wood, primarily used in barbecues and meat smokers. The honey produced from its flowers also has this distinctive smoky aroma.

★ Nodding Thistle Honey Found extensively throughout New Zealand's Canterbury and Otago Provinces in the South Island and Hawkes Bay in the North Island, Nodding Thistle flowers in late summer. It has a brilliant large mauve head, characteristic of thistles, and produces a light coloured honey.

★ Orange blossom honey is actually made from mixed citrus nectars. It is a thick honey that ranges from light amber to water white, the lighter colour and milder flavor coming in years when there is a large flow and the honey is little contaminated by other nectars. The main producers are France, Mexico and Spain.

★ Poplar ''Liriodendron tulipifera'' is actually not a poplar, but honey called "poplar" is a favorite native monofloral honey of the Southern Appalachians. In mason jars it looks black, but when held to the light it looks reddish.

★ Raspberry Honey is available in the United States in some areas where raspberries are grown commercially.

★ Rata Honey Southern rātā is one of several species of ''Metrosideros'' found in New Zealand but is the one that most regularly produces a honey crop, although even this honey is sometimes in very short supply. This area produces the purest rata honey, very white in colour.

★ Rewarewa Honey

★ Rosemary Produced in France and Spain.

★ Sage

★ Sourwood

★ Sunflower Because sunflower honey crystallizes quickly, becoming soft and easy to spread, it is often consumed in its crystallized state. Produced mainly in France and Spain.

★ Tawari Honey The 'beaujolais' of honeys. Its origins are the lowland forests of New Zealand's far north.

★ Thyme Honey continues to flourish today in New Zealand's Central Otago

★ Tupelo Tupelo is made from trees of the genus ''Nyssa'' which are native to wetlands of southeastern USA. In many areas the forests have been cut over, greatly reducing the supply of the honey. It is favored for some uses because it is very slow to granulate. Northern Florida is a major producer and honey that is certified by laboratory analysis as purely tupelo brings a premium price.

★ Viper's Bugloss Honey This wild flower covers the hills of the New Zealand Central South Island during summer months. The seed was once used as a treatment for snakebite, which gives the plant its name.

Sources

1. Monofloral honey types (in German)

See also

★ Northern Nectar Sources for Honeybees

★ Nectar source

★ List of honey plants