Tupelo Honey

The Gold Standard for Honey

For those sweet on it, the gold standard for honey is Tupelo honey. Bees make this rare honey for only two weeks in the spring when the White Ogeechee Tupelo Trees (nyssa ogeche) bloom along the Ogeechee River, the Apalachicola and the Chattahoochee River Basins of Northwest Florida.

These lush river valleys are the only place in the world where Tupelo honey is produced commercially.

When the trees bloom in April and May, honeybees are lured to their flowers and return to their busy hives with nectar to produce their liquid treasure.

Pure Tupelo honey has a light amber golden color with a slightly green cast. With buttery undertones and a mellow, clean-finishing sweetness Tupelo honey complements a variety of foods. Honey produced from the White Tupelo is the only honey that will not granulate. Because it contains a high ratio of fructose to glucose, this honey can be a good source of energy, with less of a “sugar crash” than other sweeteners. Because of its low dextrose level, doctors even recommend it to some diabetic patients.

You can purchase Tupelo honey at most grocers, order it online or, even better, buy it from the locals who harvest it, including Ken Holman of Destin. For his homemade honey, call (850) 259-1561.