Pollination

Definition

Around three-quarters of leading global food crops benefit to some degree from animal pollination, though the staple cereals that supply most calories are wind-pollinated. Visitation and pollination are not the same thing: a bee that robs nectar through the base of a flower is fed and pollinates nothing.

Honey records that discuss this

• Orange blossom honeyUnmistakably floral and citrus-scented — orange blossom in the glass, with the fruit itself somewhere behind it.
• Meadowfoam honeyToasted marshmallow and vanilla, unmistakably. The one honey most people identify blind on the first spoonful, because it tastes like something they already know.
• Apple blossom honeyDelicate and lightly fruity with a soft marzipan note and a clean finish — recognisably spring, and gone if you are not paying attention.
• Cherry blossom honeyMarzipan first, then a light stone-fruit sweetness — the almond note is the defining character and it is unmistakable.
• Lemon blossom honeyBright, sharply citrus and clean — lemon zest and blossom rather than the softer neroli of orange blossom, with a genuine acidity behind it.
• Almond blossom honeyDistinctly bitter with a marzipan aroma over it — one of the few honeys where bitterness arrives before sweetness, and an acquired taste even among people who like bitter honeys.
• Mountain laurel honeyReported as bitter and sharp with a burning sensation in the throat, though the toxin is not reliably detectable by taste — which is the single most important fact about it.
• Huisache honeyStrongly floral with a distinct violet and orange-blossom perfume over warm caramel — one of the most obviously perfumed American honeys.
• Blackbutt honeyWarm and caramelised with a light resinous edge — one of the milder eucalypt honeys and a good introduction to the group.
• Sunflower honeyStraw, beeswax and pollen, with a slightly waxy mouthfeel and a fresh, faintly herbal edge.
• Alfalfa honeyMild, clean and slightly grassy, with a beeswax note and very little else. A background honey, and good at being one.
• Blueberry honeyTangy and lightly fruity with a green, slightly astringent edge — recognisably related to the berry without tasting of jam.