Souvenir Honey

Top Row: Orange Blossom FL,  Raw Orange FL, Saw Palmetto FL, Tupelo

Bottom Row: Tame Sunflower AR, Crooked Creek Wildflower AR, Sourwood NC, Wildflower LA

Ever since reading American Terroir by Rowan Jacobsen last year I have been mildly fascinated by honey.  My goal was to get local honey from each state we visited - and specifically Tupelo from Florida and Huajilla from Texas.  I got the first but not the second, as that was being collected as we were driving and was not yet available.

The orange blossom I got at a Florida grocery store - although it was the 5th one I went to, the other stores having only imported honey.  It's flavor is light with a faint blossomy aftertaste.

The raw orange honey we got on the side of the road in Florida after a hasty U-turn after seeing a large sign.  It was a family business and the honey was sold on the honor system.  This honey is more bold than its more marketed counterpart.  The blossom flavor is more pronounced.

The Saw Palmetto and Tupelo were purchased at an orange grove although not made there.  I haven't tried them yet.

Tame Sunflower and  Crooked Creek Wildflower were also from grocery stores.  This time in Arkansas. The Sunflower is mild, with a slight hint of nuttiness.  The wildflower has a mild spice to it that came through when baked in muffins.

I cheated with the sourwood, as we never went to North Carolina (it was at the orange grove)  But I was so enthralled by the mason jar packaging that I had to have it,.  It is a full flavored honey that starts out smooth, starts to get sour before smoothing out with a pine sap tang.

All these flavors makes me want to get bees even more.