Tupelo honey is produced when honeybees collect nectar from the blossoms of the white Ogeechee tupelo (Nyssa ogeche) tree. These trees are distributed along the borders of rivers, swamps, and ponds that are frequently inundated, mainly in the remote wetlands of Georgia and Florida. Tupelo honey is said to come from trees along just a few rivers, the most prominent (and generally agreed upon) being the Apalachicola and Ochlockonee rivers.
Tupelo trees have clusters of inconspicuous greenish flowers, which later develop into berrylike fruits. The bloom lasts a mere 2-3 weeks in April and May. Pure tupelo honey is light amber in color; some note a green cast. It has a pear-like and hoppy aroma and a coveted flavor that fans describe as mild, delicate, buttery, floral, like cotton candy and like rosewater.
Because of its unusually high fructose content (versus sucrose), tupelo honey will not granulate. A granulated tupelo honey indicates an impure tupelo honey. Also because of its low sucrose content, some diabetics may eat it. Certified tupelo honey is not heated, processed, or filtered; neither is it mixed in any amount with honey procured from other blossoms. Even a slight amount of another honey (gallberry honey, which is harvested just before tupelo, is the most common interloper) is not tolerated in pure tupelo honey.
The white tupelo tree grows naturally in southeastern swamps. Because of the trees’ brief flowering time, beekeepers must be precise about getting bees to the trees; often this is accomplished by housing the bees on remote docks that are only accessible by boat. The strictly regional nature of tupelo honey dictates that its production exists in a tiny subculture. The beekeeper George Watkins says that he is the only tupelo honey producer currently harvesting from trees along the Apalachicola River.
A variety of elements contribute to the limited production and possibility of extinction of tupelo honey:
161 Boseman Circle
Wewahitchka, FL 32465
L.L. Lanier & Sons Tupelo Honey
PO Box 706
Wewahitchka, FL 32465
The Savannah Bee Company
PO Box 10914
Savannah, GA 31412
Watkins Tupelo Honey
*Available at the Piggly Wiggly store in Apalachicola, FL
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