Georgia
Related: About this forumOn the Trail of Tupelo Honey, Liquid Gold From the Swamps.
By Kim Severson
May 28, 2019
ODUM, Ga. The most expensive honey in America starts in these mucky Southern swamps, where white Ogeechee tupelo trees twist up out of water so dark you cant tell if that was an alligator or a snake that just broke the surface.
For two precious weeks each spring in this slice of southeastern Georgia and in the Florida Panhandle, tupelo trees bloom with pale, fragile flowers that look like pompoms for tiny cheerleaders. Beekeepers tuck their hives along the banks, or occasionally float them out into the water on rafts. Then the bees get to work, making honey that looks and tastes like no other.
Good tupelo will glow with a light green tint, especially when its fresh from the comb and bathed in sunlight. The first taste is of cinnamon with a tingle of anise. That gives way to a whisper of jasmine and something citrusy tangerine rind, maybe? The honey is so soft, light and buttery that the only logical move is to chase it with another spoonful.
I love it, but its not something I can afford to use regularly, said Kelly Fields, whom the James Beard Foundation recently named the years Outstanding Pastry Chef for work at her New Orleans restaurant, Willa Jean. The real stuff is so sacred down here that if I ever got my hands on some, Id probably keep it at home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/dining/tupelo-honey.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Chin music
(24,300 posts)In-teresting.
JDC
(10,486 posts)In actuality, I find this story to be my favorite of the day. TY
WheelWalker
(9,199 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,185 posts)KatyaR
(3,527 posts)My favorite is the Orange Blossom Honey, but they carry Tupelo Honey. A 20-oz bottle of their Gold Reserve Tupelo Honey is $99!
NightWatcher
(39,358 posts)It's the best I've ever had, even if I'm a little biased.
arthurgoodwin
(38 posts)One of my favorite movies, Ulee's Gold (1997), revolves around a family of beekeepers (headed by Peter Fonda, in what I think of as his best film role) in Wewahitchka, Florida and their tupelo honey. It has some very realistic scenes of beekeeping (supposedly a family of real beekeepers were consultants to the film and many of the scenes were filmed around their hives).