Horrid honey

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Show me the honey

House Bee
***
Joined
Jun 24, 2017
Messages
243
Reaction score
4
Location
West cornwall
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
3
Just a random one but has anyone ever took a crop and just thought ... well that tastes crap?
 
I occasionally get a spring honey that tastes like medicine! I tend to use it for cooking. It is edible but not really nice!
E
 
The first time I smelled my bees’ dandelion honey all I could think of was old smelly socks. The aroma lingered as I tasted it which spoiled the experience entirely. Left to mature for a year it was a completely different thing. Lovely.
Similarly ivy honey is unrecognisable soft set and aged for a couple of years. To my mind.
 
last year in the dry they fed heavily on dandelion and, yes, that is not a great honey in my opinion. Smells like sheep manure to me....any yes, it is in the taste too.
 
Privet honey has an acquired taste/smell for many
 
So has heather honey, prized by many but hated by some for its strong taste and aroma.
 
So far, I've not had honey that doesn't taste nice. Currently consuming last year's mainly Dandelion Spring crop and it's delicious.
I was given a jar of something that I'm glad my bees don't produce, no idea what the bees had been on but the honey was awful, liquorice after taste.
 
I've just extracted nearly 30kg and it's taken me most of this afternoon and evening to do that as well as straining, and labelling. I think it tastes alright and after all that effort it had bloody better do. Thirty kilos from three supers and another five to do yet, it's been a good year.
 
I have just taken 11 supers off my hives....they are stacked in the kitchen and I have realised that there are a lot of bees still in the boxes...I used a blower to clear them....in effectually!
 
From my recent experience I concluded that probably nectar from plants in the aster (asteraceae) family generally could be a problem for funny tasting and smelling honey - just in my opinion, although the rest of my family agree about the taste and smell. I have read that in the US, their goldenrod honey can fit in the not so nice honey category - an aster family plant. I'd say however, that from the quantity of pollen that came in on the bees from the dandelions, that the bees reckon it's ok.
 
I've just extracted nearly 30kg and it's taken me most of this afternoon and evening to do that as well as straining, and labelling. I think it tastes alright and after all that effort it had bloody better do. Thirty kilos from three supers and another five to do yet, it's been a good year.

I know I’d Be gutted!!
 
I was given a small jar of honey when i bought my bees and it has an unpleasant aftertaste so it has been sitting for months
 
I have just taken 11 supers off my hives....they are stacked in the kitchen and I have realised that there are a lot of bees still in the boxes...I used a blower to clear them....in effectually!

Blacken the room off except for one window. When they have all collected on the window open it and let them out. Don't leave it open for goodness sake!
E
 
Blacken the room off except for one window. When they have all collected on the window open it and let them out. Don't leave it open for goodness sake!
E

Good solution👍
 

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