Spring is in the air, and the familiar sound of buzzing gets you thinking about that golden nectar. The aromatic smell of meadows covered in wildflowers makes you long for the sweetness of the wildflower honey you finished with your last cup of tea.
Wildflower honey is a light, fruity honey rich in flavor made by bees when they pollinate various flowers growing wildly in their environment. Therefore, wildflower honey can result in significantly varying tastes according to the regions where the bees pollinate.
Every region has its own very unique flavors of wildflower honey. When meadows pop up with wildflowers, it’s not to say that this year’s collection will be the same as the previous year or even last season. Wildflower honey is one of those joker cards that will always be delightful but will never be the same twice.
Facts About Wildflower Honey
Wildflowers are flowers that you find growing wildly in prairies, mountains, and woodlands. These can be any flower that does not rely on human intervention to be seeded and grown. The most common wildflowers are the Blackeyed Susan and the common sunflower.
Wildflower honey gets created when bees forage and pollinate vast bouquets of flowers within their radius. Depending on the flora from which the bees collect their nectar can make the honey flavor more delicate or intense.
The taste of the honey echoes the terroir in which the flowers get pollinated; you could say it is an expression of the region. Wildflower honey collected in Texas will differ from the flavor of honey collected in California.
What Color Is Wildflower Honey?
Wildflower honey ranges from almost colorless to dark amber, depending on which flowers nectar is more prominent in their area. Due to the flower variety, honey tends to get darker and more robust in flavor in later summer and fall seasons.
What Does Wildflower Honey Taste Like?
Wildflower honey is, generally speaking, a light, sweet, and fruity flavored honey. However, its taste varies from season to season depending on the blossoms growing at that particular time. Flavors can also change depending on what region the honey gets produced.
- Sardinian wildflower honey is best known for its dark wildflower honey with an intense aroma with sweet fruity notes and a complex bitter aftertaste. The most common flowers used by the bees for this honey are onionweed, plumless thistle, purple milk thistle, and rock-rose.
- Florida wildflower honey is mainly sourced from Blackeyed Susan, blanket flower, butterfly weed, scarlet salvia, pickerelweed, and powderpuff mimosa. This honey ranges from light to dark shades with a sweet aromatic floral taste.
- Texas Wildflower honey gets made from the local flowers of Texas Tallow, Mesquite, Texas Cotton, and the Goldenrod. It has a golden light amber hue and a smooth buttery taste.
That is the beauty of this type of honey; you will constantly be surprised and transported to fields of flowers kissed by the sun’s rays.
Wildflower honey changes seasonally and yearly, depending on the variety of flowers available to bees. But, the temperature and rainfalls also have a role in the taste consistency.
In general, the flavor of wildflower honey is sweet and fruity with a floral scent and smooth buttery taste. But depending on the regions and what flora is foraged, it can also have a nutty and sometimes tangy flavor.
How Is Wildflower Honey Processed?
Let’s understand the difference between honey in the stores and pure raw honey. Pasteurized honey is when it gets filtered and treated with high heat, which means that what is left of the honey losses most of its organic flavor and benefits. However, it is much clearer visually and has a runnier consistency for easier use in bottles.
But if you are looking for that honey bursting with goodness and full of antioxidants and nutrients, then raw honey is your choice.
After the wildflower honey gets removed from the beehives, it gets filtered through a nylon cloth that removes impurities from the honey. In its raw form, it retains all its enzymes and medical benefits.
It is also much thicker in consistency, although the liquid thickness can vary depending on the nectar that the bees foraged. It has a slightly more cloudy appearance and can crystalize faster than processed honey.
Is Wildflower Honey Seasonal?
Depending on weather conditions, there are three seasonal harvests of wildflower honey.
| Season | Period | Color/Characteristics |
| Spring | Collected end of May | It is almost colorless to a light golden hue |
| Summer | Collected during the highest production months of June and July | It can have a light to medium hue depending on the flora available |
| Fall | Last collection at the end of August | It tends to have a darker hue due to the summer flowers. |
Comparison Of Wildflower Honey vs. Regular Honey
When we talk about regular honey, we mean the honey that can be easily found at your supermarkets and is in the more affordable price range.
Regular honey is processed honey. It gets filtered, processed, and pasteurized. This method puts the honey through high heat processes that burn out all the good nutrients needed. Some makes are even fake honey, where only a third of it is honey, and the rest is made of corn syrup and added sugar syrups.
But natural raw wildflower honey is filtered to remove any impurities and retains all the essential nutrients that make it more beneficial to our health.
Regular honey will have a much clearer consistency and be runnier. That’s why most of the processed honey comes in squeeze bottles.
On the other hand, wildflower honey has a slightly cloudy look and is thicker.
You will find that regular honey will readily dissolve in water or liquids.
But Wildflower honey is not that easy. It takes a bit more stirring and convincing to get it adequately diluted.
The Difference Between Wildflower Honey And Other Raw Honey
There are two types of ways honey gets made by pollination.
- Monoflorals mean that the nectar collected is mainly from one specific species of plants only.
But even though it has one primary nectar source, monofloral honey can also have traces of several other plant nectar. Therefore, there can be different criteria for different sorts of honey depending on your region. For example, to be measured monofloral, acacia honey needs to have a minimum of 30% of its entire pollen content from acacia flowers. On the other hand, clover honey requires a minimum of 50% or more clover pollen; in comparison, the best manuka honey can require up to 90% manuka pollen.
- Polyfloral means that there is not one specific flower or plant that dominates the taste of the honey. Instead, it gets made from a bouquet of plants available to the bees.
Monofloral honey has a list as long as my arm. You can find a variety of differently flavored honey depending on the country or region. For example, the Manuka honey is only made in New Zealand as the Manuka bush only grows in New Zealand. On the other hand, eucalyptus honey is produced in Australia, South Africa, and Brazil, where these trees are commonly found.
They can range from light to dark amber colors and have a wide diversity of tastes and smells, representing the main plant the bees pollinated.
You can find polyfloral honey fairly easily all over the world. However, not one of them will have a similar taste, as the taste, color, and smell are all dependent on the flowers available for pollination and the time of year it is collected.
What Are The Benefits Of Wildflower Honey
With the world always having an answer to any health problem using chemicals and substances, is it not time we looked towards Mother Nature for her healing abilities? Raw Wildflower Honey is full of great benefits for many various health issues.
Studies have shown that raw wildflower honey has antibacterial and antifungal properties, so the potential use for internal and topical is significant.
Respiratory Conditions
- Antiviral
- As a cough suppressant
- Aids to soothe sore throats
- Alleviates respiratory inflammation
Research has shown that honey is a cheap alternative to antibiotic medication for upper respiratory tract infections and aids in slowing the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Antioxidants
- Increases immune functions
- Protects against heart disease
- Aids in protecting against cancer
- It helps reduce inflammation over a long period
- Anti-diabetic properties
Research shows that honey is a novel agent to change and control inflammation diseases. Though the process is still unclear, it has shown remarkable results in treating inflammation in the body.
The antioxidants present in honey are a natural way of increasing immune systems and fighting off diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.
Another excellent use for honey is its anti-diabetic properties from the presence of fructose in the honey that helps to regulate insulin.
Antibacterial
- Increases the wound healing process
- Effectively helped in skin burns
Research shows that raw honey acts as a bacterial killer, honey enters the biofilms, and these biofilms protect the bacteria from antibiotics and recovers aggressive infections, and eliminate colonies of bacteria for a faster healing process.
Antifungal
- It helps fight against fungi.
Research has shown that antioxidants and high sugar contents help decelerate fungi’s growth.
Seasonal Allergies
- It helps to boost the immune system naturally.
- It acts as immunization to build up antibodies in your body
- Shows signs of anti-inflammatory and anti-histamines
Daily use of honey from the area where you live can build up antibodies to fight against the allergies of the plants in your area.
Digestion
- Honey can reduce the symptoms of constipation
- Improves nutritional intake
- Balances bacterial levels in the gut
- It may help in reducing reflux
Research has shown that honey can help fight and reduce inflammation of the colon and gut, helping in slowing down the processes of food absorption and aiding in better digestion.
Energy
- It contains minerals that stimulate metabolism.
- It provides you with a concentrated form of carbohydrates and sugar for energy.
- Aids in weight loss
Honey is rich in natural carbohydrates used by the body to turn into energy.
Skin
- Regular use can help to reduce wrinkles
- improves the skin tone
- calms irritable skin conditions
Wildflower honey aids in calming down hormonal skin and acts as a natural lotion that helps draw moisture and lock it into the skin for a smoother and better-hydrated look.
Mind
- It helps in the increased absorption of calcium and magnesium. Increasing the amount of these nutrients helps the mind with learning and memory.
Since honey contains natural antioxidants, research has shown that the enzymes found in honey help with the deterioration of cognitive functions and help guard against oxidative damage in the aging brain.
What Are The Benefits Of Wildflower Honey For The Skin?
Raw honey is crammed with antioxidants valuable for your skin. As a result, honey can radically improve skin conditions such as acne or autoimmune skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis.
With its antibacterial benefits, raw honey balances the bacteria on your skin, making it a valuable product to use for acne.
Raw honey can be a perfect addition to the exfoliation of your skin as it removes dull, dead, dry skin and leaves you glowing with fresh new cells.
You can make a paste from the raw honey, use it as a spot treatment for any skin problems, or create a face mask that will rejuvenate your skin.
The moisturizing properties of honey leave your skin feeling soft and fresh, not tacky and greasy, unlike what you would imagine it to be. Always remember to apply it for a few minutes to allow the benefits of the raw honey to penetrate the skin before rinsing it off.
Honey helps control the unwanted appearance of wrinkles and fine lines on your face. It offers the skin the right kind of nourishment to stay healthy. The antioxidants help repair skin and diminish scars.
Does Wildflower Honey Work For Hair?
The almost magical properties of honey work to revitalize and nourish dry, dull hair without leaving any oily residue.
You can apply raw and organic honey as a mask to your dry hair, leaving the tincture in for about 30 minutes before washing it out. Its blend of alpha-hydroxy acids and enzymes will improve chemically and color-treated hair’s shine and volume.
Is Wildflower Honey Safe To Eat When Pregnant?
You’re concerned about consuming honey when you are pregnant? Don’t be; even though you should not give honey to infants under a year, eating honey while pregnant will not harm your fetus.
Children under a year fed honey can get a rare illness called botulism. The bacteria found in honey can cause this disease, as babies’ stomachs cannot deal with the foreign bacteria introduced to them.
However, as an expecting mother, it is perfectly safe for you to consume and will do no harm to your child.
In fact, doctors encourage mothers to drink hot lemon honey tea to help soothe sore throats and relieve irritating coughs.
5 Benefits Of Eating Wildflower Honey While Pregnant
With all the vitamins and minerals you find in honey, doctors have started to discover benefits of the golden nectar to help pregnant women with:
- Fertility: There are some thoughts; however, more research is required that preconception use of honey may help your chances of falling pregnant.
- Respiratory health: a natural antibacterial and antiviral, honey is a great way to ease sore throats and relieve the discomfort of nasty coughs.
- Antioxidant protection: Dark honey is richer in antioxidants that help improve your health and repair damaged cells.
- Immune system: it aids to increase your immune system and relieves heartburn. Used topically, it will assist your body in healing and repairing cuts and wounds.
- Insomnia: it is said that honey can help overcome insomnia by drinking a glass of milk with a spoon of honey of dissolved honey before going to bed.
Is Wildflower Honey Safe For Pets?
If you have kids of the two-legged variety, you will have heard that giving honey to children under one year old is dangerous due to their delicate digestive system.
The same rules apply to parents of the four-legged variety kids, never feed puppies or kittens under the age of one-year-old honey as they also have fragile digestive systems.
Besides that, honey is a great way to hide medication, treat any health issues, or just as a simple treat.
Raw honey can be one of the most potent remedies to give. It includes the highest concentration of vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E, and K. It also includes minerals like calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, and manganese.
Honey is a superb source of flavonoids and potent antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits. In addition, it is an excellent source of enzymes. Wildflower honey is antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antifungal, and even kills resistant bacteria, including MRSA.
Wildflower honey can be helpful if your dog has an upset stomach or diarrhea. A couple of doses of honey may help alleviate his stomach and soothe his GI tract.
Some vets suggest honey to help control minor stomach ulcers for pets. The anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties help alleviate pain and the bacteria that causes the ulcer.
But the sweet taste of honey can come at a price for your animals.
As much as honey can alleviate allergies and treat some health conditions, it can also cause their teeth to rot, so brushing their teeth after a dose will help with tooth decay.
Since honey is high in sugar and calories, giving honey to your already obese dog is not recommended, and if your dog has diabetes, then the sugary treat is a no-no for them.
The recommended dosage for your pets:
Dogs
For small dogs, one teaspoon
For medium dogs, two teaspoons
For large dogs, one tablespoon
Cats
For most breeds, half a teaspoon
Pros And Cons Of wildflower Honey For Dogs
As with humans, honey can have many beneficial properties for our dogs. However, honey should not be given as a cure-all remedy for your dog but instead as an added benefit and supplement to your dog’s daily treatment.
| Pro’s | Cons |
| Allergies: Given as a daily dose can aid in desensitizing your dog to external allergens | In Diabetic dogs: due to the high levels of glycemic index, it may not be advisable to give honey to your dog. |
| wound care: helps fight bacteria and inflamed wounds, minor burns, and hotspots | puppies — as in humans, do not give to puppiesyounger than a year, they have immature gastrointestinal systems, and can fall ill from possible bacterial spores that contaminate the honey. |
| kennel cough: thanks to honey antibacterial properties it helps to fight infection and soothessore, irritated throat | allergies: Some dogs can develop allergies to bee stings, thus making them react to the honey. |
| digestion: Raw honey naturally helps combat gastrointestinal diseases | best dogs: Honey is high in calories and should be avoided for obese dogs |
| energy booster: Due to its sugar content, it can help sluggish dogs get a bit more energy | |
| mobility: Thanks to the anti-inflammatory quality of raw honey, it helps to ease arthriticjoints as your pets get older. |
As with anything in life, feeding honey in moderation is the key to giving it to your dog. Vets generally recommend that one teaspoon of honey a day is sufficient.
Conclusion
Wildflower honey is uniquely different from other honey. Not one of its batches will ever taste the same, look the same, or smell the same. Wildflower honey will continue to be a delightfully sweet and fruity experience no matter the flowers the bees have to pollinate.
But one thing is for sure: this elixir’s nutritional value and health benefits will always benefit humans. With scientists seeing more evidence that honey is nature’s natural medicine for many ailments, it is only a matter of time before honey is in everyone’s pantry, not only for its culinary accompaniments but for its health benefits too.
