How to Taste Honey – The Five S’s

Raw buckwheat honey has a bold and blissful signature of dark cherries, malty beer, cardamom, and ….wet leather? Clover honey is thought to be ‘as American as apple pie,’ with cinnamon and cooked apple characteristics. Good, raw honey you’re able to source directly from a beekeeper is a completely different product from the stuff you most often find sitting in plastic bears on the grocery store shelves. I call it ‘stuff’ for a reason. The mass produced product you find at the store is typically the boiled down accumulation from thousands of colonies, until all the unique flavors and characteristics have been simmered out into a simple descriptor: sweet syrup. And, that’s if it really came from honey bees. Say what?

Honey is the third most adulterated food product in the United States after milk and olive oil (based on 2020 report by Decernis). In fact, it’s such an issue that on May 1, 2021, US beekeepers opened a class-action lawsuit to clear supermarket shelves of cheap, fake honey imported from Asia that are pushing American beekeepers to financial collapse (The Guardian, 2021). Americans consume 600 million pounds of honey a year, yet produce less than 150 million pounds. The majority of imported ‘honey’ is transshipped from Vietnam and China bypassing and avoiding many food regulations and import laws. Previous attempts to hold major agro-business players and US regulators accountable for the counterfeit honey have failed, unfortunately. If this leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth, you’re not alone (more here).

However, my friends, it’s the TASTE, the TASTE of REAL, Raw Honey that is the pathway forward. If we can equip and empower eaters to enjoy and delight in real honey we can exalt raw honey onto the elevated pedestal it belongs. #Pollyanna

The Basics of Honey Tasting

First things first, when it comes to tasting honey, know your source. Even better, know your beekeeper and the lands from which the honey was produced. Once you get passed that first step, it’s perfectly acceptable and helpful to remember the Five S’s (borrowed and modified from the world of wine):

See the honey. Stir and Smell the honey. Smear and Savor the honey. See. Stir. Smell. Smear. Savor.

Botanical Origin – Where and What Flower Blooms?

Know Where Your Honey Comes From – This can be as specific as you desire. Of course, the more specific (down to the field and farm level) the better you’ll be able to validate your findings. But, if you cannot get that specific you first want to start with country of origin. For example, if your looking for true lavender honey your best sources are going to be from France and Spain where crops of lavender are grown commercially. If you have lavender honey labeled from elsewhere, dig a little deeper into the truth. Remember, it’s important to know how honey is made by bees.

While most honeys are polyfloral, meaning that they are made up of more than one type of blossom’s nectar and pollen, honey that is mainly derived from a particular majority of floral resources has some very consistent sensory characteristics. So, even though honeys may be mixed in floral nectars, if honey flows are pulled at the right time you can isolate a honey that has a dominant monofloral type and flavor profile. But, you have to have that monofloral type present to exist in the first place. Floral blooms change over time and space and we’ve documented that impact on honey varietals well on our farm (read ‘Capturing a Moment’s Flavor’).

See the Honey

COLOR & COLOR INTENSITY: Honeys come in many different colors. Pick up your honey and tilt it toward a white surface and evaluate it on the Pfund Honey Color Grading System. Clover honey from our farm is between ‘extra white’ and ‘white’ in color. A photometer, known as a Honey Color Analyzer, measures the wavelengths of light that can pass through the honey expressed in millimeters (mm). Our clover honey’s color intensity is between 12 – 24 mm. This translates to a light golden to extra light amber color. Clover honeys collected from white and yellow sweet clovers in the more western region of the U.S. tend to be even lighter in color than the light golden to light ambers you find on our farm and regions heading toward the east coast.

Stir & Smell the Honey

AROMA: Pick up the honey cup, ideally in a small covered tasting cup. Place the cup of honey in the palm of your hand while holding wrapping your fingers around the cup and rubbing it in your palm to raise the ambient temperature. Remove the cover and using a spoon, stir the honey a few times to release the aromas. Bring the tasting cup up to your nose and smell for about 5 seconds. Wait a short interval to smell again. Do this a few times, while always pausing in between. During this step, you will get your first impression of the honey sensory characteristics. Is the smell pleasing to your senses? Some people think buckwheat honey smells like a barnyard – that can be pleasing to some and less pleasing to others!

Smear & Savor the Honey

TASTE & TEXTURE: Get ready to cue into flavor and aromas that come from inside your mouth and nasal area. You’re going to notice the duration of flavor, viscosity, and crystallization (if present or not). Stir your honey again and take a small amount, less than a quarter teaspoon to place on your tongue. Then, smear and distribute that honey throughout your entire oral cavity (tongue, gums, roof), and let it melt. With your mouth closed, breath out your nose. As the honey melts, continue to breathe out through your nose. Finally, swallow the honey. I like to do this a couple times just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. 🙂

Many unheated honeys, such as clover honey, crystallize rapidly (usually within 3-6 months). Crystallization is normal as honey is a supersaturated solution. There are very few raw honeys that don’t crystallize. If your honey never crystallizes it could be an indicator that it’s been heated or that you may be the victim of ‘funny honey.’ The crystal size and texture are signature characteristics of particular honey varietals. When clover honey is still in liquid state, it’s texture is mildly thick and super smooth, but the fine-textured crystals that eventually form are a welcomed sensory experience. The buttery smoothness maintains on the tongue whether in liquid or crystal form, and the fine crystals tend to offer a new feeling and finish to the honey leaving the taster with a cooling effect on the tongue.

HEDONIC RATING (Do you love it or not?): At the end of the day, this is what it’s all about for the taster. Do you like it, LOVE IT, or maybe you’ll pass on that chestnut honey next time?

Developing yourself into a highly trained analytical tool capable of detecting, quantifying, and describing all sensory characteristics of specific food commodities requires years of study and experience. Enjoying the delightful benefits and rich diversity of varietal honeys and food pairings only requires some curiosity, attention, and sense of adventure. Delight!

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Would love to hear your ideas and experiences with honey tasting! What’s your favorite or most memorable experience tasting honey? Thank you for reading and leaving a comment.