Raw Sourwood Honey
Price range: $7.95 through $76.95
- Origin: North Georgia, located at the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains.
- Source: From the nectar of the Sourwood Tree or Oxydendrum arboreum, which blooms from June to July
- Taste: Delicate and smooth with distinctive flavors of anise, spice, cloves, and caramel
- Pairings: Bread, yogurt, fruits, oatmeal, granola, cheeses, tea, and fried chicken
- Accolades: This beekeeper has generated four world honey championship winners
A Favorite American honey
Authentic raw sourwood honey is a delicate, smooth, and delicious honey.
The unique mono-floral raw sourwood honey has distinctive flavors of anise, spice, cloves, and maple and caramel taste. With a smooth and syrupy texture, Sourwood Honey has a beautiful amber color which lends to a buttery sensation and an aroma of cinnamon and cloves. For these reasons, the aftertaste has a slight gingerbread twang.
A Favorite Judges Honey
This sourwood honey won five world honey championships and the Good Food award five times. There are a few underlying reasons for this covered next.
Raw Sourwood Honey Origins
This rare sourwood honey originates from the Lily of the Valley (Sourwood) trees located in the North Georgia Appalachian mountains. Extracted from pristine hives. Sourwood Honey is famous for its rich and compelling flavor and aroma.
Built by Bees sources our raw sourwood honey from private Appalachian apiaries including a four-time honey world champion in North Georgia. We use this same honey in our Specialty Food Association’s sofi Gold award-winning Sourwood Balsamic Honey Vinegar.
Sourwood honey is native to the USA and comes from the nectar of the Sourwood Tree. Sourwood honey resists crystallization and has a light amber appearance. Prized by honey aficionados, this coveted raw honey variety is fantastic on countless foods. These include fried chicken, bread, and in yogurt. This honey is exceptional drizzled on fruits, oatmeal, granola, and cheeses. It’s also great when stirred in hot tea.
In North Georgia, this amazing honey has a short blooming period. It typically lasts from mid-July through early August. Sourwood blooms are rain sensitive. Unfortunately, it grows primarily in the Appalachians. This regions largely elevated and mountainous – making it subject to more summer rain. Too much rain negatively impacted sourwood blossoms. This causes large crops to be infrequent and often rare.
Caveat Emptor
Sourwood honey quality is poor when bees from the same hive pollinate both sourwood trees and non-sourwood trees. This is called cross-pollination and creates a diluted sourwood honey. When various blossoms are pollinated and mixed into the same bee hive, the honey is sourwood in name only. There are many pure sourwood sources so always ask your beekeeper or honey provider about the sourwood honey’s source.
Raw Sourwood Honey Facts
As a true mono-floral honey, sourwood honey is highly resistant to crystallizing. Because sourwood honey is a fructose honey, it has a lower glucose content and is more resistant to crystallizing. To learn more about raw honey in general, please visit our blog page at: https://builtbybees.com/blog/raw-honey-2/.
| Weight | 2 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 3 × 3 × 7 in |
| Weight | 12 oz, 12 oz. Three Pack, 16 Oz Glass, 16 Oz Squeeze, 16 oz w Honeycomb, 16 oz., 16 oz. Three Pack, 3 oz. |
How Should I Store Raw Sourwood Honey?
Sourwood Honey can be stored at room temperature up to 98 degrees Fahrenheit (this is the approximate temperature the honey is in the hive). An ideal temperature for crystallizing honey is 59 degrees Fahrenheit, so avoid storing sourwood honey at this temperature.
What Is The Flavor Profile Of Raw Sourwood Honey?
Sourwood honey has a butter caramel taste profile with a gingerbread aftertaste. It is smooth with bold, complex notes of maple and spice and hints of cinnamon and clove.
Can Raw Sourwood Honey Crystallize Or Expire?
Sourwood Honey crystallizes more slowly than the majority of raw honeys. This is true because it consists of more fructose than glucose. It’s mostly glucose that has clumping or crystallization issues. Because of its makeup, its average time to crystallize is much slower than the majority of raw honeys. When sourwood honey crystallizes, you can warm iit by placing the honey’s glass jar container in a warm pan of water or a warm window sill. Sourwood can ferment over time if water is added, or if it’s left in a high humidity environment for an extended period of time. If kept at room temperature in a low humidity environment, it should not expire.
How Does Built By Bees Ensure The Quality And Purity Of Their Raw Sourwood Honey?
First, Built by Bees uses only a handful of bee keepers for their sourwood within a certain pristine region of North Georgia. Second, we inspect the honey at the source from the beekeeper. Additionally, we receive an annual third party audit report providing the makeup of the honey. Lastly, we only warm the honey at or under 105 degrees fahrenheit to assist in pouring. Filtering is limited from 600 - 1000 microns to restrict passing of bee wings, sticks and unwanted hive elements, but large enough for honey and pollen to pass through.
How Can Raw Sourwood Honey Enhance The Flavor Of My Recipes?
Sourwood is an exceptional pairing in a variety of baking endeavors including breads, corn on the cob, poultry, meats and seafood. It’s also wonderful in drinks and yogurt, on fruits, with cheeses and mixed into homemade granola.
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