Horse Chestnut Honey - Good tasting or not?

[Jimy Dee]

Hello Folks
Could you let me know what is the bottom line with this type of honey? Good tasting or not? Reason is I can bring my hives to a friends farm where these trees are very plentiful (white flowered not pink).
My reluctance stems from being in France a few years back when I purchased "chestnut" honey and it was dark and not very nice tasting. I did notice that the chestnut trees in that part of France were not horse chestnuts. Just to complicate matters I recently read the horse chestnut trees yield a light honey.
Thanks, Jim

 

[REDWOOD]

Lovely colour, something like the colour of the ripened fruit it produces, it has a completely unique taste and a bit of a niche in the market that can bring a good price


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[enrico]

I used to love my sweet chestnut honey, dark and strong, never had enough horse chestnut in one place to judge the taste. Let us know.
E

 

[pargyle]

I live just off a road that is lined with them - white and pink flowers - the bees go mad for it but it only lasts about a week and then it's gone - it tends to get mixed in with the other spring flowers and blossom honey so I know it's there but it doesn't seem to affect the flavour unduly. Go for it ... but you will need to get them there just about as soon as you see the florets breaking open and get the honey off as soon as it's in the supers if you want it to be 'single source' honey. Good luck Jim ..

 

[Finman]

What are other bee pastures along summer?
One week blooming chest nut is not a good reason to move hives.

 

[MadAnt]

Jimy Dee, chestnut honey is very specific. It is dark colour and strong, little bit bitter. AFAIK this honey is popular and quite expensive in Turkey and produced in decent quantities in Georgia(not US ).

 

[Erichalfbee]

I thought it was Sweet Chestnut that gave the dark honey?

 

[enrico]

It is, there is some confusion between horse and sweet.
E

 

[MartinL]

Bought a jar, once.

Wouldn't do it again!

 

[peterbees]

Sweet chestnut produces dark strong-flavoured expensive honey. It's an acquired taste. I bought some in La Palma, Canary Islands. Horse chestnut is noted for producing brick red pollen, not so well-known as a honey producer I think.

 

[Swarm]

I've never seen a jar of Horse Chestnut honey. Sweet Chestnut is dark but it certainly ain't sweet.

 

[tudorcd]

We can buy a Chestnut honey in New Zealand from New Plymouth, it must be from Sweet Chestnut as it comes in from the orchard during pollination. It's delicious and very sweet.

And I have been sent a pic of pollen from local Horse Chestnut which is bright red, very pretty. Taken by Stephen Jacqueiry, a very well known photographer.

 

[MartinL]

. . . It's an acquired taste.

In my experience, those 2 words mean it probably tastes like 5=!t!

I'm sure convicts transported to the other side of the world "Aquired" many tastes while secured by chain below deck but you don't see them on the deli counters of Sydney!

 

[tudorcd]

In the Eastern states of Australia one can get Yellow Box (Euc melliodora) honey which is a very nice honey and not full of the taste of gum. And Leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida) honey from Tasmania is powerful and challenging, great on porridge.
We don't import honey to NZ, so visiting my grand children in Melbourne has additional pleasures.

 

[Bee Bumble]

We have some Italian Chestnut honey in the cupboard that has been there about three years - nobody likes it. Our record holder for nastiness is New Zealand Thyme honey which we have had for at least thirteen years, it does not improve with age and cannot be used for cooking - even Manuka tastes better. Ivy honey is delicious in comparison.

 

[Bee Bumble]

Leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida) honey from Tasmania is powerful and challenging

For me Tasmanian Leatherwood honey is really delicious! yum yum

 

[peterbees]

I agree that Tasmanian Leatherwood is a delicious honey. Very similar and from the same eucryphia family, is Chilean Ulmo honey, readily available in the UK.

 

[Zante]

I've never seen a jar of Horse Chestnut honey. Sweet Chestnut is dark but it certainly ain't sweet.

The chestnuts are sweet

 

[Zante]

I suppose it's because it's produced in large quantities here in Tuscany that I've always appreciated chestnut honey. It does have a stronger flavour, and I wouldn't use it to sweeten coffee, but on a slice of toast with butter... <drools>

I imagine most people who don't like it are put off by of the expectations one has of honey and how it tastes different.
Here it's something that needs to be bought when it hits the shelves, or it goes quickly.

 

[Swarm]

I found it had a bitter after taste.