Honeybee_ Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper - C. Marina Marchese [78]
HONEY COLOR: Golden yellow to light amber to green.
TASTING NOTES: Strong-flavored honey with hints of musky toffee and molasses, balanced by bitter flavors. Preferred by many honey connoisseurs. Full-bodied and finely crystallized texture.
PAIRINGS: Drizzle over blue or brie cheeses and serve with Syrah. Spread on to pain d’epices (spice bread) and biscuits. Use as a glaze for fish and meats.
35. KIAWE (pronounced kee-AH-vay)
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: An invasive thorny bush in the same family as mesquite, with small flowers in pale yellow spikes that bear light yellow bean pods. Kiawe is an excellent honey tree.
BLOOMS: When three to four years old, frequently flowers twice a year in March and September.
BOTANICAL NAME: Prosopis pallida
COMMON NAMES: Huarango, American carob, algarroba, bayahonda.
PROVENANCE: Native to Colombia, ecuador, and Peru, Naturalized in Hawaii; the honey comes from only the Puako Forest of Hawaii’s big Island, where it has been harvested for one hundred years.
TERRIOR: Grows in the arid, tropical volcanic lava of an isolated oasis in the coastal forest.
HONEY COLOR: Pearly water white with waxy, golden overtones.
TASTING NOTES: Rich tropical fruit and menthol flavors. A smooth, creamy consistency and extremely fine crystals that produce an effervescent sensation on the tongue. This honey crystallizes very, very rapidly, right in the comb, which gives it the lovely texture.
PAIRINGS: Drizzle over Asiago or Havarti cheeses on flatbread crackers topped with sliced fresh kiwi and cashews, and serve with champagne or chardonnay.
36. KNAPWEED
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: A herbaceous, bushy, branched weed with rough green leaves that have spots, giving it the name spotted knapweed. The flowers are white or purple-to-pink and have fringy petals that resembles cornflowers. An excellent nectar source for honeybees.
BLOOMS: Early to late June to August.
BOTANICAL NAME: Centaurea maculosa
COMMON NAMES: European star thistle, ballast-waif, spotted knapweed.
PROVENANCE: Native to eastern europe. Grows in Idaho, Alaska, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, New york, and Montana.
TERRIOR: Requires full sun. Grows in dry, rocky prairies and along railroad tracks, waterways, and grasslands.
HONEY COLOR: Light to medium amber.
TASTING NOTES: Bitter, tangy, and astringent flavors. Full-bodied and thick.
PAIRINGS: Best used for mead making.
37. KNOTWEED
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: A herbaceous perennial plant. The hollow stems with raised nodes resemble bamboo. Small, creamy white flowers are an important source of nectar in late summer when little else is in bloom. Knotweed honey is sometimes referred to as bamboo honey.
BLOOMS: August to October.
BOTANICAL NAME: Fallopia japonica, syn. Polygonum cuspidatum, Reynoutria japonica
COMMON NAMES: Fleeceflower, monkeyweed, Huzhang Hancock’s curse, elephant ears, pea shooters, donkey rhubarb (although it is not a rhubarb), Japanese bamboo.
PROVENANCE: Native to eastern Asia (Japan, China, and Korea), the northeastern United States (Pennsylvania and New york), and Europe.
TERRIOR: Moist soil, wetlands.
HONEY COLOR: Very dark amber with reddish tones.
TASTING NOTES: Rich, heavy, and robust. Hints of caramel, brown sugar, and maple flavors. A fruitier version of buckwheat honey without the malty flavors.
PAIRINGS: Drizzle over Camembert, fresh figs, and pecans, and serve with merlot. Spread over waffles, pancakes, gingerbreads, banana muffins, and rum cakes. Mix into custards, tapiocas, and rice puddings.
38. KUDZU
PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: A climbing, woody, perennial vine that is highly invasive and weedy. Spiky, purple-violet flower with highly fragrant aromas. Copious nectar producer.
BLOOMS: Late summer.
BOTANICAL NAME: Pueraria thunbergiana
COMMON NAMES: Known as foot-a-night vine, mile-a-minute vine, porch vine, telephone vine, and wonder vine because kudzu can grow aggressively. Gé Gan in traditional Chinese medicine.
PROVENANCE: Native to China and Japan. Found in Alabama’s Choccolocco Valley, as well as in Georgia and