With honey, it’s all about the flower.

“The only reason for being a bee is to make honey. And the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it”.

If you are only familiar with the processed commodity honey in the supermarket that comes in the cute bear, Food411 is here to enlighten you. It may provide great childhood memories to squeeze that bear but the stuff that comes out is minus the personality and complexity that a good honey should have. The subtleties of unblended, pure floral source honey is truly comparable to fine wine: each has its own aroma, color, texture, identity. Varietal honeys have a wide range of flavors & characteristics. Single-source honey is collected over a specific time period from a unique geographical location from a single hive. It's never exposed to any heat and is not heavily processed or blended. It's a raw, unfiltered, hand-crafted honey that recognizes the vast diversity of nectar the bees use. Tasting different types of honey is a way of tasting the land where it came from. There are more than 300 unique types of honey available in the United States, each originating from a different floral source. This is honey the way it should be – the way the bees make it – not processed. Commercial producers cook the amber liquid, breaking it down to make it consistent, so that each jar tastes nearly the same. To improve the clarity, commercial producers will heat the honey and pump it through fine filters. This process removes the pollens & the excessive heat destroys the honey's beneficial enzymes.

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 distinctive and bold. As a general rule, light-colored honey is milder in taste and dark-colored honey is stronger.

Honey comes in a variety of forms including liquid, whipped and comb. Free of any crystals or wax, liquid honey is extracted from the comb in the hive by centrifugal force, gravity, straining or other means. Whipped honey is finely crystallized so that it remains creamy and spreadable. Comb honey is honey that comes as it was produced – in the honey bees’ wax comb.

Can’t think of any uses for honey except for tea and baking? Varietal honeys are better used in uncooked foods so they can be savored in ways that allow you to taste the wonderful unique flavors. How about just enjoying it on a great piece of warm bread/toast. Varietal honeys are wonderful with chesses. Spread your toast with the honey and any fresh cheese. Serve slices of cheese drizzled with honey. Chestnut honey or orange blossom honey with pecorino or Roquefort are two excellent combinations. Dip apple slices, pour over plain cakes or ice cream, in your yogurt. Put in hot cereals, on pancakes or muffins -drizzled over spicy chili, mixed with butter over cornbread, oatmeal, anything that maple syrup would be used on great with nut butters or directly out of the jar.

After tasting real honey, you will know where the phrase came from, “Honey, I love you.”

For wonderful varietal honeys:

BeeRaw - Small, NY business committed to supporting the work of small scale beekeepers in the United States and are passionate about the quality of honey.

Plan Bee Honey - An artisanal enterprise, all products are harvested fro their own hives, bottled, hand-painted and packaged by the founders.

Hampton’s Honey – Their hives are on different farms on the north & south forks of Long Island, their Hampton’s Honey is raw and unprocessed, the Black Locust Blossom won a 2005 Fancy Food award.

Savannah Bee – From their own hives they created Tupelo honey. It can only be made in the deepest river basins where indigenous species of the Tupelo Tree blossom for just a few days.

Volcano Island Honey - Organic Hawaiian white honey, with a deliciously, delicate tropical flavor and a texture that is naturally thick, soft and smooth.

Ames Farm - They keep 300 hives in 17 locations across Minnesota. Each jar of honey is searchable in their beeyard database, using the hive number printed on the side of every container. The database provides the geographical location where the honey was collected, the time period produced and the flavor profile.

Laney Honey - They produce twelve distinct varieties of honey. Many from midwestern US, they also offer now offer Orange Blossom (Florida) and Wild Blackberry (British Columbia).

Nelson Family Honey – This family has been beekeeping for three generations. To purchase natural honey from them “ is like stopping to taste the flowers.”

For varietal honeys from around the globe: Zingermans

Honey Locator – To find a specific varietals from a specific states.

Honey.com – Recipes & everything honey.