Red/Brown honey

[Jeff Buzz]

I have just extracted some late season honey from a couple of my colonies.
It is really red and tastes very citrus, Orange, nearly like a boiled sweet type flavour. Wax is really orange too.
Any ideas what they have been collecting???

 

[Queens59]

Mimosa? Silly guess - an expert will be along soon...My Mum lived abroad in Tripoli many years ago and loved the Mimosa 'orange flavoured' honey...

 

[enrico]

Sweet chestnut
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[Jeff Buzz]

Another photo

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Sweet chestnut
E

It look just like images of chestnut honey on google but quote from honey traveller website.

No mention of orange it is very sweet and has been brought in the last month or so.


"Chestnut honey has a strong aromatic taste and a slightly bitter after taste. Rich in pollen content, mineral salts and tannin, with a high proportion of fructose that resists crystallization and a relatively low acidity. Dark in color, ranging from yellowish brown to almost black, sometimes with amber hues, it has an aromatic, pungent herbal aroma and taste and slightly tannic (due to the tannin in the tree). The flavor is unique, not very sweet and with an almost bitter aftertaste and very persistent, highly appreciated by those who like a strong, less sweet honey. Blossoms from May to June."

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Just tasted it again and perhaps the orange could be tannin not really eaten much tannin before so not quite sure what it should taste like

 

[Roola]

Just tasted it again and perhaps the orange could be tannin not really eaten much tannin before so not quite sure what it should taste like

tannin is the bitter kind of taste you feel on your teeth and gums when you drink a full bodied strong red wine. You can also taste them in very strong cup of tea.

 

[richardbees]

Jeff

Do you have a 'Jam factory' or something similar near by and the bees are accessing dregs in emptied containers?

I recall a similar query a year or so ago when that turned out to be the cause......

 

[enrico]

More to the point do you have sweet chestnut around!!!
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[BeeJayBee]

It looks quite thick honey. Is there a chance it could contain either honeydew or traces of ling?

 

[richardbees]

enrico - "more to the point" is that Northants sweet chestnut will have flowered a few months ago.

The honey I get from 'honeydew' is more of a brown/sooty colour than reddish with a very distinct 'fig' taste and aroma......

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Thanks for the replys

I am now thinking that it could be honeydew honey as the main hive I have taken it off has been very busy in all weather the last month or so.
The colony was not in existence when the sweet chestnut was in flower as its a new queen this year that I ran into a nuc and it has built up through the summer filling a brood box and 3 supers. I have just let them get on with it just adding a super as needed.
I have taken off around 50lbs of this honey and it is really dark like no honey I have ever collected.
I also have a lot of oak trees very close to my home a good source of honeydew honey apparently.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Japanese Knotweed?

 

[richardbees]

Jeff

"really dark" probably almost black- at this time of year that's definitely Honeydew, you should be able to detect a 'fig' aroma?

My earlier post referred to your red and tastes very citrus, Orange, nearly like a boiled sweet type flavour

There has was a fairly recent case where a food processing plant dumped empty food additive/coloured syrup containers and local honeybees found them.

I know someone who might be interested - pm me?

 

[enrico]

enrico - "more to the point" is that Northants sweet chestnut will have flowered a few months ago.......

He said late season honey, I presumed he meant it had been extracted late and not necessarily collected late. But ...... Honeydew sounds promising!
Never had it to my knowledge so could well be!
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