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Honey varieties

Clover honey

Bees make this honey from the nectar of clovers. In the United States, clovers give more honey than any other group of plants.

  • Photo of Trifolium willdenovii from an iNaturalist observation.Clovernectar

Water white to amber

Clover honey

← All honey varieties

The honey

Color

Water white to amber

The color changes with the type of clover and the place. [1]

Illustrative screen color. A screen cannot show a laboratory color.

Aroma

A sweet, flowery aroma. [2]

Flavor

Mild and pleasing, with dry hay, cinnamon, and spice notes. [1][3]

Crystallization

Fast. Crystallizes readily, like other honeys from legumes. [4]

Where it comes from

Blossom (nectar)Botanical variety

  • Clover

    Trifolium Genus

    primary source · nectar

    Published honey references and standards name this source. In other regions, the honey can come from more or different species.

Documented in
United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia

The catalog names these countries. Honey of this type can come from other regions too.

Jesse Rorabaugh published the photo of Trifolium willdenovii on iNaturalist under CC0 1.0: iNaturalist observation 2963041.

Evidence

Emerging Profile

Published evidence exists but is limited, for example a government or trade-board description or one small study.

The U.S. National Honey Board and the USDA grading manual give the values. A University of Arizona extension guide adds the flavor notes.

Studies

  1. Honey Color and Flavor

    National Honey Board

    The U.S. National Honey Board describes the color and flavor of common U.S. honey varieties.

    Open the source

  2. Honey Varietals

    National Honey Board

    The U.S. National Honey Board describes the color, aroma, and flavor of seven U.S. honey varieties.

    Open the source

  3. Monofloral Honeys

    Lesenne, A.

    University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, 2023

    A University of Arizona extension guide to the flavors of monofloral honeys.

    Open the source

  4. Extracted Honey Grading Manual

    U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, 1985

    The USDA manual for honey graders describes the main U.S. floral sources and groups them by flavor.

    Open the source

References

  • Main European unifloral honeys: descriptive sheets — International Honey Commission
  • Standard for Honey CXS 12-1981 — FAO / WHO Codex Alimentarius
  • Council Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey — European Union
  • Criteria for identifying monofloral and multifloral manuka honey — New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries
  • United States Standards for Grades of Extracted Honey — United States Department of Agriculture
  • Honey for nutrition and health: a review — Journal of the American College of Nutrition

We reviewed this record on .

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