The Hunt For Wild Blackberry Honey

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So you have been looking for a honey with a sensational taste that leaves you with a zing in your mouth and wondering why you had not found that wonderful honey taste before. Well, one of the most sensational honeys in the world comes from right here in the Pacific Northwest. Bees have been busy making this honey for over two hundred years, ever since productive Italian bees discovered wild blackberry plants growing all across the foothills and burned off wild-lands of the great Pacific Northwest.

This precious liquid gold is wild blackberry honey. This exquisite honey derives from the flower of the wild blackberry and it is not only the pride of beekeepers but one of the most sought after honey sources every discovered. The true source of this favorite of Northwest honeys is a little more complex than one would first expect. There are really several wild floral sources. Historically wild mountain blackberries, a true Northwest native plant was seen as a dominate floral source but in the 1890s two other wild blackberry floral sources were imported into the Northwest. First came the Himalaya blackberry brought by immigrant European settlers, followed closely by, thanks to Oregon State University experimentations gone wild, the evergreen blackberry species. Both species thrived in the Northwest's cool moist climate and both are highly prized by pollen seeking honey bees.

Honey bees love blackberry flowers because, unlike huckleberry flowers which tend to grow slanted downward, the flower of blackberries grows horizontally which is much preferred by our very busy pollen harvester mainly because it is much easier to collect pollen and bees do not get drenched with water droplets so often. As we said above, blackberry honey has a wonderful bite. But, it also possesses a deep bodied texture and unique crystalline structure which allows the honey to granulate within one year and as any honey lover knows granulated honey is the sure sign of pure honey. By the way, this honey has a moisture content of around 18%. It is easily spread on crumpets, English muffins, and cornbread and spooned into a hot cup of tea. It is also great on cereals, in homemade granola and as an addition to fish and meat barbeques.