Of all the incredible ingredients out there, honey has to be one of the most fascinating. A colony can contain tens of thousands of bees all working in unison to create this delicious sweet product, which is full of health benefits and has been nourishing mankind for millennia. Go into any supermarket and you’ll find aisles filled with the stuff, ranging from the mass-made and commoditised to the artisanal and specialist, covering a range of flavours, textures, regions and prices. And with at least 300 different types of honey produced around the world, it’s no wonder some of us don’t know which one to go for when we want some to cook with, mix into drinks, drizzle over dishes or simply spread on toast. Why is a jar of manuka honey ten times the price of a bog-standard bottle? Why do honeys differ in colour? How is honey actually made?
In brief, bees make honey so they have something to eat in the colder months. When flowers are in bloom they will travel for miles in search of flowers containing precious nectar, which they suck up with little tongues and store in a special honey stomach. Once full, they’ll head back to the hive and pass this nectar on to worker bees, which ‘chew’ the nectar until their enzymes transform the nectar into honey. The honey is then stored inside little hexagonal honeycomb cells which are sealed with wax, ready to be tapped open and eaten when needed.
Beekeepers then harvest this honey from the hive (only taking the excess to ensure the bees don’t starve) and bottle or jar it for human consumption. But not all honey is the same; like wine, there are a huge number of variables and factors that have an impact on the final flavour, colour and texture. Everything from which plants and flowers the bees have been harvesting to how the beekeeper processes the honey will change things. Terroir plays an important factor too – a lavender honey from Croatia will taste different to a lavender honey from the south of France, for example.
It would be impossible to cover every single honey in just one article, but we’ve shed light on some of the most common varieties below. If you’re after a truly flavourful honey that’s filled with nutritional health benefits, go beyond the industrially made, over-processed and pasteurised honeys and seek out something special. Honey is a vital ingredient for any cook as it adds a natural sweetness to dishes, but it’s also just as good spread on toast or drizzled over desserts. See which one tickles your fancy and seek some out!