In the US alone there are more than 300 unique kinds of honey available to consumers. Each of these honeys originates from a different floral source. The video below outlines some of the most common honeys sold today.
My Notes
There are hundreds of varieties of honey to choose from. Although this might seem overwhelming, it's actually not. Let's use cheese to illustrate. There are around 1,770 different cheeses from around the world. Despite this fact, most of us find one of two types we enjoy and stick with them for life. We also tend to consume the cheeses which are most prevalent to our country, region and culture. We certainly don't sample every kind of cheese before we choose our staple. Honey is no different to cheese in this regard.
People will consume honey for its unique taste, its medicinal properties, or both. Below is a quick list of the 55 most popular honeys in the USA at the time of writing. It's sorted alphabetically for convenience.
- Acacia Honey
- Alfalfa Honey
- Apple Blossom
- Arbutus
- Avocado
- Blackberry
- Blossom Honey
- Blueberry
- Borage Honey
- Buckwheat
- Certified Organic Honey
- Cherry Blossom
- Chestnut
- Clover
- Comb
- Cotton
- Crystallized Honey
- Cut Comb Honey
- Dandelion
- Eucalyptus
- Fireweed
- Gallberry
- Goldenrod
- Hawthorn
- Heather
- Hedgerow
- Honeydew Honey
- Kamahi
- Kiawe
- Lavender
- Lehua
- Lime tree
- Liquid Honey
- Longan
- Manuka
- Mesquite
- Mono floral
- Oil Seed rape
- Onion Honey
- Orange blossom
- Pasteurized honey
- Poly-floral
- Rapeseed or Canola
- Raw Honey
- Rosemary
- Rubber
- Sage
- Set Honey
- Stick honey
- Sunflower
- Thyme
- Tupelo
- Ultra filtered Honey
- Whipped Honey
- Wild flower
Let's look at 10 of the top picks from the list above:
1. Acacia Honey
This is a honey that comes from the nectar of Acacia tree flowers, though some say it's not a real acacia tree. For this reason, some call it the false acacia or black locust, which is native to the United States. The plant aside, the honey is extremely popular. It can have a clear or a pale straw color. It's a liquid form of honey with a light, sweet flora flavor to it. Kids just love acacia honey. Cooks like to use it in baking. This is because the honey is high in fructose, which means it stays liquid for a long time. This makes it perfect for cooking.
Some of the health claims for raw acacia include assisting digestive problems and liver detox. It's also thought to help with skin diseases, pulmonary infections. Another claim is that it helps with kidney and urinary system issues.
2. Alfalfa Honey
Raw Alfalfa Honey comes from the concentrated nectar of little blue flowers. These typically bloom on the leguminous alfalfa plant during the summer months. This is a really popular honey in certain parts of the USA. Compared to other honeys, alfalfa is quite heavy. Thanks to its gentle taste and hints of grassiness, the honey is a perfect kitchen ingredient. People like to use it in homemade sauces, vinaigrettes and salad dressings. There are numerous health claims for alfalfa honey.
Some of the most common are that it helps to manage symptoms of PMS, kidney problems and various digestive issues.
3. Avocado Honey
People love avocado honey for its rich, creamy molasses-like flavor. This is a dark-colored food that originates from Mexico's southern regions. You can also find it in Australia and California, USA.
Avocado honey comes from the nectar of avocado blossoms. This is a rare honey for a very special reason. It's rare because avocado blossoms are in season at roughly the same time as citrus blossoms. Why this matters is because honey bees, when given the choice, prefer citrus blossoms. Needless to say that avocado honey can be difficult to get hold of.
Avocado honey has a unique taste of its own. It can add wonderful flavors to a whole variety of foods. Some people use it as an alternative for sugar or molasses. Customarily, people like to pour avocado honey over already sweet foods. What this does is add even more taste and texture to the dish. The types of foods include fresh fruits, cakes and fruit pies, etc. A mix of avocado honey, extra virgin olive oil and mustard makes a perfect salad dressing. This honey can even work as a glaze for coating fish like salmon, beef, pork, chicken and grilled vegetables.
The health claims for avocado honey are many. This really is a nutritious powerhouse, with high levels of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. People use it to treat cuts and burns as it speeds up the healing process. The honey is also able to provide relief from seasonal pollen allergies. Ingesting the honey on a regular basis is said to strengthen immunity to pollen from avocado blossoms and other flowers.
Some women, and perhaps a few men, combine avocado fruit with avocado honey to make a facial mask. This might sound a bit yucky, but people have used honey for beauty treatments for thousands of years. This included treating hair as well as skin.
4. Blueberry Honey
This honey derives from the little white flowers of the blueberry bush. The taste of blueberry honey depends on where you get it from. In Europe, Canada and the Unites States, the taste is kind of buttery. In other regions of the world, the honey has a fruitier flavor to it. This honey has a characteristic light amber color and a very distinct flavor.
One of the health claims for blueberry honey suggests that it assists with wound healing. It's also thought to help to prevent the bacteria that cause urinary tract infection. It's good too for soothing common colds and sore throats. And like all decent honeys, the blueberry variety is great for treating common skin conditions like acne.
5. Buckwheat Honey
Buckwheat honey comes from the nectar of the flowers of the buckwheat plant. It is a honey which is very rich in proteins. Buckwheat has a full-bodied flavor and a nice dark color to it. Being a dark honey, it contains more antioxidant compounds than the lighter varieties. People like to add one or two teaspoons of this honey to add flavor and sweetness to their tea. Anyone who enjoys strong, malty, rich, pungent flavors will surely love the honey that bees make from this gluten free plant.
One of the health claims for this honey is that it works as an excellent cough suppressant. It's also thought to prevent and treat atherosclerosis. Other claims are that it's a great liver detox and that it assists wound healing. It's also thought to improve recovery after surgical procedures with high blood loss.
6. Clover Honey
This is a light, mild tasting, yellow and white colored honey. It has an almost caramel aroma to it. Clovers actually provide more honey production in the USA than any other group of plants. This really is a nice versatile kitchen staple. You can use it in cooking or just as a table honey. It granulates fast too, which means it creams up easily. The leading producers of this popular honey are New Zealand, Canada and The Unites States.
One of the health claims for clover honey is that it fights bacteria, in much the same way as antibiotics do. Because of this, the honey helps to speed up wound healing. It's also thought to regulate blood pressure and help to control liver problems. The honey is also useful for treating burns and as an effective remedy against cough. Finally, it's the best natural sweetener for kids.
7. Eucalyptus Honey
This medium sweet honey comes from a diverse group of plants. Because of this, it can vary a great deal in color and flavor. In general, eucalyptus honey tends to have a strong flavor; one with a slight medicinal scent. Australia produces a lot of this dark colored honey, but it’s not the only country. Eucalyptus isn't the most popular choice of honey in Europe, but the Australians, New Zealanders and Americans love it. Perhaps the best way to describe its flavor would be a medium to strong caramel taste with a woody aftertaste.
One of the health claims for eucalyptus honey is that it helps fight against infections and diseases of respiratory organs. Like other quality honeys, the eucalyptus variety is also effective for treating cough and sleep in young children. Another benefit is that it's useful in healing certain skin conditions.
8. Fireweed Honey
Fireweed is a plant that springs up on burnt land once the fires have died down. It grows in Canada, US, and the Pacific Northwest along with a few other places. Fireweed is a tall plat which bears pinkish-purple flowers. Fireweed honey is a nice amber color which is light and delicate to the palate. You can add it to other foods to enhance the dish, or use it as a simple table honey.
One health claim for this honey is that it helps to strengthen the immune system. It is also said to benefit the human respiratory system and improve the condition of the body overall.
9. Manuka Honey
New Zealand is the proud producers of Manuka honey. When the worker bees set out to pollinate the Manuka bush, they have to be quick about it. This is because the Manuka bush blooms for just two to six weeks a year. Manuka honey is one of the most sought after honeys in the world and for good reason. This is a bee product that has a wonderful, distinct taste. Better still is that it boasts a plethora of impressive health benefits.
Here are just a few of the better known health benefits derived from this wonderful food:
- Lowers stomach acid, acid reflux
- Helps with acne and Eczema
- Helps to ease and heal burns wounds and ulcers
- Prevents tooth decay and cures gingivitis
- Helps with IBS and ulcerative colitis
- Soothes sore throats and boosts immunity
- Helps to protect against allergies and sinusitis
- Works as a beauty treatment by aiding better skin
10. Orange Blossom Honey
UK, Spain, France and the US produce orange blossom honey. In the US, it's produced mainly in Florida, Southern California and parts of Texas. This is a light colored honey, and has a sort of fruity taste about it, with a citrus aroma. It starts off as a runny liquid and retains this state for quite a while. Over time, as the honey ages, it starts to thicken and eventually goes hard. This is a honey that goes with just about any food you desire. It's delicious with other sweet foods like ice cream, flavored yogurts and crepes. It also works well with more savory foods too, like porridge and roasted veggies.
The health claims for this honey are many. In 2011, researchers from the University of Vienna did some tests on honeys in general. The aim was to test the flavonoid content of different varieties of honey. Orange blossom was one of the honeys in the study. It turned out that the honey contained a whole range of beneficial ingredients. These include quercetin, hesperitin, luteolin and kaempferol. Others are galangin, naringenin and isorhamnetin. The test results revealed that orange blossom honey had a plethora of antioxidants. The food has an anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, anti-cancer and immune supporting effects in the body. The antioxidants in the honey may help to protect against free radical damage and reduce the risk of chronic illnesses
Summary
We can read entire books on the life of a single honey. It's interesting to follow the journeys from bee to high street to dinner plate. This is a fascinating food and one that seems to provide a whole plethora of health benefits to humans. That is providing it's eaten raw and on a regular basis. In this piece we have just introduced 10 of the 55 most popular honeys in the world today. There are many more, lesser known varieties that will surely come to our attention as the science unravels their secrets.