7 Types of Honey: How to Use Different Types of Honey

Honey is a sweet food product and sweetener produced by honeybees. The type of flower or flowers a bee frequents affects the taste, aroma, color, and texture of the honey. This golden liquid has many culinary applications and medicinal uses. Wildflower honey, sage honey, and manuka honey from organic blossoms are high in antioxidants, and can help soothe sore throats and mitigate allergy symptoms.

Honey bees have been kept by humans for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used honey as an offering to the gods, and it also served as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. These civilizations also used honey for cooking and baking and for its healing properties. Today, many honey varieties are available for sale at your local grocery store or farmers’ market.

Honey is typically named after the type of flower from which the nectar was collected. For example, eucalyptus honey, alfalfa honey, dandelion honey, and acacia honey are varietal or unifloral honey, meaning the nectar beekeepers collect from one flower source. Honey made from the nectar of more than one type of flower is known as multiflora honey.

From the beehive to grocery store shelves, the process of producing honey includes the folliwng steps:

1. 1. Bees gather the nectar. Honeybees collect and bring back flower nectar—such as wildflowers or honeydew from other insects—to their hive. Once there, the nectar passes from worker bee to worker bee. Each worker bee adds important enzymes that break down the nectar even further with every movement. At this point, the honeybees begin to fan the nectar with their wings to dry out the high moisture.
2. 2. Bees store the nectar and transform it into honey. Once enough water evaporates, the bees store the nectar in wax structures known as honeycombs. At the point, the nectar has been reduced primarily to fructose and glucose.
3. 3. Beekeepers extract the honey. To prepare the honey for distribution, beekeepers or processors extract the honey and strain it to remove any contaminants or pieces of beeswax. This process results in raw honey.
4. 4. Producers pasteurize the honey. Many honey producers pasteurize the honey to have a longer shelf life. Pasteurization and filtration destroy the yeast and bee pollen within the honey, but it also removes most of the health benefits associated with honey when these elements are destroyed.

For culinary applications of honey, there is a wide variety of honies with varying flavors, aftertastes, and textures. Consider using the following types of honey:

1. 1. Buckwheat honey: Buckwheat honey is great honey for making marinades, especially for meats. States including New York and Ohio produce this dark brown, rust-colored honey. Its antiinflammatory properties can help treat a sore throat.
2. 2. Clover honey: This light-colored honey, first sourced in New Zealand and Canada, is one of the most popular types of honey in North America. It has a light, mild flavor, making it a great addition to dressings, sauces, and baking recipes.
3. 3. Fireweed honey: Fireweed honey is made from fireweed plants in Canada, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Its a sweet honey suitable for baking and for making marinades for grilling.
4. 4. Linden honey: This honey has different names depending upon the continent. In Europe, it’s known as lime honey, and in the United States, its name is used interchangeably with basswood honey. This honey is perfect for baking and cooking due to its vibrant flavors.
5. 5. Orange blossom honey: Orange blossom honey, originally from Mexico and Spain, is commonly made in Texas, California, and Florida from the orange blossoms of orange trees. It is a light honey with a bright citrus flavor.
6. 6. Sourwood honey: This buttery, textured honey is a bit spicy. Try spreading it over a piece of toast or on your morning bagel. Its name stems from the sourwood trees found throughout the Southeast and Midwestern United States. Its high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can help mitigate allergy symptoms.
7. 7. Tupelo honey: Tupelo honey is popular honey for making different sauces, particularly barbecue sauce. This light amber honey is produced in remote swamp areas with tupelo trees in Florida and Georgia.

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