Flavors of Different Honey

[fatbloke]

Anyway I hope that someone will take on the opportunity - it would be an extremely interesting project. Cheers Daw-- Still hoping one day to be able to get some to try it myself.!!

It's got me wondering though DAW, I understand that there are vvv strict border controls about importing items of "agricultural provenance" into the US, Australia and some other places - I believe this is often about seed/wood and non native species, but also about milk/cheese/meat for alleged hygiene reasons.

I wonder if there are such reasons/excuses for honey. Live bees I can understand - hell our dept of Agriculture are vvv hot about notification of moving them from one part of the country to another - there appears to be an issue with some bee diseases. Fair enough, but is honey thought to be a way of possibly transferring disease i.e. virus or something similar ???

I'm guessing that Canada is every bit as hot on this sort of thing, because of the joint border with the US i.e. if "it" gets into Canada, it gets into the US and vice versa (the obsession with donated blood is a good example - because of course, everyone in the UK is suffering from mad cow disease - ooooom ooooom - NOT!).

Or maybe a honey import might have to be either irradiated or at least pasturised or something ???

I mean, public and agri' health concerns are fair enough - I'm just wondering if there is actually any issues with that, and honey ??

regards

JtFB

[Mamgiowl]

I don't know about Customs regs, but I've always been given to understand that honey is sterile and antiseptic. Some old folk remedies use honey for wound dressings etc.

When one of my sons was small all the grazes, cut fingers etc, he got, turned septic, and before tea tree oil was easily available I always used honey on them and they cleared up beautifully. I've even used it as a preventative and that worked too.

[fatbloke]

I don't know about Customs regs, but I've always been given to understand that honey is sterile and antiseptic. Some old folk remedies use honey for wound dressings etc.

When one of my sons was small all the grazes, cut fingers etc, he got, turned septic, and before tea tree oil was easily available I always used honey on them and they cleared up beautifully. I've even used it as a preventative and that worked too.

I'm thinking that it might depend on what DAW is actually looking for Jan.

It's not necessarily customs related, more the US and Canadian version of DEFRA/the EU equivalent.

There are, apparently, a mountain of regs that affect "agricultural produce". Different areas consider different stuff to be in different categories i.e. is honey an agri' product, or a foodstuff? Is it possible that honey, if not sterilised/irradiated/pasturised might carry one or more of the virii that bees can be susceptible too ?? is what I was thinking.

Plus DAW knows a hell of a lot about mead, but I wouldn't know if he likes/prefer's to use raw honey or some that's been treated in someway.

Of course, my dad being an apiarist by hobby, and my mother being a health visitor by trade, I've often heard of the healing power of honey (it's a bit like garlic, it's not just the flavour ). If you do a search for Buckwheat honey, it seems that the first/highest hits/pages have links to the various articles that are trying to describe it as a cure all panacea for childhood cough problems, and it takes a while before you find any hits for sites that sell it.

I'm thinking that with his excellent knowledge of "things mead", DAW is becoming a bit of a "Mead Maestro". As you can see from this thread, he's been looking for honey's that I've never even heard of - honey's that are produced here in the UK, albeit in smallish quantities. His knowledge does seem encyclopaedic when it comes to mead. Amazing.

It'd also be brilliant if Nia does manage to find out a bit more of this producer/supplier in Aberystwyth. They might have some unusual ones to try a gallon or two of.

Even my local bloke isn't anything like the one that DAW posted. Those people at http://www.beefolks.com/ seem to have some really strange honey.

Ha! I bet the "Killer Bee Honey" wouldn't be much help if someone got zapped by them But it'd be a hellova conversation stopper - especially if it produced a reasonable tasting mead

This threads definitely given me some ideas to look into. Brilliant.

regards

JtFB

p.s. plus it doesn't always seem to be down to the cost of the actual honey, it's the shipping charges that cane it as an idea for getting rarer stuff from overseas!

[Cariad66]

I seem to remember that its all imported from Belgium and bottled (jarred) here. Probably got a daffodil on it and some gingham as a lid so its £3 more than it needs to be then we sell it to Belgium tourists.
I'll do it..I'll do it now. i'll make some calls

In a while

Nia xx

[Cariad66]

http://www.tropicalforest.com/tropical.htm

http://www.tropicalforest.com/index.htm

Now these sound nice.. and its the place! But what i can't find out till my brother answers his phone is the price

Some stunning flavours eh!

Nia xxx

[StockeyDAW]

http://www.tropicalforest.com/tropical.htm

http://www.tropicalforest.com/index.htm

Now these sound nice.. and its the place! But what i can't find out till my brother answers his phone is the price

Some stunning flavours eh!

Nia xxx

I have no idea of the chemical composition of these honies. I expect that the native peoples must make some kind of honey wine from them. I would also think it to be organic as not likely any pesticides or herbicides are used where these hives are located? I would only be concerned how, and what conditions that the honey has been harvested, where the packaging was done and how the honey has been transported to market.
Interesting how many different honies that we are able to come up with. When making mead from these types of honies with little background information on them this is where the process of pH monitoring and ample nutrient and energizer addition and proper use of complementary yeast will be very necessary. Cheers - its your taste preference and choice. Daw

[Cariad66]

We work with village beekeepers in the tropics to increase their income and small scale producers in Europe.

I got the belgium bit right...i wonder how many ppm are tropic v's belgium?

My cynical mind said its more Europe than tropic

OOOO Nia take a sweet pill

Nia xxx

[StockeyDAW]

We work with village beekeepers in the tropics to increase their income and small scale producers in Europe.

I got the belgium bit right...i wonder how many ppm are tropic v's belgium?

My cynical mind said its more Europe than tropic

OOOO Nia take a sweet pill

Nia xxx

Oh! great then sounds like a terrific cause. I would be very much in favor of it. You would have all the details from the harvest to the market and know there are no reasons for concern there. I would expect that they have to meet all safety and health issues according to wherever the product is being sold? It would be like testing a new product using the latest mead making procedures. That sounds interesting. Cheers Daw

[Cariad66]

My brother swears blind about the healing powers of honey. He fell onto his log burner and burnt himself down his arm and neck. He went straight into the kitchen and slavered it in honey. It didn't even blister and left no scar. I wash my face in it when the allergies to soap get too bad. Its the best natural moisturiser known to man but you get stuck to the pillow lol. and of course if its local honey it helps with hayfever. Good stuff innit

Nia xxx
And no he still wont answer his phone

[StockeyDAW]

Ya - and it is even used in ice cream flavors. Hope they solve the bee mortality issue soon. We need them very much. Cheers Daw