Greenish Tint to Sourwood

[sc-bee]

A guy in an association meeting the other nite had a jar of honey a relative had bought in NC. He stated they had paid a preiium price a a reputable roadside stand.

He went on to say that he suspected the honey to possibly be adultered. This was his main reasons. He sais the honey was too yellow and when turned up the bottom of jar if pure sourwood usually has a faint greenish tint.

His second reason was the honey was labeled "Pure Honey Sourwood" instead of "Pure Sourwood honey".

It had a plain Black and white label and I can see had it would be very appealing to the eye.

Any feedback---I guess the only way to prove it is to have it tested???

[Cyndi]

There's another one that comes out of Asheville. It's perfectly white honey. People stock it in the little markets around here. I bought a jar to see what it tasted like. It was like eating corn syrup out of a bottle. A couple of weeks later it had a very strange taste to it. I can't even describe it....all I do know, it wasn't honey. Sometimes I really want to call the guy, but I haven't gotten my nerve up yet. Then I thought I'd try to say something to the markets that sell it. I figured they would think I was trying to steal their business or something...so I decided not to. It's amazing.

[Primo]

My Dad brought me some Sourwood Honey from Smokey Mountain Honey House
WNC Farmers Market
Ashville, NC. It's quite yellow and I don't see any greenish tint.
It says Pure Smokey Mountain on the label but I have not opened it yet and tasted it.
Is this near where you are talking about?

[Cyndi]

Primo,

No, that's not the one....unless the label has been changed. This one is almost white with a tint of yellow.

[sc-bee]

The one I saw was clear yellow. I believe the label said Tennessee. Was bought in NC.

[Joel]

We get honey with a greenish tint in NY from Purple Loostrife, not one of my favorite honeys. Might be the sourwood flow overlaps with some other other nectar source that has the green tint or maybe a beekeeper who doesn't know his honey's. I wouldn't suspect adulteration as much as mixed bloom. How's the taste?

[sc-bee]

Thanks Joel---for the info. Maybe what this guy has seen in the past was not pure sourwood and had something else that gave it the tint.

He thought it may be adultered because he expected to see the greenish tint in Pure Sourwood??? Is Pure Sourwood usually a clear yellow? He has not opened or tasted it yet.

Last year here, at a major grocer chain in the area, they had similar looking honey for sale both extracted and chunk. The honey was for sale @ a price of $5.50 a pt and labeled sourwood. I expected sourwood to bring a higher price. I guess in bulk you can sell at a lower price.

Is there anything such as imported sourwood?

[beegee]

I'm not sure how you could know for sure the content of so-called Sourwood Honey.I've seen it from white to greenish-yellow to pale yellow. I'm thinking, while there might have been a lot of sourwood trees in bloom where the bees were, you're going to get varying amounts of sourwood mixed with other nectars.

[Dan Williamson]

I find it difficult to label my honey as of being from any particular source. I've seen honey labeled blueberry honey that was water white and honey labeled blueberry that was dark almost like buckwheat honey. It makes you wonder.

I don't label my honey because I can't be sure where it all comes from. Even though the biggest part of my crop this year so far has come from blueberries I won't label it as such. I know at least some of it came from black locust as well.

I think many beekeepers don't know their honey's well and just label it in general approximation of some particular flow.

[honeyman46408]

"I think many beekeepers don't know their honey's well and just label it in general approximation of some particular flow"

Sellem what they want ! :D

[Dan Williamson]

"I think many beekeepers don't know their honey's well and just label it in general approximation of some particular flow"

Sellem what they want ! :D

I know you are basically joking but the problem is there are beekeepers that have that very attitude. "Call it whatever they want to buy! If they want clover TELL THEM ITS CLOVER!"

There are guys selling and marketing their honey as local honey. And that is exactly what they have UNTIL THEY RUN OUT! Then they go buy honey from Michigan or across the state and don't tell their customers that it isn't local anymore.

When I've brought this up.... I've gotten the response from several people.... "Well as long as its INDIANA its still local compared to what they can buy in the grocery store" or "Michigan has basically the same floral sources we have so its all pretty much the same"

I have no problem if folks wanna buy honey from other sources not local to their area. Just don't market it as local.

Sorry. Didn't intend to take the thread in a diff direction. Just a pet peeve of mine. If you don't know the source, don't pretend that you do. If you are buying your honey from elsewhere tell your customers.