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The Many Secrets of Georgian Honey

35 points by perihelions 5y ago

gnabgib 5y ago
Server seems unhappy, but the archive has caught it: https://archive.ph/74dHx https://archive.ph/74dHx
- Teracotage 5y ago
  But nothing will catch the amazing place there, I visited this lake with my family there 2 years ago and the wonderful scents permeated the valley almost like magic. In my hotel room the jar of honey we bought lasted 4 days. https://sworld.co.uk/02/699964/photoalbum/lake-ritsa-in-georgia https://sworld.co.uk/02/699964/photoalbum/lake-ritsa-in-geor...
rob74 5y ago
> Through their work, they’ve set standards for select honeys like the country’s famous Chestnut honey—a rare, bittersweet and intensely aromatic honey made by bees that harvest nectar of the flower of the chestnut tree Er, I'm by no means an expert (though I do eat a lot of honey), but this sounds suspiciously like honeydew honey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Honeydew_honey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Honeydew_honey), which is actually made not from nectar, but from (to quote the Wikipedia article) "honeydew, the sweet secretions of aphids or other plant-sap-sucking insects", and is indeed "bittersweet and intensely aromatic", but not all that rare...
- mytailorisrich 5y ago
  This is chestnut honey and takes a lot of flavours from there like all honeys made from a specific plant or specific blend. It's by no means unique. For instance there is chestnut honey from around the centre of France where there are chestnut forests. Anyway, for me the best honey is lavender honey.
- throw_away 5y ago
  For some reason the idea of aphid honey gives me a "eww bugs" reaction, but then I think, "oh yeah, bees".
  - Barrera 5y ago
    One insect secretion or another, it's basically the same thing.
- martopix 5y ago
  Chestnut honey is not at all rare in countries with many chestnut trees, like around the Alps. In my hometown in southern europe you find it easily in supermarkets, and it's indeed bittersweet, aromatic, and dark brown.
- dljsjr 5y ago
  Monoculture honey does often take on unique flavors and characteristics based on the source of the nectar. This doesn't seem odd to me at all. For a North American example, Tupelo Honey is a good example of a monoculture honey with a very unique flavor profile.
  - treeman79 5y ago
    https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/french-bees-making-colored-honey-article-1.1175991 https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/french-bees-making-co... Like M&M honey
coward123 5y ago
Just harvested honey this past week from my hives... taste was absolutely the best honey I've ever imagined. So much more floral and complex than anything store bought. Watched them fly back and forth from the lavender to the hives all last summer.
- Rendello 5y ago
  I recently had my first floral honey experience, it's amazing that I'd went this long without knowing that honey can taste flower-y! I'm considering raising chickens in the future --how difficult is beekeeping to get into, in your opinion?
- metadat 5y ago
  Good for you, but how is this related to TFA?
  - coward123 5y ago
    Because good sir, rather than being snotty and downvotey and the type of jerk who has utterly ruined HN, I chose to reveal myself as a fellow beekeeper in hopes that there might be fellow beekeepers here who would also want to share their stories. So, perhaps learn how to human and instead say something like "Wow, other HN human, I'd love to learn more. Have you ever noticed that different flowers or trees make a noticeable difference with your apiary? Have you experienced varoa? What's your thoughts on the various types of European bees, especially those that may have varoa resistance?" or any other number of hundreds of questions that might add to the dialog. Or continue to shitpost, I don't care - this is my throw away account because I got tired of responses like yours utterly devoid of curiosity and just here to shit on everyone else.
    - metadat 5y ago
      I didn't vote on anything. I was uncertain if you were dispensing with a tangentially related personal anecdote or if I'd overlooked a more significant connection with the topic of what's unique and special about Georgian honey. I agree, HN is a very specific thing, with fairly strict rules and autistically narrow norms and protocols. I check out reddit or one of the chans when I want more open ended discussion. Live long and prosper, friend.

35 points by perihelions 5y ago

gnabgib 5y ago

Server seems unhappy, but the archive has caught it: https://archive.ph/74dHx https://archive.ph/74dHx

Teracotage 5y ago
But nothing will catch the amazing place there, I visited this lake with my family there 2 years ago and the wonderful scents permeated the valley almost like magic. In my hotel room the jar of honey we bought lasted 4 days. https://sworld.co.uk/02/699964/photoalbum/lake-ritsa-in-georgia https://sworld.co.uk/02/699964/photoalbum/lake-ritsa-in-geor...

rob74 5y ago

> Through their work, they’ve set standards for select honeys like the country’s famous Chestnut honey—a rare, bittersweet and intensely aromatic honey made by bees that harvest nectar of the flower of the chestnut tree Er, I'm by no means an expert (though I do eat a lot of honey), but this sounds suspiciously like honeydew honey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Honeydew_honey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Honeydew_honey), which is actually made not from nectar, but from (to quote the Wikipedia article) "honeydew, the sweet secretions of aphids or other plant-sap-sucking insects", and is indeed "bittersweet and intensely aromatic", but not all that rare...

mytailorisrich 5y ago
This is chestnut honey and takes a lot of flavours from there like all honeys made from a specific plant or specific blend. It's by no means unique. For instance there is chestnut honey from around the centre of France where there are chestnut forests. Anyway, for me the best honey is lavender honey.
throw_away 5y ago
For some reason the idea of aphid honey gives me a "eww bugs" reaction, but then I think, "oh yeah, bees".
- Barrera 5y ago
  One insect secretion or another, it's basically the same thing.
martopix 5y ago
Chestnut honey is not at all rare in countries with many chestnut trees, like around the Alps. In my hometown in southern europe you find it easily in supermarkets, and it's indeed bittersweet, aromatic, and dark brown.
dljsjr 5y ago
Monoculture honey does often take on unique flavors and characteristics based on the source of the nectar. This doesn't seem odd to me at all. For a North American example, Tupelo Honey is a good example of a monoculture honey with a very unique flavor profile.
- treeman79 5y ago
  https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/french-bees-making-colored-honey-article-1.1175991 https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/french-bees-making-co... Like M&M honey

coward123 5y ago

Just harvested honey this past week from my hives... taste was absolutely the best honey I've ever imagined. So much more floral and complex than anything store bought. Watched them fly back and forth from the lavender to the hives all last summer.

Rendello 5y ago
I recently had my first floral honey experience, it's amazing that I'd went this long without knowing that honey can taste flower-y! I'm considering raising chickens in the future --how difficult is beekeeping to get into, in your opinion?
metadat 5y ago
Good for you, but how is this related to TFA?
- coward123 5y ago
  Because good sir, rather than being snotty and downvotey and the type of jerk who has utterly ruined HN, I chose to reveal myself as a fellow beekeeper in hopes that there might be fellow beekeepers here who would also want to share their stories. So, perhaps learn how to human and instead say something like "Wow, other HN human, I'd love to learn more. Have you ever noticed that different flowers or trees make a noticeable difference with your apiary? Have you experienced varoa? What's your thoughts on the various types of European bees, especially those that may have varoa resistance?" or any other number of hundreds of questions that might add to the dialog. Or continue to shitpost, I don't care - this is my throw away account because I got tired of responses like yours utterly devoid of curiosity and just here to shit on everyone else.
  - metadat 5y ago
    I didn't vote on anything. I was uncertain if you were dispensing with a tangentially related personal anecdote or if I'd overlooked a more significant connection with the topic of what's unique and special about Georgian honey. I agree, HN is a very specific thing, with fairly strict rules and autistically narrow norms and protocols. I check out reddit or one of the chans when I want more open ended discussion. Live long and prosper, friend.