What is Blackberry Honey?

What is Blackberry Honey?

Blackberry honey is a delicious variety of honey that uses the nectar from blackberry

blossoms. It is a delicate honey with a smooth sweetness with a slight tartness and

fruity flavour. It has a satisfying creaminess and subtle floral aroma that make it a

truly delightful honey.

Blackberry honey is a monofloral honey meaning that it mainly uses the nectar from

only one species of plant when producing the honey. Monofloral honey varieties are

rare and difficult to produce as bees will visit a wide range of plants when gathering

the nectar to make their honey. In order to constitute a ‘monofloral’ honey guidelines

advise that when testing the different pollen in the honey, at least 45% of the pollen

must come from one species. The practise of identifying the source of the nectar is

known as melissopalynology and this can tell us the botanical and geographical

origins of the honey. Pollen provides the bees with essential fats, vitamins and

minerals, and is also their main source of protein. The pollen makes its way into the

honey as it clings onto the bees & their fuzzy bodies as they collect the nectar, it then is

transferred into the honey throughout the hive during the process of turning the

nectar into the sweet, golden honey.

Sedgemoor Blackberry Honey

At Ruxstons, we are supplied with amazing honey from Sedgemoor Honey Farm. If

you are based in somerset and are looking for a wonderful honey farm nearby and

are interested in natural honey, then Sedgemoor Honey Farm, based on the outskirts

of Taunton, offer a selection of the finest honey.

Blackberry Honey

The Sedgemoor Honey Farm began with just 2 hives back in the mid 1970s that

started a fascination with beekeeping for Chris Harries. Sedgemoor Honey Farm

now run 300 bee colonies and the nectar is foraged throughout somerset, including

the Quantock and Blackdown hills, Sedgemoor, and South Somerset.

Their blackberry honey is a raw honey, so it retains its nutrients as it does not

undergo pasteurisation and is not filtered. Raw honey still contains its natural

enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and pollen. The pollen found in the honey allows

beekeepers to analyse the botanical origins of the honey. When the Sedgemoor

blackberry honey was studied, they found that 85% of the nectar used in the

production of the honey, came from blackberry blossoms. It has an incredibly high

proportion of blackberry blossom nectar which contributes to the incredible fruitiness

and slight berry flavour that is found in the honey. If you are curious about how

blackberry honey tastes, then this honey is the perfect one to try!

How is Blackberry honey made?

The process of making a monofloral honey, like blackberry honey, is a challenging

task. It requires the beekeepers to strategically place their hives, surrounded by the

plant they intend to target. To make blackberry honey, beekeepers must ensure there

are plenty of blackberry plants surrounding the hive, this encourages the forager

bees to collect their nectar from the blackberry blossoms, rather than from other

plants. Once the bees have collected the nectar from the blackberry blossoms, they store it

in their ‘honey stomach’ so they can transport it back to the hive. Inside the ‘honey

stomach’ enzymes break the nectar down into simpler sugar sugar molecules such

as glucose and fructose. Then the nectar is passed on to younger bees known as

‘house bees’. These bees pass the nectar mouth to mouth to further break down the

sugars. This also reduces the water content in the nectar. The bees deposit the

nectar into the hexagonal cells inside of the honeycomb. The water content is further

reduced inside the cells as the bees fan their wings to evaporate the water. The

honey is then sealed in the hexagonal cell. The blackberry honey can then be

harvested from the honeycomb, ready for consumption!

What are the health benefits of Blackberry Honey?

Blackberries are regarded as a natural superfood, they are packed with vitamin C, A,

E, K & B, they contain plenty of minerals: copper, magnesium, potassium, niacin,

riboflavin and folic acid. Blackberries are also rich in antioxidant compounds which

protect cells and therefore, prevent aging, reduce inflammation, and even improve

memory. Beekeepers often suggest that blackberry honey also possesses all the

same properties of blackberries.

Some of the amazing benefits of blackberry honey include its natural antiseptic and

anti fungal properties that aid the healing process of various wounds. It also has

many antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols and ellagic acid, these are great

for supporting your overall health, reducing inflammation, allowing you to feel better

in yourself! Many people are also aware of the soothing ability of honey for sore

throats, blackberry honey in a warm beverage, like a beautiful berry tea, will add a

blissful flavour as well as easing a sore throat and alleviating cough symptoms,

making it a perfect addition during the colder months. Moreover, blackberry honey is

often credited for supporting a healthy gut and healthy digestion!

Different ways to enjoy Blackberry Honey

Blackberry honey’s natural sweetness makes it the perfect addition to drinks such as

green tea or organic chamomile tea, it will add a sweetness to a tea which is not typically sweet. Blackberry honey also is brilliant in smoothies, as a healthy sweetener. It can also be used to sweeten yoghurt, muesli, or porridge, blackberry honey can really take a basic

breakfast bowl to the next level.

Another way to enjoy this blackberry honey is to make it the star of the show in a simple-to-make honey loaf cake,combining your honey with flour, eggs, milk and baking powder, to create a soft and sweet loaf cake. Enjoy it warm fresh from the oven, or have it toasted with butter.

Blackberry Honey on Porridge