At 06:52 PM 9/3/96 +1300, you wrote:
>Hi Ian!
>
>Here's the latest from the friends who have been priming me with bee-related
>questions.
>
>First, I should say my friend Chris, the triathlete, said the honey from my
>home state was wonderfully tasty. But his mom asked how beekeepers know what
>type of flowers the nectar came from. I mean (she has a point) there are
>millions of flowers and fruits and vegetables and herbs out there, how does
>one know its "clover honey" or "wildflower honey" or whatever? Is it a plot?
>
>Cecile
 
There is a standard response we have developed to this question.
 
1. Geographical Location.  Many honey producing flowers are either present
or absent in a particular area.
 
2. Time of flowering.  Many honey sources can be separated because they
flower at separate times of the year. This in turn allows producers to
remove honey prior to and after each separatable honey source.
 
3. Some form of analysis.  This can be as simple as looking at appearance
and flavour, to a full battery of tests looking for in spec measurements of
a range of possible parameters.  These tend to be developed specifically for
each honey type.  e.g. conductivity for honeydew sources, thixotropy for
ling heather and manuka.
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Peter Bray, Airborne Honey Ltd., PO Box 28, Leeston, New Zealand
Fax 64-3-324-3236,  Phone 64-3-324-3569  [log in to unmask]
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