"Elaine Parrish" > wrote in message
...
snip
> I always thought that it was interesting how they managed to produce a
> specific variety of honey. If bees aren't variety specific and you don't
> stomp out every other flowering tree, shrub, and plant, how do they
> control what bees make honey out of?
snip
> Elaine, too

Around here as you travel down the roads past fields you will see
open-sided sheds where bees are placed during a crop season. Beekeepers
contract with field owners to place their bees in particular areas. So if
the bees are surrounded by acres and acres of alfalfa or fruit orchards, it
stands to reason the bees are going to use that for their source. A lot of
mint oil is produced around here and that honey has a distinctive taste. We
had a hobbyist that lived across the street from us and kept bees in his
backyard. His bees used whatever was available in a large residential
neighborhood for their source and that honey had a 'heavier' taste. I would
imagine that the super-efficient spin filters available to the big-brand
companies would produce a different taste and mouth feel than the small spin
filters available to the hobbyist. Not that there is anything wrong with
the efficient filters, but it just seems to me that any little bits of waxy
matter in the honey would change the taste. Raw honey also has a different
taste than honey that has been heated. All personal opinion. . .
Janet