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Comment by annnnd | Hacker News Reader

Interesting, didn't know the flowers' type would affect honey crystallization.

The problem I see is that there is not much regulation and inspection going on with smaller bee-keepers. Which is great on one side, because you have many hobbyists who take pride in what they do and produce really great honey - but on the other hand it makes one wonder why some of the honey doesn't crystallize. I guess I will not be so fast to judge then. :-) Thanks!

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The type of flower can have very, very different end results! [1]

"The red honey is prized for its purported medicinal value and intoxicating qualities which are attributed to the grayanotoxin present in the nectar collected from white rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp). The Gurung people in Nepal are renowned for their use of this mad honey, both for its medicinal and hallucinogenic properties."

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_dorsata_laboriosa

It affects everything. The flavors of (say) avocado-flower honey and citrus-flower honey are so different, that you might not recognize avocado honey as honey if you're not used to it.

Wow, I've never heard of avocado-flower honey. What kind of flavor does it have?

More complex, a little less sweet. I don't know how to describe it, except (to paraphrase Douglas Adams), "it is quite, but not entirely, unlike citrus-flower honey."

Here in the states "Tupelo Honey" is quite sought after as it does not crystallize easily and is said to taste quite good. In South Florida, orange blossom honey is another popular type. Bee keepers will put their bees in a grove, and then harvest the honey just as they take the bees out, this way they can certify what type of honey they are selling.

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