Best Artisanal Honeys for a Sweet Rosh Hashanah
Not all honeys are created equal. That’s according to Ted Dennard, the founder of Georgia-based producer Savannah Bee Co., who gave us a primer on the sticky stuff just in time for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday that revels in it.
“What makes one stand above the rest?” Dennard asked hypothetically. “On the one hand, it’s purely subjective, and it’s what you love and what you think tastes great, feels great and everything.”
That having been said, there are some things to look for, said Dennard. He’s a proponent of monofloral honey, which the beekeeping community defines as the type made from the nectar of a single type of flowering plant. “You come away with something that has very distinctive characteristics,” Dennard explained. That’s what it means when you see “blackberry” or “clover” honey.
And understanding the region where the honey was made—and the weather leading up to harvest time—is crucial. Drought and flooding can kill or damage blossoms, making it very difficult for honeybees to harvest nectar. So bees that once preferred the nectar of the tupelo tree (incidentally Dennard’s favorite) might turn to blackberry bushes, and “you end up with a honey that’s not a monofloral honey at all,” he says. “It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t taste good, but it won’t be that pure, perfect taste.”
Different blooms may also contain different types of sugar (primarily fructose and glucose). Though the tongue can’t distinguish any difference between the two, they determine honey’s texture. In Dennard’s experience, nectar from larger, hard wood trees tend to facilitate more fructose-rich honey (such as the tupelo he prefers), whereas the nectar of smaller bushes and plants yields more glucose-heavy varieties.
But he doesn’t play sweet favorites—except, of course, for the varietals at Savannah Bee Co. Click on for some of Dennard’s favorite artisans from around the country.
(Note: Not all of the following honeys are certified kosher, so keep that in mind if it's important to you.)
