Irish honey - appreciation thread and more

whiskeyman

I've loved honey for years, but admit to buying cheap stuff from the discounters to have over my porridge.
Over the past while, I've only bought Irish honey and it's just so different. You really can't compare the two.
Yes the price is a lot more, but for such a quality product it's one I'm willing to pay.

I'm only learning of the types of honey now and really enjoyed blossom honey.
Hoping to try heather honey next.

I was in SuperValu recently and despite a large selection of honeys, not one was actually Irish produced!
Many Irish packed with 'a blend of eu and non eu honeys', and the rest just foreign.

Any recommendations where you get your local / Irish honey?
What's your favourite?
How do you eat it?

A hotel I stayed in recently had a while honeycomb to break from. It was amazing to take a piece.

coley

A local farmers market is a good place to look for it, also smaller health-food stores may be supplied by local bee-keepers.

dastardly00

I'm able to get this honey in a local store on Galway

http://leahybeekeeping.com/product/100-raw-irish-honey/

I spent a good while going around to different shops and markets to find raw Irish honey

Gloomtastic!

Jars of home locally-produced honey goes for about €10 a jar here in Dublin 3. People can’t get enough of it and order loads.

A friend of ours has been learning to keep bees for a few years, it’s really difficult to do seemingly.

Dial Hard

The Brown Pig in Terenure sells locally-produced honey, think it's about €6 a jar.

Dublin Airport has its own colony and you can buy the honey in the airport. It's called NectAir No idea how much it is though.

odyssey06

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Jars of home locally-produced honey goes for about €10 a jar here in Dublin 3. People can’t get enough of it and order loads.

Is there a shop in the area that sells them?
Sounds intriguing.

Gloomtastic!

odyssey06 wrote: »

Is there a shop in the area that sells them?
Sounds intriguing.

I think I saw it on a Clontarf Facebook page. You could try Nolan’s or Supervalu in Killester.

whiskeyman

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I think I saw it on a Clontarf Facebook page. You could try Nolan’s or Supervalu in Killester.

Ah, I knew Nolan's would be a good spot.
Unfortunately the Supervalu I mentioned with virtually no Irish honey was the one in Killester.
Might give the farmers markets in the Red Stables a visit too.

What's your thoughts on using a proper honey spoon? Wooden Vs normal spoon?

odyssey06

whiskeyman wrote: »

Ah, I knew Nolan's would be a good spot.
Unfortunately the Supervalu I mentioned with virtually no Irish honey was the one in Killester.
Might give the farmers markets in the Red Stables a visit too.

Please bump the thread if you do manage to track some down.

Loveinapril

I am a beekeeper so have my own supply but if you contact your local beekeepers association they will give you recommendations on where to get it.

Dizzyblonde

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I think I saw it on a Clontarf Facebook page. You could try Nolan’s or Supervalu in Killester.

Might be Dublin Honey in Killester - I haven't bought any of their honey yet but keep meaning to.

https://www.facebook.com/dublinhoneykillester/

0lddog

Listened to this earlier today

https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018710042

Perhaps not great over there in the last few years

All the more reason to enjoy Irish Honey while you can

cee_jay

Tang on Middle Abbey Street stock local honey, you can buy jars of honey specific to a Dublin postcode.

odyssey06

I just realised I have a jar of Mileeven Pure Irish Honey at home, and it is lovely:
http://www.mileeven.com/pure-irish-honey

It's showing as available in some Supervalu stores, but they also have Mileeven Honey which seems to be more widely available:
https://shop.supervalu.ie/shopping/food-cupboard-honey-mileeven-pure-irish-225-grams-/p-1432629001

Not tried these but saw them online.

Evergreen online website has some Irish honey but more expensive at €6.50 for small jar:
https://www.evergreen.ie/catalogsearch/result/?q=irish+honey

Nourish has "Tara Hill Irish Honey" from eh Wexford for €8 a jar!
https://www.nourish.ie/p/tara-hill-irish-honey/p-tarm050

odyssey06

I was in Dunnes Stores Donaghmeade and noticed the only Irish honey on the shelves was 'limited edition', one from Dunnes Stores own range, and one from Boyne Valley I think. It was €5.99 for a small jar.

limnam

odyssey06 wrote: »

I was in Dunnes Stores Donaghmeade and noticed the only Irish honey on the shelves was 'limited edition', one from Dunnes Stores own range, and one from Boyne Valley I think. It was €5.99 for a small jar.

After coming across this thread I picked up the Dunnes one. (Not tried it yet)

I was done on the raw honey in Dunnes. I glanced quickly and looked like it was from Dublin. When I got it home realized it was from Lithuania :mad::mad:

anewme

Tara Hill Honey from Wexford is an amazing Irish Product. Contact them in their website to see where the stockists are.

I think I got mine in Nourish. Its expensive compared to what you get in Dunnes but really good quality.

Dizzyblonde

The've got some hives on the roof of the Pavilions shopping centre in Swords and got a small yield of honey this year. Not enough to sell but they hope to have enough in the future to sell it for charity

confusticated

For anyone in Cork, the Roughty Foodie in the English Market has three or four local honeys and they're very happy to talk through the differences between them. Prices start at €5 which is very reasonable!

Jellybaby1

I must mention Wicklow Heather Honey. Open the pot and you get a noseful of mountainy heather and the flavour is fab too. I bought it one Christmas at a craft market but haven't seen it in any shops. I remember it being much more expensive than I usually pay in the supermarket but I was treating myself.....'cos I'm worth it!!

limnam

I never noticed before reading this thread the amount of honey's that "pretend" to be Irish. There was a honey in Centra. "Ballincollig castle" I think it was called. Convinced it was Irish.

Small print "mix of EU and non EU blends" :mad:

limnam

Looking for "new" things to try out. This is in Nigel Slaters new book.

This sounds amazing

Hoping to give it a crack this weekend



Dr Bircher’s classic muesli is one of my favourite breakfasts, though I will admit to removing the raisins, which I find introduce an unwelcome sweetness. This is a fresher version, with sliced strawberries and orange. It should be served thoroughly chilled.

Serves 4-6
porridge oats 100g
rolled jumbo oats 50g
apple juice 400ml
honey 2 tsp
apple 1, cored and grated
yogurt 100g

strawberries 250g
caster sugar 2 tbsp
orange juice of ½
balsamic vinegar a drop or 2

Sprinkle the oats in a single layer in a large shallow pan and toast them lightly over a moderate heat. Remove from the heat when they smell warm and nutty and their colour will darken slightly.

Let the oats cool, then put them in a bowl with the apple juice, honey, grated apple, a little sugar if you wish, and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Slice the strawberries, put them in a mixing bowl and scatter the sugar over them. Squeeze in the orange juice, then add a few drops of balsamic vinegar to taste. Set aside in the fridge overnight.

Next morning, fold the yogurt into the bircher muesli followed by the strawberries, then serve.

meeeeh

It depends what quality you want and if you want to buy local. Irish honey isn't necessary better than any other honey, it also depends what you like. Those who are actually interested in bee keeping can explain more but I think the main differences are what bees feed on (where I come from acacia, fir, floral, pine etc honeys would be common. The other difference is apparently that commercially produced honey is often collected earlier and not allowed to mature and it's taste to intensify.

I'm not a huge honey fan but for me anything that can be squeezed out of the bottle is probably not the real deal. (Not that I care, it's handier when making granola).Then it depends what taste you like (irc fir si bitter as hell). So if you want decent quality honey then you should probably buy artisan, but weather you buy artisan in Ireland, Austria, Lithuania or Slovenia (where I come from and the whole country seems to be obsessed with it) or anywhere else probably won't make that much of a difference in quality.

limnam

meeeeh wrote: »

I'm not a huge honey fan

I'd be fairly suspicious of your kind now.

Ronanc1

I got some amazing honey (one that I really tasted and said "woah" this HAS a distinct taste/flavour) from the Dublin Christmas flea. I can't remember the name, Dublin honey coop or something maybe? Each honey was named for the area the hives came from i.e. D2 honey, D4 etc. Obviously each hive has local flora which makes each very distinct in taste and flavour. Some were very pale and some very dark. The guy behind the table selling was great to chat to also.

yogibear77

For anyone living in Waterford the Whitfield honey is delish. Has to be the nicest one I've tasted.

leahyl

UCC are now producing their own honey strangely enough! It's available in the visitors centre in the Quad, called Alma Nectar - it's 6e for a regular jar.

The whole green campus thing I suppose. It's supposed to be lovely anyway. Not sure how much stock they have.

limnam

limnam wrote: »

After coming across this thread I picked up the Dunnes one. (Not tried it yet)

I was done on the raw honey in Dunnes. I glanced quickly and looked like it was from Dublin. When I got it home realized it was from Lithuania :mad::mad:

Just an update on this.


I realise it's not an Irish honey but the Lithuanian raw honey mentioned above, while a bit pricey at 10e a jar is _really_ good.


So far I've heated up a slice of McCambridge bread, spread it on and covered it with half an avocado. Nyom Nyom Nyom.

Speedsie

Good quality raw honey is a thing of joy!!!!

The 2019 Honey Show is on in the Phoenix Park visitor centre next Sunday if you are in the area. It's really a place for apiarists to show off their honey (it's a competition after all!!!), but there are normally stalls around the place.

http://phoenixpark.ie/event/biodiversity-festival/

Maldesu

Speedsie wrote: »

Good quality raw honey is a thing of joy!!!!

The 2019 Honey Show is on in the Phoenix Park visitor centre next Sunday if you are in the area. It's really a place for apiarists to show off their honey (it's a competition after all!!!), but there are normally stalls around the place.

http://phoenixpark.ie/event/biodiversity-festival/

Got 3 jars of honey there today. The honey competition was pretty intensive. Saw loads of judges and the were sniffing each jar, shining a light through it and debating each offering.

haugen

Hi all,

I was today in the Aldi store and I've noticed on shelves crystallized honey. I have never seen in supermarkets crystallized honeys, cause honey like this usually is "PURE" honey, at least many experts says that. So my question would be, can this be true? I don't know does this honey have some added sugars, but can honey with added sugars and sweeteners be crystallized? (btw it's very cheap, 454g for 2 euro)