Buckwheat honey

Traditionally used by gingerbread producers,
buckwheat honey is nowadays sought after as raw honey
by producers and consumers.
Discreet and surprising
It will amaze your taste buds with its powerful flavor.
Dense brown and tending towards the dark, this honey will not leave you indifferent
. Indeed, it is quite different from other honeys.

Characteristics and particularities of buckwheat honey

Originally from the American continent and considered as the symbol of Brittany, this local product almost disappeared. It is now gaining ground and is becoming known as an exceptional raw honey.

This local honey, also called buckwheat, offers a rare honey with a different texture than other honeys. It is dark brown in color with orange reflections. It is thick, creamy and its smell is unique… Full-bodied with a smell of wood and earth, it will surprise your sense of smell. Very tasty, it has a taste of liquorice and is consistent in the mouth. Above all, local buckwheat honey keeps a balance between sweet and sour.

In France, producers harvest buckwheat honey in summer. Regular and quite long, it spreads over several weeks, from mid-July to mid-September, which allows the bees to forage efficiently on the plant. The producers harvest buckwheat honey globally in Brittany and in the Pays de la Loire, and a little less in the Massif Central and in Normandy. The cultivation of buckwheat honey is influenced by different factors: drought, rain and north wind. The flower produces buckwheat honey only under very specific atmospheric conditions: 20°C to 25°C and about 100% humidity.

Thanks to its texture, buckwheat honey crystallizes gently and finely. It is a food that keeps perfectly well, provided that it is stored in a room at room temperature and protected from light.

How to taste it ?

In France, buckwheat honey is used in many preparations. It goes perfectly with game, red meat and foie gras. When preparing a sauce, adding small spoonfuls of buckwheat honey brings amazing flavors to your dish.

Gingerbread lovers will love using this honey in their recipes. Its taste will be slightly stronger than a gingerbread cooked with honey all flowers.

For a totally Breton specialty, try this tasty honey on a pancake or a crepe. The combination of buckwheat pancake, fresh goat cheese, walnuts and buckwheat honey is a delight.

And if you don’t feel like cooking, buckwheat honey goes perfectly with cottage cheese, yoghurts and dairy products.

If you prefer lightness, add some buckwheat honey flavors to a peach, melon, apple or grapes. The most greedy can even add honey to a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Need some recipes? Here are 2 of them!

• gingerbread with buckwheat honey ;
• carrots with smoked bacon and buckwheat honey

Did you know that?

As the bees collect buckwheat nectar from the flowers, it is mixed with an enzyme secreted by their glands. When they return to the hive, the bees pass the nectar they have collected to each other to mix it further. This reduces the water content of the nectar and turns it into honey. The bees then deposit the honey in the cells of the hive and fly right over it in order to remove any remaining nectar.