Honey Facts

Honey is “manufactured” in one of the world’s most efficient factories, the beehive. Bees may travel as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey.

The color and flavor of honey differ depending on the bees’ nectar source (the blossoms). In fact, there are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as clover, eucalyptus and orange blossom. In general, lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor; while darker honeys are usually more robust in flavor.

Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids.

The Honey Bees’ Second Shift

In addition to gathering nectar to produce honey, honey bees perform a vital second function–pollination. About one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honey bees are responsible for 80 percent of this pollination.

Pollination is the fertilization of a flowering plant. It occurs when pollen is transferred from the anthers of a flower to the ovules of that or another flower. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes and more.

The Delicious Forms of Honey

Most of us know honey as a sweet, golden liquid. But, in fact, honey can be found in a variety of forms.

Honey Floral Varietals

The color and flavor of honeys differ depending on the nectar source (the blossoms) visited by the honey bees. The color ranges from nearly colorless to dark brown, and the flavor varies from delectably mild to distinctively bold, depending on where the honey bees “buzzed.”

In fact, there are more than 300 unique types of honey available in the United States, each originating from a different floral source. As a general rule, the flavor of lighter colored honeys is milder, and the flavor of darker colored honeys is stronger. See a table of honey varietals and where they are produced or read about some of the most common varieties of honey in the United States below:

• Alfalfa Honey - Alfalfa is a legume with blue flowers. It blooms throughout the summer and is ranked as the most important honey plant in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and most of the western states. Alfalfa honey is white or extra light amber in color with a fine flavor. The honey also has good body, which makes it a perfect table honey.
• Avocado Honey - Avocado honey is gathered from California avocado blossoms. Avocado honey is dark in color, with a rich, buttery taste.
• Basswood Honey - This tree is distributed from Southern Canada, to Alabama, to Texas. Basswood honey is often characterized by its distinctive biting flavor. The flowers are cream-colored and they bloom in late June and July. The honey is water-white with a strong flavor.
• Blueberry Honey - Taken from the tiny white flowers of the blueberry bush, the nectar makes a honey which is typically light amber in color and with a full, well-rounded flavor. Blueberry honey is produced in New England and in Michigan.
• Buckwheat Honey - Buckwheat plants grow best in cool, moist climates. The buckwheat plant prefers light and well-drained soils, although it can thrive in highly acid, low fertility soils as well. Buckwheat is usually planted in the spring. It blooms quite early and it yields a dark brown honey of strong, distinct flavor.
• Clover Honey - Clovers are the most popular honey plants in the United States. White clover, alsike clover, and the white and yellow sweet clover plants are the most important for honey production. Depending on location and source, clover honey varies in color from water-white to extra light amber and has a mild, delicate flavor.
• Eucalyptus Honey - Eucalyptus is one of the larger plant genera with over 500 distinct species and many hybrids. Eucalyptus honey varies greatly in color and flavor, but in general, it tends to be a bold-flavored honey with a slightly medicinal aftertaste.
• Fireweed Honey - Fireweed honey is light in color and comes from a perennial herb that affords wonderful bee pasture in the Northern and Pacific states and Canada. Fireweed grows in the open woods, reaching a height of three to five feet and spikes attractive pinkish flowers.
• Lehua Honey - Nectar gathered from Ohia trees (which flourish on Hawaiian lava flows) produces a water-white honey with a buttery flavor. Lehua crystallizes quickly, making it naturally creamy and spreadable.
• Orange Blossom Honey - Orange blossom honey is often a combination of citrus floral sources. Orange is a leading honey source in southern Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. Orange trees bloom in March and April and produce a white to extra light amber honey with a distinctive flavor and the aroma of orange blossoms.
• Sage Honey - Sage honey can come from different species of the plant. Sage shrubs usually grow along the California coast and in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Sage honey has a mild, delicate flavor. It is generally white or water-white in color.
• Tulip Poplar Honey -The tulip poplar is a tall tree with large greenish-yellow flowers. It generally blooms in the month of May. Tulip poplar honey is produced from southern New England to southern Michigan and south to the Gulf states east of the Mississippi. The honey is dark amber in color, however, its flavor is not as strong as one would expect from a dark honey.
• Tupelo Honey - Tupelo honey is produced in the southeastern United States. Tupelo trees have clusters of greenish flowers, which later develop into soft, berrylike fruits. In southern Georgia and northwestern Florida, tupelo is a leading honey plant, producing tons of white or extra light amber honey in April and May. The honey has a mild, pleasant flavor and will not granulate. Learn more about tupelo honey.

Information provided by the National Honey Board.