The different pollen markers in our wildflower honey reflect this wide variety of flora. Towards the end of May and the beginning of June, tulip poplar, ladino, white and sweet clover, basswood and linden begin to bloom. Ever efficient, honeybees will travel the least distance to the greatest nectar source. A single, stunningly large orange tulip poplar blossom can produce a full tablespoon of nectar.
A prodigious honey producer, a young 20ft tulip poplar tree can yield eight pounds of nectar, which the bees reduce to four pounds of honey. When this tree is blooming, it is very unlikely the bees will forage other plants.
The sourwood tree Oxydendrum arboreum begins to flower the third week of June with blooms only lasting for three weeks. Its lovely white, bell-shaped floret is also an abundant nectar producer. But unlike the dark, bold mineral rich taste of the tulip poplar; the sourwood bears a uniquely aromatic, floral honey. Its ultra-light, amber color betrays a soft anise and spice flavor that makes it one of the most distinctive honey in the world.
Unfortunately, the sourwood tree is an inconsistent honey producer. Lower then normal rainfall and temperatures can affect its short efflorescing. Land development is also dramatically reducing the once impressive stands of the sourwood tree. Some help is coming with the reclamation of mining areas in Kentucky and West Virginia, but this is in a nascent stage.
We are fortunate to live in the Pisgah National Forest. Hamptons Chicago San Francisco. Connect With Us. Are you sure you want to remove this item from your Recipe Box? Create a Password Forgot your password? Enter your registered email below! To Save to My Recipe Box. Log In Never created a password?
You are not currently subscribed. It appears your Facebook email address is not subscribed to PureWow. Please indicate how you like to proceed:. I am not currently subscribed to PureWow. I am already subscribed to PureWow. Please log in to your account. Like What You See? Please accept the terms and privacy statement by checking the box below.
Sign up for PureWow Recipes. A valid email address is required. Sign Up. Please enter a valid email address The emails have been sent. Please consider subscribing to PureWow. Sign up for PureWow to get more daily discoveries sent straight to your inbox. Thanks for Sharing! Now like us on Facebook. Want more where that came from?
Sourwood honey has a beautiful amber color and bold, yet balanced, flavor: buttery sweet with rounded caramel notes on the back end. Sourwood honey is specific to the United States since sourwood trees only grow within our eastern mountain corridors. The top sourwood honey producers, however, come from the southern Appalachian mountain regions of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia.
Sourwood honey is created when honey bees collect pollen and nectar from sourwood tree flowers. Due to the density of sourwood trees in the southern mountains, honey bees can feed almost exclusively from their flowers during peak season, which results in pure monofloral honey. Learn more about monofloral honey. The Latin name for the sourwood tree is Oxydendrum arboreum.
They are a key member of the mountain forest landscape in the southeast, and are most known for their brilliant crimson autumn leaves and, of course, the honey bees favorite part: their cascading fleecy white flowers which emerge in the early summer.
The sourwood tree can reach up to 30 feet tall, and the largest stands can be found in the Great Smoky Mountains. The tree bark is distinctly scaly, and the trunk is narrow and spindly.
0コメント