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Honey varieties

Heather honey

Bees make this honey from the nectar of ling heather. The honey has an unusual, thixotropic texture.

  • Photo of Calluna vulgaris from an iNaturalist observation.Ling heathernectar

Heather honey

Color class not documented

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The honey

Color

Amber to dark. [1]

Aroma

A plant fragrance that recalls moist ground. [1]

Flavor

A strong taste with a lingering bitterness. [1]

Crystallization
Not documented

Where it comes from

Blossom (nectar)Botanical variety

  • Ling heather

    Calluna vulgaris

    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 Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France

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

Charlie Farrell published the photo of Calluna vulgaris on iNaturalist under CC0 1.0: iNaturalist observation 92247383.

Evidence

Emerging Profile

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

One peer-reviewed study of ling heather honey describes its color, aroma, and flavor in its introduction. No study that we read measured its color on the Pfund scale.

Studies

  1. A Rheological Analysis of Biomaterial Behaviour as a Tool to Detect the Dilution of Heather Honey

    Přidal, A., Trávníček, P., Kudělka, J., Nedomová, Š., Ondrušíková, S., Trost, D., Kumbár, V.

    Materials, 2021

    A study of ling heather (Calluna vulgaris) honey and its flow, with a summary of its sensory traits.

    DOI: 10.3390/ma14102472 · Open the source

  2. Main European unifloral honeys: descriptive sheets

    Persano Oddo, L., Piro, R.

    Apidologie, 2004

    The International Honey Commission descriptive sheets of the main European unifloral honeys.

    DOI: 10.1051/apido:2004049

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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