Glossary
A pale yellow to white honey produced by bees foraging on the blossoms of common ivy (Hedera helix) during its late autumn bloom period (September-November). Ivy honey crystallizes extremely rapidly, sometimes setting hard within the comb before extraction, and has a distinctive sharp, peppery flavor that mellows with aging.
In much of the United Kingdom and Western Europe, ivy is the last significant nectar source of the year. It blooms from September through November, providing a critical late-season nectar and pollen flow that helps colonies build the food stores and winter bee populations they need to survive until spring.
Ivy honey is controversial among beekeepers because of its extremely rapid crystallization. It can set rock-hard in the comb within days, making it impossible to extract with a centrifugal extractor. Many beekeepers leave ivy honey for the bees as winter stores rather than attempting to harvest it.
Fresh ivy honey has a sharp, almost spicy flavor with peppery and herbaceous notes. It can be quite assertive when newly harvested. However, the flavor mellows considerably with aging, developing warmer, rounder tones over several months.
When harvested, ivy honey is typically processed by the crush-and-strain method (crushing the comb and straining out the wax) because centrifugal extraction is impossible once it has crystallized. The resulting honey is thick, fine-grained, and spreads like butter.
Ivy honey has an extremely high glucose-to-fructose ratio, similar to canola and dandelion honey. This high glucose content drives rapid crystallization that can occur within days of the bees processing it. It may even crystallize inside uncapped cells in the hive.
It is possible but challenging. You must extract frames very quickly after the ivy flow ends, before the honey sets in the comb. If it crystallizes in the frame, crush-and-strain is the only extraction option. Many beekeepers intentionally leave it as winter stores.
Primarily the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Western Europe where common ivy (Hedera helix) grows abundantly. Ivy honey is not commonly produced in North America because the native ivies are different species with different blooming characteristics.
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