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 predominately from the nectar of one plant species. 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.
Some types of monofloral honey
- Acacia In Eastern North America and Western 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 western Europe. The honey in the US is sometimes labeled "American Acacia." It is water white, mild flavored and slightly tangy.
- Alfalfa Alfalfa does not commonly come on the market as a monofloral. It is unique in that it appears to be thin and unripe, even when it actually has been ripened to the proper water content (about 17-18%). It is white, and nearly flavorless.
- Avocado Avocado honey is dark and fairly strong flavored. It's an acquired taste.
- Basswood Basswood (Tilia americana) makes a water-white honey with a strong "bite" that makes it unpleasant as a monofloral honey. However, when mixed with clover or another mild-flavored honey, it becomes agreeably minty in taste.
- Buckwheat Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) honey is very dark and fairly strong tasting. Persons who have never tasted it often dislike the flavor; however many Americans have been brought up on buckwheat honey. 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. Buckwheat is often blended to make a milder flavored honey, and many consumers prefer the cut version without realizing that it is cut. 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."
- 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 tangy and delicate in flavor, being water white in color.
- Eucalyptus The three main monofloral Eucalypt honeys are Yellow Box, Blue Gum and River Red Gum.
- Fireweed Fireweed honey is very light and mild flavored. It 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 with a distinctive spicey taste. Goldenrod is unusual in that the unripe honey has a putrid smell until the bees have finished ripening it. Bears have been known to follow the odor upwind during goldenrod bloom to find hives that they can raid.
- Leatherwood The Tasmanian Leatherwood produces a strong spicy flavour. It is generally considered an acquired taste, and many people find it too strong in the unblended form.
- 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. It is strong flavored, liked by those familiar from childhood, but not usually liked by persons tasting it for the first time.
- Kamahi Honey Kamahi is a common tree found in many of New Zealand's rugged native forests and is an excellent source of honey. The creamy coloured flowers are very attractive to bees and bloom in abundance throughout the Spring producing a light amber honey with a distinctive, full-bodied complexity of flavour preferred by many honey connoisseurs.
- 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 magnificent light coloured honey offering a perfumed floral bouquet and subtle flavour - perfect for those who like a mild honey.
- Orange blossom honey is actually citrus honey. It has a distinctive "orangy" taste though. It rages from light amber to water white, the lighter color and milder flavor coming in years when there is a large flow and it is little contaminated by other nectars.
- Rata Honey Southern Rata is one of several species of Rata 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. Anyone who has seen the Rata flowering in January in the Otira Gorge west of Christchurch cannot forget the sight of this brilliant red carpet covering the mountains. This area produces the purest Rata honey, very white in colour with a subtle, distinctive flavour, mild and rich - but not sweet, almost salty, considered by many to be the best of New Zealand Honeys.
- Rewarewa Honey Rich and malty, this honey is full bodied yet not overly strong and has a beautiful burnished amber hue. A hint of rustic woolsheds pervades the complex aroma. Rewarewa is a great natural sweetener for hot drinks.
- Viper's Bugloss Honey Also commonly known as "Borage", this wild flower covers the hills of the New Zealand Central South Island in a sea of brilliant blue colour during summer months. The seed, resembling a Viper's head, was once mistakenly used as a treatment for snakebite, which gives the plant its unusual name. Vipers Bugloss honey has a delicate flavour with a "chewy" texture. Hint: Keep this in the refrigerator and you'll have a natural chewy snack for kids of all ages.
- Tawari Honey The 'beaujolais' of honeys, Tawari is best savoured when young. Its origins are the lowland forests of New Zealand's far north where the elegant tree's waxy white flowers, prized by the ancient Maori , give the bees a light yellow nectar with a lingering butterscotch flavour. So subtle and mild, it's perfect for topping pancakes, waffles or ice cream.
- 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 cutover, greatly reducing the supply of this very light and mild flavored honey. It is favored for some used 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.
- Thyme Honey With a heritage dating back to the ancient tribes who cultivated the arid, unforgiving soils of the Mediterranean, especially in Greece, Thyme continues to flourish today across New Zealand's Central Otago's similarly challenging environment. Its burnt grass colouring so aptly reflects the surrounding landscape. An intensely aromatic honey, the pale Thyme flowers imbue it with lingering, herby, savoury flavours enjoyed by the experienced honey connoisseur.