Over the centuries lavender honey has been a much cherished food and healer. Even today it is renowned for its great healing properties. It's one of a range of honeys which science is checking the medicinal properties of. This is also a wonderful food that's almost guaranteed to get the taste buds tingling for lovers of fine honey. The short video below will give you a feel for the mutual partnership bees have with this wonderful bluish-purple lavender crop.
My Notes:
For lavender honey to be authentic, the bees have to pollinate mainly the flowers of the lavender plant. In Europe, Southern France is most likely the biggest producer of lavender honey. You can also find it to a lesser degree in England and Italy. The lavender plant originally came from Persia and the Spanish Canary islands, though it's pretty much everywhere now where the climate permits.
There are about 40 species of lavender in total, though not all are known for producing honey. The top three species for commercial honey production include:
- True Lavender
- Spike Lavender
- Lavandin (a hybrid of the other two)
A Premium Honey
Lavender is a premium honey and well sought after by connoisseurs. It has a kind of delicate, flowery taste to it of average sweetness. Over time the honey will form moderate to fine crystals. Countries outside of Europe that produce this gentle food of the bees includes:
- Australia
- China,
- India
- North America
Types of Lavender Honey
There are a couple of lavender honey types, both quite unique and bringing something different to the table. Here they are in brief:
Straight from the Bees
The first kind is the original, delicate honey as produced by the bees. This is the most popular, but it's not the only kind. To get 100 percent pure lavender honey you need to make sure it comes from an area where they cultivate the lavender flowers for commercial purposes. Be sure to read the labels, especially the backs.
The second kind of lavender honey is also unique and really rather special. It's what we call infused honey. The way to make it is by first warming the honey up with lavender flowers. What this does is infuse the flavor and the goodness of the flowers into the actual honey. The honey is later strained to filter out any waste. The end product is that you get all the benefits of the raw honey plus the added taste and aroma provided by the lavender buds.
Health benefits of Lavender Honey
The honey comes with all the usual health benefit claims of a quality product. Some of these include:
- Antiseptic properties
- Soothing effect over wounds and faster wound healing
- An anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral agent
- Anti-oxidant properties
- Anti-convulsant and anti-spasmodic
- Helps lower diabetic drug dosage
Lavender honey has also been scientifically analyzed to test its antifungal effect against Candida albican and the growth of various pathogenic yeasts.
Antifungal effect of lavender honey against Candida albicans
J Food Sci Technol. 2011 Oct;48(5):640-3. doi: 10.1007/s13197-011-0243-1. Epub 2011 Feb 11.
Estevinho ML, Afonso SE, Feás X.
How to Store
Lavender honey should be stored in the same way as other pure honeys. Make sure the container is air tight and keep it at room temperature. A cool, but not cold, dry place is preferable. This helps to prevent microbial growth. Note that if you store honey at a temperature too high, it's possible that the tastes may alter.
Summary
Almost anyone who loves honey will find something to their liking with one of the two lavender varieties. It's a flexible honey and one that goes well with all kinds of dishes, both savory and sweet. If you're looking for an alternative beauty cream, then be sure to check out lavender and honey moisturizer.